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What are the best Lore-Rich games on Steam?

24

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Considered

89

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May 10, 2023

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24 Games Considered

Best Lore-Rich games on Steam	Price	Genre	Platforms
-- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	$49.99	Action RPG	Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
-- Mass Effect 2	$19.99	Action Role-Playing, Third-Person Shooter	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows
-- Hollow Knight	$14.99	Metroidvania	Nintendo Switch, Windows, macOS, Linux
-- Dishonored	-	Action, Adventure, Stealth	-
-- Stardew Valley	$14.99	Farming Simulation, Role-Playing	Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Vita, Android

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Top Pro

Gigantic openworld

Deviating from the previous two games Wild Hunt now has open world environments that are so large and detailed it can be intimidating. In comparison to other open-world games such as Skyrim the open World in The Witcher 3 is 3.5 time larger, in comparison the GTA5 The Witcher 3 is 1.5 times larger. See More

Top Con

The combat can take some time to get used to

The real-time action combat with Geralt's swords and magic doesn't quite feel right. When you first try it, you might find the controls to be imprecise and a bit sluggish. You may need a few hours to get used to the way the swordplay works with parrying and dodging, on top of knowing when to use your defensive and offensive spells to take advantage of enemy weaknesses. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Action RPG

Top Pro

Thoughtful and expansive story with well-written characters

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt tells a deep and intricate story about the main character, Geralt, on his long journey to find his adoptive daughter, Ciri, who's on the run from the evil, supernatural warlords of the Wild Hunt. You spend the game following various leads on Ciri's whereabouts, meeting up with old friends, former lovers, powerful politicians, and all sorts of people from many walks of life. These characters usually want something in exchange for giving Geralt the information he wants, leading you down some unexpected and eye-opening paths as you learn more about who they are, how they met Ciri, and how she helped them grow as people, letting you form a bond with her through these thought-provoking tales. And as Geralt either helps or hurts these people himself, he inevitably impacts their lives in even more ways. Aside from the main story, there are also two great expansions: Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine, both of which offer their own amazing narratives with hours and hours of content. Hearts of Stone has you get involved with a shady, all-powerful manipulator who gives Geralt a series of seemingly impossible tasks, while Blood and Wine lets you explore the rolling hills of the wine-loving country of Touissant, with all the political intrigue surrounding the Duchess there. The Witcher 3's story has so much to offer, easily keeping you hooked for well over a hundred hours as you play and replay the base game and the excellent expansions. See More

Top Con

Story feels like a chore

Most quests feel like a chore in that it is basically fetch quests in exchange for information to advance the story. While this is often a mechanic found in games to keep the gameplay long it does get tiresome. See More

Top Pro

Immersive story

The dialogue of the game is very intriguing as well as voiced superbly making for a very immersive experience as far as story is concerned. It is through the care the developers took to implement such realistic writing and voice work that makes the game so intriguing and an experience to play. See More

Top Pro

The soundtrack is well constructed and complementary in almost all situations

While exploring, doing a quest whether it is main or side one, the music in the back always enhances your game play. When a fight starts it pumps you up by playing Slavic or Celtic beats, and on a heartbreaking scene, it slows down its pace and plays an instrumental that rings even after you close it. You won't even notice, but you start to hum Skelliege sound or Priscilla song in your daily chores. Watching the sun set over the horizon while the Kaer Morhen tune plays was one of the best moments in the game. Without the songs to complement it, the side quests or the battles would have started to feel like a chore after a while on doing side content. See More

Top Pro

Your choices lead to morally-gray consequences and multiple different endings

There are rarely any right answers when making decisions. The situations that the story puts you in are unique and oftentimes unsettling, sometimes leaving you agonizing over which dialog option to pick during story conversations. During your first playthrough, it's isn't obvious which of your decisions are "important" and will impact plot outcomes, making you think critically about all of your choices. Most surprising are the critical decisions that determine which ending you get -- once you see your ending, you learn how organic everything is, with the game keeping track of your relationships with other characters in subtle ways. See More

Mass Effect 2

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Top Pro

Improved third-person shooting combat from the first game

The combat in Mass Effect 2 is much better than its predecessor in every way possible. You can enter cover and vault over it whenever you want this time around instead of your body magnetically sticking to whichever surface you stand next to. Guns use expendable thermal clips, which are like bullet clips, meaning you're no longer held back by your weapons overheating if you fire them too much. They also feel more satisfying to shoot with a real kick to them, especially the meatier shotguns and sniper rifles. Your squadmates are smarter this time around, like how you can order them to use their own abilities to chain them with yours for cool bonuses like melting armor with fire powers. The combat is actually fun in Mass Effect 2 and stands on its own next to the great story and characters. See More

Top Con

The main enemies, the Collectors, feel misplaced in the trilogy

The Mass Effect trilogy's story is about stopping the Reapers -- ancient, unknowable beings who destroy all life -- but this gets interrupted in Mass Effect 2 by the Collectors who are more like minions of the Reapers. The Collectors are dangerous because they harvest humans, though this is not as important as the Reapers who seek to end all life in the galaxy in Mass Effect 3. It would have made sense for Mass Effect 2 to focus on the Reapers instead of the Collectors, since they're more of a secondary problem. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Action Role-Playing, Third-Person Shooter

Top Pro

Memorable cast of authentic characters

Mass Effect 2 has an amazing cast of both human and alien characters who feel like real people. While just about any NPC you meet is fantastic, your squad members are the ones that stand out the most. You have about ten squadmates to choose from, not including DLC characters. They all have backstories and traits that are believable and natural. Their personalities shine through the most during their optional loyalty missions where you help them complete certain personal tasks separate from the main story. One of your human squadmates, Miranda, is cold and intimidating at first, since she distrusts you for her own reasons. Her loyalty mission is unexpectedly emotional, showing Miranda as more flawed and caring than she lets on. There's also Garrus, one of your returning squadmates from the first Mass Effect. He's a turian that looks somewhat bird-like in design, but his easygoing personality is very cool, making him feel relatable and reliable. His loyalty mission shows his darker side as you help him tie up loose ends from his past. Getting to know everyone through dialogue and squad banter is a lot of fun, making it easy to grow attached to your favorite characters. See More

Top Con

Levels are very linear

Mass Effect 2's levels are more like winding corridors with the occasional wide open space here and there. You always have a clear sense of where to go next, but there isn't much room for exploration. It's also obvious when enemies are about to show up, since you'll come to a place with a bunch of chest-high walls conveniently spread around the area for you to take cover behind. It's unimaginative, making missions feel like you're only going from point A to B. See More

Top Pro

Your choices have true consequences on the story

Your choices have direct consequences on how the story plays out, not only in this game but also across the rest of the Mass Effect trilogy. In Mass Effect 2, you get to choose between options like keeping or destroying inhumane scientific research that could help an entire galactic race, or exposing the dark truth about a squadmates' family for the greater good or keeping it hidden. Who you bring along for the final mission and how you lead your team has a huge impact on the ending. Each of your decisions, big and small, carry over into Mass Effect 3, opening things up for many different playthroughs to see how things turn out with other choices. See More

