Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
The narrative of this game is absolutely frightening. When I first played it some years ago, I was blown away by the attention to detail and twists and turns of the story. When I replayed it more recently, I instead felt that I was looking out my bedroom window, as though the writers had seen the future. I don’t know where Warren Spector is hiding his time machine, but I’d love to have a chat with him about it.
As for the game itself: if you’re willing to deal with some truly awful gunplay and some questionable controls, this is easily one of the greatest games ever made. It’s extremely difficult for me to describe the amazing feeling that comes from playing a good immersive sim; being able to hack specific ATM accounts because you read someone’s personal notes, reading newspaper articles that describe and flesh out the world just like a good book, the choices you have when it comes to conversations and interactions with both main characters and side characters; it all feels so real. I’ve truly never felt anything like it. I realize how cheesy that sounds, but I simply don’t have the talent for putting into words how incredible this game is underneath the dated exterior.
– Real player with 37.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPG Stealth Games.
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– Real player with 36.6 hrs in game
System Shock 2
The cult classic sci-fi horror FPS-RPG has returned.
System Shock 2 is an interesting game to review in 2014. When it first came out in 1999, it was met with a lot of praise from the gaming press, winning over a dozen awards, including several “Game of the Year” titles, and since then it has appeared on several “Greatest Games of All Time” lists. However despite the praise, not many people actually bought and played it.
It feels like System Shock 2 has been granted a second chance though. The success Irrational Games has had with BioShock and BioShock: Infinite has interested people enough to want to check out System Shock 2, which was the first game Irrational created. This is great news, because while you might not expect it, I feel that System Shock 2 is the best of all the “Shock” games. It makes you realize that for all of the steps forward we have taken in terms of technology, in a lot of ways modern gameplay has taken a few steps backwards.
– Real player with 161.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPG Horror Games.
System Shock 2 is a first-person science-fiction exploration-based action-adventure horror game with RPG mechanics developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios using the Dark Engine. Taking place after the first System Shock, the player-character awakes aboard the “Von Braun”, an empty starship devastated by a biological mass commanding an egregoric hive mind.
Whereas System Shock 1’s intimidating, obscure control scheme and sheer age would unappealingly cling to it as the years went on, its sequel’s reputation is of a kinder, more accessible game for modern audiences. System Shock 2 is often played as a standalone title, which its story and presentation gracefully allows, and historically this is often viewed as the preferable option. Yet in a number of significant ways, System Shock 2 can be as esoteric and uninviting as its predecessor. The start of the campaign, for instance, is marked by a pronounced learning curve, albeit mitigated by a tutorial, and there’s an unflattering chunkiness to the visuals, intensified by jerky, stretchy 3D animations. Oftentimes the presentation requires the player to mentally fill in the gaps themselves, projecting detail and significance where there is none. Much of the gameplay’s mechanics are abstrusely informed to the player, requiring uncomfortable guesswork or guide-consulting. Before even beginning the adventure, for instance, the player is forced to choose between multiple progressive tiers of precious skill points before knowing any details about what they do. In-game, multi-part objectives are often dumped onto the player all at once and out of order, creating an alienating sense of halted progression. This isn’t to say the comparison to System Shock 1 is unfounded. On multiple levels, System Shock 2 actively strives to be more inviting, understandable and instructive than its precursor. In other ways, the sheer gap of time and innovation between the two titles solidifies it as having more modern sensibilities. Unmissable tools exist to helpfully identify collected items, and there’s no shortage of exposition to elucidate details of the environment. An objectives tracker mercifully updates itself, keeping the player up-to-date on what they still need to do. The music and sound design are of a standard which is more refined, effective and deliberate than the first game’s implementation of the same, and the progression of the story is more carefully directed than would be achieved in any first-person action games from the prior title’s era. And it goes without saying that the control scheme supports mouselook for aiming and shooting, aiming generally to put the player’s attention on the gameworld itself, rather than the HUD.
– Real player with 69.3 hrs in game
Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director’s Cut
Disclaimer: This review was written when Dragonfall was a DLC and will be updated to better reflect Director’s Cut in the future. If you are already familiar with the DLC version, skip to the end for my initial thoughts on the new features.
When Shadowrun Returns came out there were numerous complaints. Rather than ignore them, HBS listened to the fans and fixed many of them when they released Dragonfall. That wasn’t enough for them, wanting to better address the players suggestions they re-released it as a stand alone game and freely upgraded everyone’s existing copy.
– Real player with 605.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPG Story Rich Games.