Top Pro

Good romance subplots

The romance subplots in Mass Effect 2 are great. Playing as male Shepard, you can romance most of your female squadmates, while female Shepard can romance most of the male squadmates. If you romanced someone in the first Mass Effect, then that story continues here in Mass Effect 2. There are certain consequences for being unfaithful where your partner will confront you or the person you're cheating with in a heated showdown. Sticking with one person for the whole game rewards you with a romantic scene near the end of the story. A lot of care and attention went into these subplots, giving you the chance to see each of the characters in a new light. See More

Top Pro

You can customize your protagonist Commander Shepard

There are lots of ways to make Commander Shepard feel like your own character. The character creator at the start of a new game lets you change all sorts of options, from your hair, to your skin color, the shape of your nose, mouth, and ears, and so much more. Or, if you prefer, you can simply stick with the default male or female Shepard. You also get to pick which class you want to be for combat: soldier, infiltrator, vanguard, adept, or sentinel, each with their own unique abilities, like the adept's helpful "magic spells" and the infiltrator's specialty with sniper rifles. You can role-play as Shepard however you want, with plenty of options to customize your looks and your combat specialties for whichever role suits you the most. See More

Hollow Knight

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Top Pro

Large amount of content

Over 30 hours of gameplay. See More

Top Con

Choppy on certain hardware

A small percentage of users have issues with choppiness. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Metroidvania

Co-Op:Single Player

Top Pro

Rewarding exploration

The game world is enormous, with a massive amount of secret areas that really reward you for sniffing them out. See More

Top Pro

Amazing art and soundtrack

Has a very dedicated aesthetic that works beautifully. See More

Top Pro

Has free DLC

Three DLCs have been released, adding additional quests for free. See More

Top Pro

Mysterious story/lore

Makes you wanna explore more to find out whats going on and you may find secrets with NPCs that will tell you more or add to the mystery. This keeps things interesting. See More

Top Pro

Has character

The visuals, music and sound effects are both quirky and charming. You may stay for the gameplay, but you come in for the lovable world. See More

Top Pro

Fun, challenging boss fights

With a couple exceptions, the boss fights are challenging in a way that does not feel cheap. If you die, it is because you screwed up and not because the game didn't feel like keeping you alive anymore. See More

Top Pro

Forces you to learn attack patterns

You won't get far just going in swinging. Learning enemy behavior is much more important than in any other Metroidvania and that feels very rewarding. See More

Top Pro

Tight and fluid movement

Every movement in the game makes you feel like you are in control. See More

Dishonored

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Top Pro

The world (and difficulty) changes based on your actions

Depending on how the player chooses to play the game the world will react in different ways. A player can choose to go the whole game without killing anyone, using stealth as their main tool. Another may choose to kill anyone who gets in their way to completing their task. Depending on how the player chooses to tackle every situation means the game will behave accordingly. See More

Top Con

Taking down targets can feel unsatisfying

While the build up to getting to ones target is great in the game, once getting to the target and taking them down, it does not feel that satisfying. While it does not ruin the whole game it would be nice to have a larger sense of completion and satisfaction when finishing ones goals. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Action, Adventure, Stealth

Stardew Valley

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Top Pro

Deep customization options

There is quite a lot that can be crafted in the game, from fence posts to chicken coops. Discovering how to build these and then deciding where to place them is one of the best parts of the game as you can build/design a farm to your liking. See More

Top Con

Large amount of grind

While it is the bread and butter of the gameplay, the amount of work that needs done from the start is quite a lot and so you will be doing the same thing over and over again. The whole farm is dilapidated, meaning everything needs cleaned up, weeds need cleared, rocks need cleared, tress need cleared, the whole house needs rebuilt. this amount of what are basically chores may not appeal to all as it is quite a feat to take on. See More

Specs

Genre:Farming Simulation, Role-Playing

Co-Op:Online and Local, up to 4 players

Top Pro

May get Mac and Linux port

Currently the game only runs on Windows machines, but the developer has stated that a Mac and Linux port are among their top priorities. See More

Top Con

Townspeople schedule is difficult to keep up with

The game asks the player to meet everyone in town, while there is mini map that shows where townspeople are, certain townsfolk are missing from this map such as shop keepers. This makes it difficult to keep up with who is where. See More

Top Pro

Convenient auto save feature

There is no manual saving in the game, it auto saves when sleeping or or moving on to the next day. This is convenient as the player does not need to remember to save, which could lead to accidental lost data. This system also prevents the player taking advantage of the randomly generated mines, as it could be too easy to exploit for rare items. See More

Top Con

Lacks polish in some areas

Menus feel odd in that some controls work in some areas while not in other such as item management when using chests. There is also a lack of information in the game on how to do things, which means the player must figure it out through trial and error. While this is much like an old school game it would be nice to have a few things explained in order to not miss anything important in the game like certain festivals. See More

Top Pro

There is always more to do

Just like in the real world, operating a farm is a lot of work, especially if one is set on expanding said farm. The game works just like this in that the player is always driven to expand on what they have, be it growing more crops, raising more animals or just improving ones house and equipment. This makes for a game that drives the player to keep playing just a little bit longer to get just one more thing done. See More

Top Pro

You have freedom to choose to play one aspect of the game or all of them

Such as farming, fishing, mining, forestry, exploration and meeting people. This allows for many elements to explore in the game that expands the gameplay but also allows for freedom of choice in what to do and when to do it. See More

Top Pro

Catchy and relaxing music

For a game that is meant to have large amounts of time spent in it, the music is quite relaxing, which is nice as it does not get on the players nerves. See More

Top Pro

Long playtime

The game is reported to taking over 10 hours for one season in the game, of which their are four season in a year. Which means it can take 40 hours just to get though the first year in the game, of which there can be many. This means a user can easily sink in 100s of hours into the game, making for quite a bargain for a $15 game. See More

Top Pro

Good selection of game options

The games options see resolution support, controller and keyboard support, of which the controller support even has a rumble feature (for those that have controllers with rumble support). Keyboard support also has built in key-bind support, for those that do not have a separate key-bind support app. See More

Top Pro

Weather system that forces the player to adapt

Each day in the game may feature different weather depending on the season in the game. From rain to snow to natural disasters, each forces the player to adapt their workload to that days forecast. This keeps the player on their toes and forces them to plan for events to make sure they have the needed supplies for when different disasters happen. See More

Mass Effect

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Memorable cast of authentic characters

Mass Effect has an amazing cast of both human and alien characters who feel like real people. While just about any NPC you meet is fantastic, your squad members are the ones that stand out the most. They all have backstories and traits that are believable and natural. Ashley is a human soldier who joins your team early on. As you chat with her in between missions, you get to learn about her history with her family and religious faith back on Earth. But then as you explore the Citadel, the game's main hub area, she makes snide comments about all the aliens around, keying you in on her true feelings about non-humans. By contrast, your scientist team member Liara is an asari: Mass Effect's species of blue female-only aliens. Despite being reserved and shy, Liara often jumps at the chance to gush about her research. Talking to her gives you the chance to learn more about the asari and why exactly she's so devoted to her academic studies. Getting to know everyone through dialogue and squad banter is a lot of fun, making it easy to grow attached to your favorite characters. See More

Top Con

Tedious inventory management

The game overloads your inventory with weapon upgrades, modifiers, equipment, and all sorts of duplicates of those items. Clearing out your inventory can take several minutes at a time since there's no quick way to select the things you don't want and get rid of them. If you're diligent enough to trek to a store to sell things off every single time you're low on inventory space, you can make quite a bit of money, but it's not always convenient to do this, like when you're out in the middle of a remote planet. It takes a lot of patience to not get annoyed with managing all of your items and components. See More

Specs

Genre:Action Role-Playing, Third-Person Shooter

Top Pro

Your choices have true consequences on the story

Your choices have direct consequences on how the story plays out, not only in this game but also across the rest of the Mass Effect trilogy. You get to choose between options like sparing or killing off an entire race of potentially dangerous enemies, saving or sacrificing one of your own squad members to finish an operation, and dealing with an enraged teammate who feels betrayed by your actions. How you handle certain side objectives during story missions can also have an impact on how the galaxy at large reacts to you. Each of your decisions, big and small, carry over through your save files to Mass Effect 2 and 3, opening things up for many different playthroughs to see how things turn out with other choices. See More

Top Con

Clunky third-person shooting combat

The third-person shooting part of Mass Effect isn't that fun because of how janky it is. Your character gets glued to cover whenever you're close to a wall instead of letting you press a button to enter cover whenever you want. The actual shooting mechanics are slow and heavy, and with guns that overheat if you keep firing them for too long. Suicidal squadmates run around getting killed unless you remember to keep directing them to hide behind cover everywhere you go. The combat is just unsatisfying, clearly taking a backseat to the game's story and characters. See More

Top Pro

Calm and thoughtful atmosphere

There's something calming about Mass Effect's atmosphere that really gives you the space to think and reflect. Exploring places like the indoor trade port Noveria feels special because of the cool blue color scheme, the blizzard blowing outside the full pane windows, and the ambient, yet quietly emotional synth music looping in the background. Even the title screen has a thoughtful song playing over the beautiful sight of Earth from orbit. The atmosphere is wonderful in a way that's almost nostalgic, making you feel right at home each time you start up the game. See More

Top Con

Vehicle controls with the Mako are absolutely terrible

Driving around on planets to get from place to place in the Mako is awful. Controls aren't as responsive as they should be and the vehicle's physics are all over the place. Just trying to make basic turns is bad enough; roving up a rocky mountain, for example, makes the Mako bounce and spin around like it's in zero gravity. These driving parts are mandatory and unskippable, so there's no way around them. It's so bad that the developers got rid of the Mako in Mass Effect 2 and 3, but you unfortunately still have to deal with it here. See More

Top Pro

Good romance subplots

The romance subplots in Mass Effect are great. Playing as male Shepard, you can romance either Liara or Ashley, while female Shepard can romance Liara or Kaidan, your human male squadmate. There are certain consequences for being unfaithful where your partner will confront you or the person you're cheating with in a heated showdown. Sticking with one person for the whole game rewards you with a romantic scene near the end of the story. A lot of care and attention went into these subplots, giving you the chance to see each of the characters in a new light. See More

Top Pro

You can customize your protagonist Commander Shepard

There are lots of ways to make Commander Shepard feel like your own character. The character creator at the start of a new game lets you change all sorts of options, from your hair, to your skin color, the shape of your nose, mouth, and ears, and so much more. Or, if you prefer, you can simply stick with the default male or female Shepard. You also get to pick which class you want to be for combat: soldier, infiltrator, vanguard, adept, or sentinel, each with their own unique abilities, like the adept's helpful "magic spells" and the infiltrator's specialty with sniper rifles. You can role-play as Shepard however you want, with plenty of options to customize your looks and your combat specialties for whichever role suits you the most. See More

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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Top Pro

Huge variety of mods

Bethesda Softworks has upheld a tradition of releasing their internal content-creation tools to the public since Morrowind (2002). Many modders transition to new Bethesda games as they are released, bringing their experience with them and helping newcomers through forums and wikis. As a result, Skyrim's mod selection is outstanding in both variety and quality. See More

Top Con

Buggy and crash prone

Skyrim, like all Bethesda in house game engines (GameBryo) is buggy and prone to crashing. Non modded games have plenty of issues, but to then add mods on top is just asking for a crash or corrupt game save. There are still many community mods for Skyrim that try to make the game more stable by addressing memory issues and general buggynes. While the game is not as buggy as it was upon release, there are still many people that have issues with the game crashing on boot or just randomly which is why these mods are still widely used and still very relevant. See More

Specs

Genre:Fantasy Role-Playing

Top Pro

The longest-running RPG-FPS franchise, with world lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

The Elder Scrolls series stretches back 20 years and has always focused on providing a rich world to explore. Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of over half a dozen previous games. See More

Top Con

Immersion can be broken due to game limitations

While the game offers players many choices some of these choices are not reflected in the game accurately. There are instances where NPCs should know who your character is or what classes they belong to but due to the limitations of the tech used in the game it is unable to "remember" these things and so NPC text will often break immersion in the game by saying the wrong things. See More

Top Pro

Unrestrictive skill-based RPG system

Skyrim has no concept of character classes, and there are no restrictions on what equipment or magic a given character can use or learn. A character's capabilities are defined by skills (e.g. heavy armor, marksman, enchantment) which automatically improve as they are used. Levels are gained by increasing skills, and each level grants one perk -- a passive, secondary effect which further enhances a particular skill -- and increases an attribute of your choice (Magicka, Stamina or Health). See More

Top Con

Combat is too simple

Fights within the game don't have very many options. "Headshots" don't matter, and most combat options in the game are poorly balanced. Few examples: Doesn't really matter if you go mace, sword or axe, fire, ice or lightning, or even two handed vs dual wielding. The options mostly add flavor to your character and little else. Despite the fact that you might have ranged attacks, dragons are impossible to hit while in the air, so you end up fighting them similarly to a melee character. "Twincasting" the first healing spell is actually worse than just casting it once in each hand. Illusion magic becomes useless at later levels, since the spells don't do anything if the enemy is too high level and enemies scale to your level. Enemies are too stupid to make hiding a bad thing. The worst one is leveling as an Alteration mage, which gives you access to the Dragonskin spell, granting maximum armor for 30 seconds and has a 5 second cast time. Or you could just go Heavy Armor, level that up (so it weighs nothing) and have maximum armor ALWAYS without ever having to cast an Alteration spell before combat ever again. Combat comes down to how you leveled, not how you play. See More

Top Pro

Deep lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of The Elder Scrolls series, which stretches back 20 years. It has numerous stories surrounding the various races (orcs, elves, lizardmen, demons, etc.), mythical beasts, gods, cataclysmic events, parallel worlds, and just about any fantasy trope you could think off. What's even better you can read the lore in books found in-game, allowing you to immerse yourself for countless hours. See More

Top Pro

Massive sandbox to explore at your own pace

The in-game map is absolutely gigantic. There are so many places to go and so much to do in the world, easily giving you hundreds of hours of content. Exploring the wide range of environments, from the snowy mountains to the richly-detailed towns and cities is such a joy because of how lush and beautiful everything is. Wandering around often surprises you with new side quests to find off the beaten path, with new characters to meet and history to learn about in whichever area you find yourself in. You can get into all sorts of battles with powerful enemies or stumble into hidden dungeons with awesome loot at the end. Or you can sneak around towns at night stealing peoples' stuff while they're asleep to sell everything off for money. And there's just a ton of other intriguing secrets and fun diversions to discover as you adventure throughout the world. See More