2054. Berlin. The Flux State. It’s a world of magic, technology, metahumans, megacorporations, and dragons. You are a Shadowrunner, a criminal who does the dirty work for clients who can pay for your skills. But things aren’t always as they seem, as you’ll soon find out.
As the story unfolds, you’ll find yourself faced with some hard choices. Your clients can’t or won’t give you the whole story, and moral ambiguity will cloud the decisions you make. Not only that, the way you lead your team can have repercussions on how they view you. As you progress through the story, they may open up to you, giving you information about their lives. I felt like this was really well done. Your teammates have back stories, character flaws, and even side quests. It’s up to you to say and do the right things to gain their trust.
– Real player with 124.0 hrs in game
Shadowrun Returns
Let me start out by saying that this is the first Shadowrun game that I have ever actually played. Yes I have tried the 1993 Shadowrun for the Super Nintendo but I could never get into it due to it’s… Interesting controls (read point and click with a controller). But the game concept and the universe intrigued me, Over the years I forgot the name of it several times but would bring it up every few years and try to find the name of it and feel that they should remake it for the pc where it ultimately belonged. Well a few months ago was one such time that It popped into my head, I did a quick search for it and what did I find but a new Shadowrun being made for its proper platform (psst its the PC). I instantly fell in love with the style and everything I say was just the best thing I have ever seen.
– Real player with 42.1 hrs in game
Heads up, I need a runner and you need the Nuyen, are we on the same page? Good. If you’re used to quick and easy jobs, well you’d better strap on tight. This one’s a slap to your senses, a bug in the system, a pair of fools in an all-star hand.
If ‘get the job done’ is your middle name, then that’s all I need to know.
Whaddaya say, chummer?
Shadowrun Returns is a lone-wolf style, turn-based strategy with RPG elements, set in the year 2054 within the gritty underbelly of Seattle, combining an urban cyberpunk fantasy with the abrasive narrative of a seasoned crime novel.
– Real player with 25.5 hrs in game
Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Extended Edition
With as much written content as a novel, branching storylines intimately linked to your character choices, and a real tabletop feel where intrigue and negotiation can supplant the need for bloodshed; Shadowrun: Hong Kong is the commensurate single player RPG experience. It is best suited for avid readers who love video games, and for gamers who love interactive fiction. The tactical combat, the freedom of character creation, and the a-la-carte missions should appeal to the more goal-oriented RPG fans among us. But if you don’t like to read, you’ll find the game (and its predecessors) to be a bit of a turn-off (even though they are a much better read than basically every other RPG these days). For me, the game’s writing and art are on par with Dragonfall, and its gameplay has been dramatically enhanced.
– Real player with 79.6 hrs in game
The Shadowrun mythos is an edgy, magic-infused cyberpunk dystopia that stepped off the neo-noir streets of Seattle this run into the fluorescent, neon light of a noodle shop. Of all the Shadowrun games, I think Hong Kong inundates you the most thoroughly in mood and environment. It’s like walking onto the set of Bladerunner with all its mixed-ethnic, cultural richness and rain-coat dripping, depressive atmosphere; the setting is both gorgeous and miserable.
I avoided Shadowrun for a long time because I’m just no fan of isometric games. They take away what is, for me, the most important feature of storyline gaming: that first-person point of view escapism. A top-down, god’s view of the world is a big wall when I want to feel immersed in an environment and persona. But the Shadowrun cult-following has been so widely celebrated, I overlooked that when I bought and binge-played this trilogy. And I’m so glad I did.
– Real player with 76.7 hrs in game
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy
Cybernetic Meme Machine
Ok, this game is a one for the history books. A full fledged Meta-meme game at this point. So I’m starting with :
Troubleshooting: I didn’t had any problems when I played the game under Windows, several years back. Nor, any problems with the compatibility tool Proton 6.3-8, these days. Under Manjaro (it is an Arch distro btw), I didn’t need any additional launch options, either.
Artificial Ingredients: The game has achievements. And a bit annoying one, too. Beside the story, the class and the weapon related one, there are a lot of random achievements. And I’m still grinding these random achievements up to this day. Maybe, that’s why I stop buying games with achievements.
– Real player with 109.3 hrs in game
One of the most esoteric and dense games out there. But one of the most fun due to just how much you can do, and how you can complete the game in any way you want. The community (or the only people that even play this anymore) is pretty based too tbh
– Real player with 66.0 hrs in game
Dex
Updated: Implants, outfits, version and endings
If you’ve read this review before and rated it, I’m sorry but I had to re-post it to rectify things.