Top Pro

Moral choices that can affect gameplay

Things like stealing (and getting caught), fighting or killing in towns will change how the game plays as now those people or towns will be angry with the player, which makes things much more difficult. There are also many moral choices in game such as if one should betray the person who gave then their quest by keeping the treasure they were hired to return. All of these things will change how the game plays and how NPC's react to the character making for a simulated real world of consequences. See More

Top Pro

Total freedom in how you choose to play through the world's different factions

You can set off to any of Skyrim's different towns and discover new storylines from interesting factions that flesh out the world and the lore, with great characters and their own absorbing narratives to get lost in. There are a good number of these factions, like the scholars at the snowy College of Winterhold, the secretive assassins of the Dark Brotherhood, or the cohort of rogues and bandits of the Thieves Guild. After picking whichever faction you want to learn more about, you can eventually become a Master of the guild and learn new skills for your character. Playing through each of their individual stories lets you really feel like a member of the faction you choose, like with how the Thieves Guild sends you on missions to pick locks and steal valuables without getting caught by the guards. And if you only get through some of the faction's story and decide you don't enjoy it, you can easily go find another one and play through that one instead. There are no limits on how you play through the plot, with Skyrim giving you the flexibility to pick up stories, set them down, and come back to them whenever you feel like it. See More

Bioshock Infinite

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Intense fast-paced gameplay

Continuing the super-powered gameplay from the first two Bioshock’s this installment in the series refines the fun and fast formula. Use tonics to launch fireballs, ravens, or electricty at your foes, or make them fight by your side, as long as you have enough salt that is. Then to liven things up get help from Elizabeth’s “tears” to bring in more guns and tin-men from another time/dimension to aid you in your fight! See More

Top Con

Story and Gameplay can give mixed tones

A high story concept mixed with super bloody battles threw off some people’s experience of the game who site ludonarrative dissonance as the problem. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Great Add-On content

With the main game being so great you just want to keep playing! So Irrational Games came out with four dlc packs: Columbia’s Finest, Clash in the Clouds, Burial at Sea Episode 1 and Episode 2. See More

Top Pro

Great story

Touching on themes of classism, racism, the power of religion, propaganda, and even delving into the metaphysical, Bioshock Infinite delivers a compelling story that will have you engaged till the very end. See More

Top Pro

The world is amazing

A city floating in the sky with quantum physics set in the early 1900’s with gear propelled robots and powers brought on by tonics are awaiting you in the city of Columbia. Bright colors and amazing vistas that are populated with floating islands that house full carnival resorts, giant memorial statues, along with deadly enslavement camps and prisons bring Bioshock’s world to life. See More

Dragon Age: Origins

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Top Con

Too easy to fix relationships with companions who dislike you

It's way too easy to smooth things over with disagreeable party members. Your companions can grow to actively dislike you if you pick certain dialogue options with them, or they can judge you harshly for certain story decisions you make. By giving them gifts, you can greatly improve their approval of you as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. None of your relationships with your companions really have any consequences when it's this simple to make them like you again after disagreements. See More

Top Pro

Great ways to interact with companions

There are interesting ways to get to know your team members in Dragon Age: Origins. Giving them gifts, talking to them at camp, and listening to party banter are all realistic and fun. You can increase approval with your favorite characters by figuring out what types of gifts to give them, like general trinkets in the shape of a dragon, or more sentimental items with personal meaning to them like a parent's cherished locket. While resting at a camp, you can chat with anyone about what's on their mind, opening up side quests, and possibly triggering romance options. Party banter is always insightful and entertaining, with characters giving different lines depending on who you bring along. For instance, if two of your party members don't like each other, you can expect them to snipe insults or make more passive-aggressive backtalk depending on their personalities. Your companions feel like actual people you can interact with and listen to, each with their own preferences and perspectives. See More

LivelyPerseus's Experience

I think all the Dragon Age games were great (give number 2 some slack) but for lore I personally think Origins has the most. An immersive world with many cultures, a satisfying story, long gameplay and original characters. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing

Top Con

Silent protagonist even though everyone else has voice acting

It's jarring that your protagonist is the only character in the game who doesn't speak. While everyone else has a voice with their dialogue, it's awkward when you pick your own dialogue options and your character says nothing. When you choose your response, there's a pause between the other person's lines that doesn't quite feel right. It would have been nice if the voice acting were consistent, with voices for everyone or no one, to keep things on the same page. See More

Top Pro

Epic dark fantasy story

The story in Dragon Age: Origins is long and expansive with many different parts that are all fit together by the finale. As a Grey Warden, you specialize in killing demon-like darkspawn enemies in order to prevent them from taking over the world in a cataclysmic event known as the Blight. Even with the darkspawn threat, there are many other issues across the country of Ferelden, such as the oppression of mages and elves at the hands of humans, and several displaced dwarves who were nearly wiped out during the Blights in the past. There's plenty of political drama as well, with you and your fellow Grey Wardens caught in the middle of a betrayal at the highest level of Ferelden's monarchy. You play a big part in the culmination of the drama with the choices you make, many of which aren't just black and white. All of these threads come together nicely by the end as you fight against the darkspawn to save the country and all the people that you get to know on your journey. See More

Top Con

Characters are partially clothed during romance scenes

The romance scenes include characters wearing their undergarments, which ends up looking weird and distracting. Full nudity isn't absolutely necessary, but it just seems off here. Having more creative camera angles to cover things up would have had a better effect without coming off as unrealistic. See More

Top Pro

Your choices can give you vastly different playthroughs

The choices you make affect the gameplay and plot, opening things up for very different playthroughs. Right from the start, you pick which race and combat class you want for your protagonist -- human, elf, or dwarf -- each with their own playable origin prologue, such as a human mage with noble blood or a dwarf warrior part of the working class. Which origin you pick also has a big impact on how your companions and NPCs react to you, such as people respecting you more if you're a noble or looking down on you if you're an elf. Once you become a Grey Warden, the choices you make during the story segments determine who will join you for the final battle. You can side with the people whom you know will provide the most support in the finale against the darkspawn, but these characters might be irredeemable and reprehensible, so you might not want to help them after all. Or there may be other groups or people that you absolutely want to help, yet this comes at a great cost that negatively affects others in the world. It's a balancing act where you have to carefully take everything into consideration. All in all, your choices give you the chance to experience unique playthroughs, with potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay if you want to see how each outcome plays out. See More

Top Pro

Plenty of mods available

Nexus Mods contains many mods to change just about any aspect of the game such as adding new dungeons, new companion interactions, and ways to save time like with the auto loot mod. See More

Top Pro

Well-implemented tactical combat with unique playstyles

The combat gameplay is great, featuring various playstyles and a key way for you to control the flow of battle. The different battle classes -- warrior, mage, and rogue -- have branching specializations with unique abilities. Going with a templar that branches off from the warrior class gives you an edge over enemies who use magic, while duelist rogues have more speed to strike quickly and dodge the most hits. You can also pause the game to bring up a radial menu to pick which abilities to use and specific enemies to target, meaning you can take your time in battle and not get overwhelmed by everything. Mastering your class specialization and using the radial menu to your advantage gives the combat a lot of strategic depth. See More

NieR: Automata

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Unique storytelling with a real emotional impact

NieR: Automata's outlook on storytelling is incredibly special. To get the full experience, you have to run multiple playthroughs of the game, each of which offers a new experience and perspective. Your world view of the story events and characters expands drastically as you complete each playthrough, playing on your expectations to help you develop a deeper emotional bond with the protagonists and become invested in their plight. Things take a real turn on your third playthrough, putting you on an emotional roller coaster all the way to the true ending. The plot twists and knocks on the fourth wall elevate the story to a truly unique place. Getting all the way to the very end can be a religious experience from how much heart and meaning you discover in the symbolism. See More

Top Con

Some boring fetch quests

The pacing gets messed up when you're forced to run certain fetch quests near the start of the game. This is somewhat forgivable after the fun and action-packed introductory level, but the quests themselves are still a drag to play through. Some of the side quests can also boil down to the same thing. Even though these quests give a lot of useful information about the world, they're not all that fulfilling, and you may dread having to repeat them when playing through the game again. See More

Specs

Genre:Action Role-Playing

Top Pro

Fast-paced, action-packed combat

The combat in NieR: Automata is fantastic. It has a hack-and-slash feel to it, with an emphasis on agility and showy acrobatics. With the fluid and responsive controls, you can switch seamlessly from using swift attacks with your weapon to devastatingly strong attacks as you combo them together. You also use customizable ranged missile attacks from your personal robot pod, such as powerful laser beams or a giant hammer attack. It can be difficult to win battles sometimes, especially on the harder gameplay settings, but it's worthwhile to keep at it and watch yourself progress and improve. See More

Top Pro

Gorgeous, ethereal soundtrack with amazing vocals

NieR: Automata's music is out of this world. It's so stunning and elegant in a way that nothing else can really live up to. The soundtrack manages to emotionalize the game through music, from the action-packed tracks with hard-hitting wind instruments and percussion, to the softer, somber songs that encapsulate the hauntingly beautiful environments and story moments you encounter. Vocals in the lore's indescribable language makes the music even more memorable, adding to the ethereal quality of the sound. This soundtrack is definitely one that you can go back to again and again without getting sick of it. See More

Top Pro

Fast-paced and action packed combat

The combat in NieR: Automata is incredible. It has a very hack-and-slash feel to it, with an emphasis on agility and acrobatics. You will have to switch from using small, quick jabs with your weapon, to devastatingly strong attacks, and again to utilizing ranged attacks, as well as the companion that follows you around if you want to have any hope of surviving every encounter. It can be very difficult to win battles sometimes, but it also feels equally rewarding when you finally achieve victory. See More

Top Pro

It's got a hauntingly beautiful environment

NieR: Automata is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape after Earth has been overrun by hostile machines, and the artists really nailed what that would feel like. Abandoned and overgrown cities litter the landscape along with old refineries, graveyards, and eerie forests. When you add the beautiful soundtrack to the experience, it fills you with a bittersweet mix of loneliness and hope. See More

Top Pro

Varied genre-spanning gameplay elements

NieR: Automata has different types of gameplay to keep things interesting. From the very start, you're on an on-rails bullet hell section, and then you switch over to the more traditional action RPG style of fast-paced combat. Things change up again not long after with some side-scrolling platforming from a 2D view. Later on in the story, there's a hacking mini-game where you navigate a tiny ship through a short puzzle, with the music changing to a charming retro sound to fit the theme and mood. This is a game that doesn't stay boxed in a single genre. See More

Top Pro

An incredible amount of gameplay

You can easily spend 60 plus hours exploring the world NieR: Automata, and still have much more to do. See More

Top Pro

An incredible amount of content

Outside of the main story, there's plenty of optional content to dive into. The side quests are the best way to get to know the characters and lore of the world, with some of them giving clever and subtle foreshadowing of the game's most critical events. There are also weapons to collect and upgrade, each of which offer nice little tidbits of lore after you get them to max level. And after reaching a certain point in the story, you get access to Chapter Select that lets you go back and replay whatever you want. You can easily spend 60+ hours exploring the world and still have much more to do. See More

Tyranny

Top Pro

Has a different approach to a story with you playing as the villain

Top Con

The ending may not be satisfying

The ending is abrupt and dissatisfying, as it ends on a cliffhanger. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Robust magic system that gives freedom of choice to the player

The magic system allows any character to use magic as long as they have enough of the correct attribute. In addition to this, all of the magic is made up of different elements allowing you to customize spells and discover new ways of destroying your enemy. See More

Top Pro

Skills increase as you use them, which customizes the game towards your playstyle

After allocating basic stats, you can make a character into anything. Currently one of the most powerful builds is a 2-handed weapon wielding mage in light armor. See More

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

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Ambiguous moral choices

The choices made in game are not always easy and may stick with the player for some time, which is quite a feet for a game to accomplish as many do not have such good writing. See More

Top Con

User interface can be confusing

While some ares of the UI make sense a lot of it is pretty convoluted which makes playing the game frustrating at times. Basically it is one of those games that if you put it down for any gap in time you will forget a lot of the controls. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

A well-told, dark story based on a book series of the same name

The whole series is based of off a book series of the same name, so there is a lot of good influence to be found, in particular The Witcher 2 is a deep story that has much to do with politics and moral choices. Definitely one of the better stories found in a modern RPG. See More

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Top Pro

Allows players to create their private military company

Throughout the story of the game, the player will be trying to rebuild their private military which was lost in the epilogue of the previous title in the MGS series. Other than building their "Mother Base" which is an ever-evolving giant structure which serves as a base of operations for the player and other NPCs which help the player, players can also recruit enemy soldiers to increase the size of their mercenary company. These soldiers can help based on their area of expertise to either work on developing new projects or be dispatched around the world to complete missions and earn in-game money. See More

Top Con

High learning curve

There is so much detail to grasp in the game that it can be overwhelming, especially at first. It will take a good bit of time to become accustomed to everything the game has to offer and how to control and interact with it. See More

Specs

Co-Op:Single Player

Top Pro

Multiple ways to approach a mission

Metal Gear Solid V gives players multiple choices on how to approach a mission or clear an outpost. For example, the player can choose to use stealth and cunning in order to complete their mission and kill only when it's absolutely necessary, or they can get in guns blazing and kill every single enemy soldier sometimes even sniping each one of them from afar or calling the helicopter for air support. This gives a special flavor to the gameplay and doesn't let it get stale for a long time since it leaves the choice on how to play to the player, without penalizing them for not completing a mission by using stealth (as other previous MGS used to do). See More

Top Con

Micro transactions

Something often found in free to play games is microtransactions, sadly they are included in the multiplayer aspect of The Phantom Pain going so high as $79.99 for a bundle of in game currency that can be used for advantage in the online part of the game. Considering that MGS V already is a full priced title at $59.99, to see Konami milking their fans for never ending microtransactions is pretty disheartening, especially when considering they can be used to get a leg up over others in the multiplayer by easily creating more resources over other non paying players. See More

Top Pro

Large assortment of tools and options

As one plays through the game they can develop more weapons and tools with the enemies they capture. While not every one has to be used, the sheer fact that their is so much choice makes for a lot of fun experimenting. See More