It looks like I was mistaken earlier abou mission updates and the game is currently only sold as ‘‘Enhanced version’’ so this reviews is totally up-to-date. Also I didn’t know we could download 3 outfits DLC for free - it triggers a quest right to the Industrial Zone area. This isn’t informed too well because it is quest finding. Last but not least important are the ‘‘consequences’’ for quests and implants, the replay factor I previously told you never included the body augmentations. The impact it can have on the game are really cool. Endings aren’t so satisfying as the game but consequences are indeed there. So let my redemption come.
– Real player with 34.6 hrs in game
Review: Dex
Wake up Dex! The complex is after you! My name is Raycast, I hacked into your network to give you some guidance. What you see outside is Harbor Prime, a dystopian mega town, covered with darkness and smoke. But there is no time for you, use the cyberspace to disable the door and make your way out of there. Sneak through the sewers, get into Fixers Hope and find a man called Decker, he will surely help you.
If my introduction made you feel like Matrix met V for Vendetta and the main theme of the Shinra Corp. makes it’s way back into your head, you are in the right mood for this game. As you already noticed, Dex is your name and survival is your aim. A hacker called Raycast makes your sweet neckplate-wearing body move, right into the arms of some retired hacker and his over-cautious friend. They present you a story about a powerful AI, named Kether, that got created by The Complex, a Megacorp, in order to reach control of every network ever created. That may sound like a fairytale but doesn’t explain exactly why you were chased and what the famous hacker Raycast wants from you.
– Real player with 25.6 hrs in game
cyberpunkdreams
“The notion that nature can be calculated inevitably leads to the conclusion that humans too can be reduced to basic mechanical parts…”
So, we’re here now. This is a really neat game that’s flourished over the years.
I’m going to start this by saying I’m on the writing staff, but I’ve been testing the game much longer than I’ve had my hands in it and so far my contributions are somewhat limited. My work on this is a recent development so, yeah. Now, I’ve been testing one version or another of this game off and on since 2016 through its alpha, really knuckling down with its steam beta. But since we’re here now, lets get on with this and actually talk about the game.
– Real player with 4815.4 hrs in game
The approach to how Action points are managed in universe is farsical.
Not only does it make no sense in the story or how the game world operates
There is certain actions that can be done for free but to reverse them costs action points
Action points you need to pay real money for or wait 10 minutes a pop for.
So say you put a goodie bag of Drugs together, 200 pills for 0 Action points, say you want to get some of those back, because you just got an event where you can give soemone 20 of those drugs for another dialogue option.
– Real player with 857.4 hrs in game
Anachronox
Final score: 8/10
Pros: story; dialogue; music; combat; puzzle design
Cons: several major bugs; little to no explanation for certain game/combat mechanics; narrow windows for a handful of side quests and character upgrades
PC: 64-bit Windows 7, Intel i7. Ran smoothly from point of sale, no need for workarounds or additional patches.
Review: I have more to say about this game than I can type here or that most people would read. My first exposure to Anachronox was playing the demo included on a PCGamer disc back in my middle and high school years. It only included a small snippet of the game - the Sly Boots murder investigation in Whitendon. I was intrigued by nearly everything about the game design, and playing it in full almost two decades later I was not disappointed.
– Real player with 54.1 hrs in game
When I started playing this game I had no idea what to expect. I was initially struggling to get two other games set up and ready to stream (Jade Empire and Thief Gold) and so I was looking for a back-up game to stream instead and saw the name, remembered I got it years ago (most likely during a sale) and I gave the store a quick look just to get the genre correct for my organisation with how I name/organise my streams by game genre, ect. That said, what came next I was not prepared for!
My first stream of the game and my legitimate first-hand experience of this game: https://youtu.be/7r1T3DFndcs
– Real player with 53.8 hrs in game
Deus Ex: The Fall
Deus Ex: The Fall should be taken for what it is. A mobile entry into the Deus Ex Universe. Admittedly, I’m a fan of the universe and getting another chance to play in this world, is something I am always looking forward to. So there may be some bias.
One thing that must first be noted, is that this game is a direct port from Mobile. If you look at what the game offers from a mobile perspective, it’s pretty amazing. I wouldn’t actually want to play it on mobile, as I can’t imagine pulling off some of the stuff I do with just gestures, but hey, more power to those who want to.
– Real player with 14.6 hrs in game
After completing a masterpiece Human Revolution and writing review on it, it seemed that there was only Mankind Divided left on the horizon and that’s all, the series is complete! But no! There was one more game that is rarely talked about (like with Invisible War) – Deus Ex: The Fall. Many told me that this is crap, but it is the direct sequel to the Deus Ex: Icarus Effect book, which I liked. So, like with Invisible War, I decided to check myself, what this game is, and… things turned to be no so simple…
– Real player with 11.5 hrs in game