Top Pro

Extremely intelligent AI

As the player levels up gear so will the AI, who are programmed to constantly keep the player on their toes. Being that the whole game is designed to allow the player tackle any level in a multitude of ways, seeing the AI always react differently makes for an original experience every time something is tackled. See More

Top Pro

Ever evolving Mother Base

One of the goals of the game is to capture as many enemies alive as possible. With those captured troops users can start building more of their base out, making for an even bigger and better experience as the game progresses. See More

Top Pro

Plays at 1080p and 60fps

There is some frame drops during gameplay but the main target of 60fps is more often reached than not. V-Sync is used, so there is no screen tearing and everything plays at a native resolution of 1920x1080. See More

Top Pro

Reflex system

Once spotted by an enemy time will slow down for a short period of time allowing the player to react more accurately in a tense situation. See More

Salt and Sanctuary

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Exploration based gameplay

The player does not start with much in items or story. It is up to the player to explore and figure out little by little what is going on in the game. This makes for an adventure that the player can be immersed in by filling in any gaps with their own imagination, which in turn allows the player to be invested. See More

Top Con

Difficult to know where you are

There is no map in the game, which is exacerbated by the fact that this is a 2D title. In 2D there is basically no way to tell where you are in relation to where you want to go other than from memory. This can be troublesome if it has been a few days since you last played, as you now need to remember where you need to go and where you have been and how that all relates to where you are now, all without being able to see anything other than what is immediately in front of you on the screen. See More

Top Pro

Deep combat

While this is a 2D platforming game, the combat is actually quite diverse, depending on what equipment one is using (and there is quite a lot of equipment). Players have a light and hard attack that each can be charged. They can also be combined to create combos, with some that may even result in some juggling of enemies. Being that this is in 2D, the controls for the combat is quite responsive and there is a good bit of verticality (since there is no third plane to worry about) thanks to the level layout and jump mechanics. All of this combines to make for some deep combat that is enjoyable through customization, speed and level design. See More

Top Con

May be too niche

The setting of the game is quite dark and may be draining to spend any significant amount of time in the world. The gameplay itself can be quite difficult as well, which means this may not be the game for everyone. See More

Top Pro

Huge selection of upgrades

The player earns salt by killing enemies in the game. This salt can then be used to purchase upgrades and new abilities for their character on a large spherical grid. This grid has many branching paths that cover just about any skill or ability one can think of for a dark fantasy game. Want to branch off into magical abilities, you are free to do so. Similarly, you can branch off into more of a fighter build. You can even create a hybrid build of fighting and magic to suit you. There is no limit to the choices you can make, which allows for a game that is highly customizable to fit anyone's playstyle. See More

Top Pro

Interesting perk mechanic

There is a feature in the game called "creeds" that allows on to sign up for one creed at a time. These creeds will give you access to certain specific perks such as building out their sanctuary (of which each creed has one) where you can customize vendors of items, find new quest givers and access fast travel points. All of this offers a level of customization that can give the player advantages in the game. See More

Top Pro

Good use of metroidvania level design

Metroidvania genre games tend to lock portions of the game behind elements that can not be traversed until a certain item or skill is earned. This makes for a world that requires a lot of backtracking and familiarity, meaning the player needs to keep track of all the areas they have already explored. Once a certain item or skill is found that will allow the player to get past what was once a road block, new areas can then be explored and the story can be advanced. The mechanic of this used to be to save space while elongating a game, but now is used as a way to get the player to feel connected and familiar with the world. There is also a pleasure to be found once new areas can be unlocked as it gives a sense of satisfaction that you are progressing past a point that you never knew when it would be unlocked. See More

Top Pro

Risk reward gameplay

The player throughout the game is always earning salt when defeating enemies. This salt is used to purchase upgrades and items in the game, so the more you have the more you can purchase. The thing is though that you can lose all of the salt you have collected if you die, and being that this is a difficult game, you will die a lot. The risk reward mechanic in this that you can either push on with low health, venturing into the unknown and possible death, but if you die, you will lose your money. This choice can be tough to make, but will constantly be on your mind, which elevates the risk of play. See More

Pillars of Eternity

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Combat requires forethought

The combat in Pillars of Eternity usually requires a good bit of planning. Depending on the monsters one is facing the scenario shifts on how one needs to react. Fighting a couple of bandits will call for a complete different reaction than fighting a large dragon. Players have to adapt constantly, which creates an exciting atmosphere and a good bit of tension. The use of the space bar (or having a setting that auto pauses) to pause the game is key in planning how to react to each scenario which thankfully gives the player plenty of time to plan their future actions. See More

Top Con

A lot of reading

The amount of text in game may turn some people off as much of the time spent in game will be spent reading. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Rich storytelling

One of the main highlights of Pillars of Eternity is the rich and deeply involved story telling. The minutia to be found in game is almost exasperating. Every aspect of the world and the characters within have a very involved background with many different reactions to the players chosen character (race, class, etc.). On top of this there is often very well done voice acting to accompany these scenarios, giving even more life to the game. See More

Top Con

Single player only

There are no online or co-op modes. See More

Top Pro

Movie quality music

The quality of the soundtrack is comparable to some of the best CRPGs out there as well as films like Lord of the Rings. At times there are looping soundtracks but luckily the sound design was done in such a way that there is also moments of ambient music and sounds to break up the monotony. See More

Top Pro

Long gameplay

With a play time of up to 70 hours, Pillars of Eternity will last any player for a good amount of time. See More

Top Pro

Crafting system

Players can collects items in the world to use for crafting. Crafting allows for creation of potions and scrolls as well as equipable items or enchantments for equipable items such as weapons, shields and armor. Unlike some crafting systems, crafting in Pillars of Eternity is a mechanic and not a skill, so there is no need to level up any crafting experience in order to craft. See More

Top Pro

Three editions available that offer extra out of game content

There are three different digital retail editions available for Pillars of Eternity, Hero Edition ($44.99), Champion Edition ($59.99) and Royal Edition ($89.99). The Hero edition is the base game with no extras. The Champion Edition offers the purchaser extra digital content such as a soundtrack and HD map. The Royal Edition offers everything the Champion Edition does with even more extra digital content such as Ringtones, eBooks and a strategy guide. There is zero in game content missing from any of these editions as Obsidian made it a point to make sure all the extras are just that, extras. Some may say what is on offer for the extra editions is not comparable to the price, really it is just a way for fans to give more money to a studio that bothered to create a genre of game that is often overlooked, a way to show appreciation. See More

Top Pro

Large selection of companions

A player can have up to five different companions accompany them along their quest. Many of these companions have their own storylines, making for a feeling of connection. There is also the option of hiring your own user created companions at an inn, but of course this may not be as exciting as using the game created ones. See More

Top Pro

Deep character creation

The character creation menu in Pillars of Eternity are highly detailed. The player can choose from six different races that have eleven playable classes. There is also an assortment of sub races for each of the six races. Making for a pretty wide selection of choices that allows the player to create very individualized avatars. See More

Top Pro

Fantastic throwback to the isometric RPGs of old

For fans of games like Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale, Pillars of Eternity truly succeeds in bringing the CRPG genre into the modern era without compromising any of the old mechanics. The isometric view of the game gives a familiar feel but the new engine and addition of many modern effects gives the game a look all its own that fits in with any modern offerings on PC. See More

Dark Souls III

Top Pro

Unpredictable boss fights

The boss battles will see the boss shift their strategies and attacks often, making for a battle that will react to how the player is fighting as well as constantly change in order to keep the player on their toes, which makes for challenging battles. See More

Top Con

May be too depressing and dark for some

This game can feel like a weight on ones shoulders. Everything about it is dark, gloomy and depressing. Some people may not enjoy this atmosphere at all. See More

Specs

Genre:Action Role-Playing

Top Pro

Fast and precise gameplay

Dark Souls 3 adds a bit of speed over its previous releases. This makes for an exciting new experience for players of the franchise as well as an overall exciting experience for new players, as it requires impeccable timing of how one can react to counter, dodge or hit an enemy. See More

Top Con

Some areas have slowdown

No matter the equipment being used, there are portions of the game (even when using the best equipment) that will see a dropped framerate. See More

Top Pro

Appealing graphics that illustrate a dark and interesting world

The design of said graphics makes for a world so in depth it is quite a site to behold. Everything in the game feels and looks like it belongs and only serves to further flesh out this dark mystery of a world. The game definitely takes advantage of better hardware over the previous titles and it shows, the game looks really good. See More

Top Con

Open atmosphere makes for confusing paths

With the game having more of an open world feel it can be difficult to know what direction to go in. While much can be explored, there is a certain feeling of being lost that can make for a frustrating experience. See More

Top Pro

Can give a great feeling of accomplishment

The Dark Souls series is known for how difficult it is and Dark Souls 3 is no slouch in this area. The game is difficult and the player will die a lot. This of course can give a feeling of aggravation, but once a difficult boss is finally defeated, there is a sense of achievement that is not often found in other games. Conquering this game is a feat, one that many will relish. See More

Top Con

Designed to work better with Intel CPU

The game can only take advantage of up to 4 cores of a CPU, meaning those using AMD CPUs (which tend to have 8 cores) will only be able to use half of their cores for the game. This will make for a poorer experience if using an AMD CPU. See More

Top Pro

Customizable HUD

The heads up display in the game can be turned on or off as well as set to a new third setting where the HUD adjusts itself automatically to only show what is important at the particular time of play. See More

Top Con

Poor support for mouse+keyboard control

The default DS3 key/button bindings actually prevent full use of certain weapons by requiring the shift key to be pressed and not-pressed simultaneously. Rebinding is possible, but limited by issues like the left mouse button overriding all others and certain bindings not actually working in game (e.g. Shift+MiddleClick). See More

Top Pro

Save points in the game are easy to find

There are a lot of bonfires (where the player can save) scattered around the game. This makes it easy to save before death, which is a big help for many, due to how difficult the game can be. See More

Top Con

Some graphical pop in

No matter ones graphical settings or rig being used, the game does suffer from some pop-in when turning fast. This can be distracting when noticed, which detracts from the feeling of polish and immersion in the game. See More

Top Pro

Worthwhile equipment combinability

Any and all equipment in the game can be useful at some point of gameplay. The players is not penalized for wanting to use particular equipment for looks over usefulness, as all equipment is useful in some way. This greatly opens up how one can combine the equipment they find as the player is not held back by equipment not being as useful as the rest. See More

Top Pro

Fixed issues found in previous titles

The first game in the series had some issues with roll direction, the second had issues with a boring layout and forgettable bosses. This being the third game in the series takes the best out of the previous two and combines them into a cohesive experience. Everything is polished to improve the game. Bigger and better bosses, skillful level design, omni-directional rolling and all weapons have a special ability. See More

Top Pro

Solid controls

No matter if using a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad (or Steam controller), the controls work well and can be customized easily in the settings. This makes the controls versatile as they can be customized to fit any type of player and their preferred control scheme. See More

Top Pro

Vast variety of equipment and spells

The equipment found in this game is quite numerous. There are many different swords, bows, spells as well as a huge selection of different armors. Weapons such as swords can each have unique abilities such as different strikes. So while one sword may have a long reaching sideways swipe, another may have a deep penetrating forward strike. These weapons can also be changed in their special abilities as the player can infuse certain crystals, to then give the weapon a magic bonus such as flame damage or frost damage. For those that prefer magical abilities there will be many NPCs to be found that can teach different spells such as pyromancer spells, miracle spells or sorcery spells. Each can be used depending on what equipment the player uses, such as staffs or talismans or chimes. Armor is also something that comes in a variety of flavors, though it cannot really be adjusted with abilities, though it can be mixed and matched in order to match with the users playstyle or look they are going for. Some armor is quite heavy and will require certain characteristics to be upgraded in order to be used. Overall, the choices the game gives the player when it comes to equipment is quite vast and can allow for really deep strategy, planning out what equipment will work for any particular situation. See More

Top Pro

Unique experiences through exploration

The game focuses less on linearity which means that the player can go their own direction in large environments, in order to explore what appeals as the best path to them. It sees the player constantly winding around different paths that interconnect, all while holding secret passages and hidden items. There is much to discover in the game, which gives a great sense of wonder as to what will be found next. With so much to see and do in the game, depending on how one plays and where they go, their experience can be quite unique when compared to someone else's experience, who may have took a different path and found different items. Overall this makes for a game that feels personal to the player, as no two gameplay experiences are alike. See More

Top Pro

Fast load times

The load times in the game can vary, depending on if the user has an HDD or an SSD, but even when using an HHD the games load times are under 10 seconds, with the majority taking under 6. See More

Top Pro

Great combat system

The combat in Dark Souls 3 asks you to understand how each enemy moves, what are the weak spots in those movements and exploit them. To exploit enemy moves, you'll have to know how your equipped weapon behaves as they have wildly different behaviors and timings. There are different kinds of melee and ranged weapons as well as spells. You'll have to choose the right tool for the job. Additionally, positioning in a fight is important as attacking from behind will be more effective than attacking from the front. All elements combined, DS3 offers a deep combat system that's satisfying to master. See More

Top Pro

Good selection of classes

There are 10 total classes the player can choose from during character creation. This makes for a quite a few options for the player to pick from, giving them a sense of originality as well as a character that can fit just about anyone's playstyle. See More

Fallout 4

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Top Pro

Deep perk/skill system

Fallout 4 has a great selection of perks centered on surviving in the wasteland. You'll gain a point each time you level up, allowing you to select one of the perks. The perks can give you an increase to your sneaking ability, improve your lockpicking skills, or even add unique effects such as causing bullets fired by enemies to ricochet back and killing them. There's easily enough variation to make multiple playthroughs feel fresh and exciting. To make it even better, if you don't like multiple playthroughs, you can just unlock every single perk on a single character, albeit with a much longer playtime. See More

Top Con

Pipboy UI feels unpleasant to use

When you open your Pipboy (a personal computer that manages your quests, inventory, character data, etc) the screen containing the useful information only covers about a fourth of the entire screen. As a result some of the elements are too crammed, requiring a lot of scrolling. This can be really annoying if you're trying to find something in a list of 100 items. See More

Specs

Genre:Action RPG

Co-Op:Single Player

Top Pro

Diverse enemy types keep the gameplay exciting

There a lot of different enemies found in the game such as super mutants, feral ghouls, robots, mutated wildlife, and many others. All of them have their unique behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses. For example, robots often use heavy weaponry such as rocket launchers and lasers, making it really hard to deal with them. Fortunately enough, they're very vulnerable to EMP grenades and can also be hacked. Another example are the feral ghouls that will almost always charge at you. They can surround you really fast, clawing away at your health and affecting you with radiation, but they lack any intelligence. So if you plant mines infront of you and attract them with gunshots, they'll lose their legs in the minefield, leaving them at your mercy. The various enemy types and methods you can fight them with keeps the gameplay fresh for a long time. See More

Top Con

Occasional bugs

There are bugs in the game that users will run into. While most are not game breaking, it can detract from the experience. See More

Top Pro

Companions can help make the game a little easier

There are a bunch of companions to find in the game, starting with Dogmeat, the dog. Each companion has their own skills that can help you. For example, Dogmeat can dig up hidden items and bring them to you. They can also distract the enemy, causing the combat to be a little easier since all the attention won't be on just you. The only real downside is that you can only use one companion at a time, but you can easily swap them out. Using a companion is not mandatory either, so if you prefer the added challenge you can travel without a companion. See More

Top Con

The dialogue choices are confusing

Most of the dialogue choices will only show a few words that don't actually reflect what your character is gonna say. This creates a disconnect between you and your character, making it seem like you don't control what your character is gonna say at any point. See More

Top Pro

Addicting building mechanic

One of the more interesting parts of managing your settlement is the house building aspect. There are various preset houses you can put down quickly, but you can make large structures entirely from scratch, starting with the foundation and ending with the roof of a 10 story building. While there are some constraints such as limited building area, you can really let your imagination loose, allowing you to spend countless hours on it. See More

Top Pro

Huge world with loads of content

The world of Fallout 4 is massive so there's quite a lot to do. Many areas to explore, tons of quests to complete, and lots of collectibles to find. There's easily enough content to keep you playing for over a hundred hours. See More

Top Pro

You can adjust equipment to suit your playstyle

In Fallout 4 you have a lot of options when modifying your equipment, giving you a chance to make equipment that matches your playstyle. You can take an assault rifle and change most of its parts. Each part you can change has an upside and a downside to it. For example, adding a long range scope would make the rifle useless in close quarters, but it would be great for pick off targets from afar. You can also tailor your armors for various situations. You can lower the weight or add pockets to make carrying loot easier. Or you can add additional linings or padding to gain increased protection against various hazards such as radiation. See More

Top Pro

Interesting settlement management

In Fallout 4 you can set up thriving communities in various locations. You'll have to provide the settlers with housing, bedding, water, food, and protection. Over time you'll be able to establish trade routes between the settlements and expand into an empire spanning the entire territory of Fallout 4. This really gives it the feeling like you're trying to rebuild society, which is a welcome change in a post-apocalyptic game. See More

Top Pro

Solid gunplay with an interesting twist

The gunplay plays so well it almost feels like a pure FPS. You can shoot from the hip, aim down the sights/scope, or even just run and gun. However, what makes Fallout 4 stand out is VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System). When you activate VATS, the time slows down to a crawl, allowing you to mark body parts of enemies. When you execute it your character will automatically shoot the marked body parts. This is very useful for getting out of tight spots, allowing you to instantly clear groups of enemies or kill a really tough enemy charging at you. It also has the benefit of making you feel like an expert gunman, even if your aim isn't that great. See More

Top Pro

Great selection of mods

You can can find all sorts of mods at the Bethesda website, giving you the freedom to change the parts of the game you don't like. This includes interface adjustments, graphical improvements, additional quests, and many other things. See More

Top Pro

Addictive to collect loot

You can pick up most of the stuff you see laying around in Fallout 4. Every item, including weapons and armors, can be broken down into reusable crafting materials. This makes it hard to stop yourself from going around and collecting everything in sight because everything has a purpose. You can also find unique versions of equipment on the corpses of legendary enemies. Each of these items has an additional effect such as speed boost or extra damage. This may cause you to constantly pick fights you'll probably lose, but it's worth it once you get your hands on that extremely good piece of equipment. See More

Top Pro

Great storyline

The main story has a very personal theme of family and revenge, featuring a main character looking for their lost son in a post-apocalyptic version of Boston. The side-quests also provide a decent backdrop, expanding on some of the plot elements of the main story. There are many twists and mysteries, but the narrative remains coherent throughout the story, creating a very enjoyable experience. See More

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

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Undertale

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Your choices lead you down different story paths

Depending on your choices, your playthrough can change in drastic ways. If you don't want to kill enemies in battle, you can choose to have a dialog with them instead. Doing this consistently is basically a pacifist playthrough where you don't kill anyone, and characters respond to you in certain ways based on that. Or you can go for a genocide playthrough, which is basically what it sounds like, where you kill everyone you come across whenever you get the chance. This can have serious consequences, since the game does its best to make you feel bad about this approach, by having certain characters hate you. It's an interesting way to get to see the world and story from different angles. See More

Top Con

Secrets are not too easy to get to.

Playing the game over and over to find many secrets may be hard if you're not in for it fully, and the battles are challenging if you aren't skilled. See More

GutsyArash's Experience

My play through of this game was very interesting. It had deep lore over many characters, and is overall a deep game, with great and interesting things to learn. The only other game alike to this lore setting is Undertale's sequel: Deltarune. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Role-Playing

Co-Op:Single Player

Top Pro

Many interesting secrets to find

There are many secrets to discover in the game, like hidden mechanics that might take you by surprise. It may take a couple of playthroughs to find them all, but once you do, it may completely change how you see the story, the characters, and a lot more. There's a lot more to Undertale beneath its simple-looking surface. See More

Top Con

Replaying can be a chore

The first time going through the game it's a nice experience, especially when you know nothing about the characters, story, mechanics, etc.. By your next playthrough, you already know all the jokes and plot points. Even when taking a new route, it can take a while for you to notice anything different from one playthrough to the next, making things feel like a drag. See More

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Amazing characters

The characters in the game are written well, each with their own unique personalities. Some may be too shy, and will lower their hit points when you attack them in battle, just to avoid offending you. Others are deeply caring and do their best to help and protect their friends and family, including you as the player. Many of the characters are quite funny in their dialog and the unexpected choices they make throughout the story, including the ways they react to your choices. Almost every character is incredibly memorable and enjoyable to get to know better. See More

Top Con

The visuals could be better

Much of the game is plain-looking with simple graphics, but sometimes the visuals are just unpleasant to look at if you are playing for all the secrets. The pixel art can be charming for some players, though it's hard to ignore when certain areas are slightly barren. It's notable that a single person created the whole game; it would have been nice if they'd had more time or resources to clean up some visual problems, except the world does have a pleasant air if you enjoy Undertale enough. See More

Top Pro

Incredible soundtrack

Just like the simple but pleasant graphics in the game, the music matches this with a retro-sounding score that fits right in with the art style. There are a lot of catchy tunes that only use a few sounds to make up memorable songs. The simplicity really adds to the charm, with some of the songs easily able to get stuck in your head for days at a time. It's nostalgic enough for older gamers who grew up in the early eras of gaming, while still having enough to pull in newer gamers who aren't as familiar with games from the 1980s and 90s. There's something here for everyone. See More

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