Recent reviews by ¤ βℓооđч ¤ Nico-Kun!

Nachkriegsratten Punk-Rock Puzzle (now that's a mouthful) is a puzzle game about German punk rats, so it's pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. As someone who enjoys jigsaw puzzles from time to time, but who's not really familiar with the German punk rock scene, I must say I found this game to be quite enjoyable.

The game features 24 different puzzles, in six different sizes each, for a total of 144 puzzles, so you'll have puzzles for a while! In my case, I think it took me around 34 hours to complete them all, with the remaining 4 or so hours spent listening to the soundtrack in order to unlock the final achievement in the game. The puzzles themselves are all pretty nice, I'd say, usually depicting the punk rats in various situations. Some nice art, very much in the style of doodles you'd randomly find on a punk's notebook.

As for the soundtrack, each puzzle is technically based on a song from Nachkriegsratten's album (yes, it seems Nachkriegsratten is an actual band). The songs all sound very good if you like punk, although I couldn't tell you about the lyrics themselves, since I don't know German.

One thing I was forgetting to mention in regard to the game mechanics, and something which I very much appreciate as an enjoyer of jigsaw puzzles, is that the game allows you to connect pieces together before putting them on the board. This is particularly handy for the puzzles with the larger number of pieces, as you can build parts of the puzzle separately before snapping everything into place.

All in all, this is an enjoyable game to kill some time with every other day. I recommend it.

Modding tools for games are always welcome, although I don't have much experience using this one, since I mostly stuck to downloading mods from Nexus (and even then, only the Cyber Engine Tweaks mod and not much else, just for the console access).

I'll still give it a thumbs up, though, but only because there's still no neutral option for reviews.

This free bonus content for Cyberpunk 2077 was originally offered as a free goodies bundle on GOG, without needing the actual game, while here on Steam it requires it. At any rate, what are you reading recommendations for? This DLC gives you access to the game's soundtrack, which is excellent (keep in mind is the actual OST, not the radio OST), as well as an art booklet and a few more goodies.

Go get it, now!

Phantom Liberty is, easily, one of the best pieces of DLC I've ever played. I first got Cyberpunk 2077 all the way back in 2020, bugged launched and all, and played through the game during 2021. Found it quite an enjoyable experience, despite the bugs and all. Of course, CDPR didn't just leave the game at it was, but rather, they worked to fix it, and on this expansion as well.

When the 2.0 update released, in preparation for this DLC, the game became unplayable on my PC, as they'd updated the requirements, and it simply did not run well off an HDD. Anyway, flash forward to 2025, I get a new PC, and I'm finally able to try Phantom Liberty, and boy, is it great. Honestly, I'd say this DLC managed to pack an even greater experience than the base game. Deviating a bit from the action found in the base game, Phantom Liberty has you enter a world of espionage and betrayal in the walled off district of Dogtown. Things quickly kick up a notch, as the call that starts the DLC asks for your help in rescuing the president of the NUSA, and from there, you get involved in a tangled web of politics and intrigue.

The setting, Dogtown, is a sub-district of Pacifica, although it's more like its own city within a city, ruled by Colonel Kurt Hansen. It's a pretty cool setting, an even more dystopian location that Night City. After all, NC still is a somewhat functioning city, while Dogtown is... Well, Dogtown. Gotta say, though, there's lots of places to explore, and it offers a sense of verticality not quite found in the base game! For such a small region in the game world, it sure feels packed to the brim with places to explore.

Now, I'd love to talk more about the story beyond that small blurb I mentioned two paragraphs ago, but given the nature of the story in the DLC, how it's built on intrigue, I'll just say you should discover it on your own. All I can say without spoiling too much is that all the endings in this DLC (including one for the base game after the DLC endings!) left me wondering if I picked the right choice. Although there's one that feels more correct to me than all the others.

Something I can talk about is the excellent portrayal of Solomon Reed by Idris Elba. A major player in the DLC, you can grow quite fond of him through the story, not unlike Johnny (speaking of Johnny, he does get some interesting dialogue through the DLC, especially if you have high affinity with him). Songbird, another important character in the DLC, also had a great portrayal from her voice actress.

Honestly, I could write for hours and hours and I still feel like words wouldn't be enough. This DLC is just THAT good if you enjoyed the base game, I recommend it 100%.

Forza Horizon 4 is a game that I got as an impulse purchase of sorts. I was vaguely familiar with the franchise when, in 2024, I learned that this game was going to be delisted. Not only that, some achievements would become unobtainable as they'd be ending seasonal content for it. So, wanting to have delisted games for preservation, and being an achievement hunter, I decided to buy it.

Now, I'll say that I've always enjoyed racing games, but when I got FH4, I tried it for a couple minutes, found it somewhat interesting, but didn't pay much attention until the final Seasonal Playlist (the seasonal content that got discontinued) started. For four weeks, I played every single day in order to get all the related achievements to that mode, and afterwards... I just kept playing, every day. I was hooked, unknowingly, as every day I'd launch the game and play one or two races, do some challenges, work towards getting a cool car. So, why did I get so personally invested in the game, to the point that I'm waiting in anticipation for Forza Horizon 6? In short: lots and lots of cars.

See, the main draw in Forza Horizon 4 seems to be collecting cars, and that's something I've always enjoyed in racing games since playing the original Need for Speed: Most Wanted (the 2005 one). While some people might argue that the game constantly throwing cars at you is a downside (you can get supercars in the first hour!), I personally loved it. After all, it's not like after getting a supercar you can just win every single race; each car has a specific class it belongs to, and races are usually divided by class. Beyond car class, there's also different types of races, which might require specific types of cars: there's Road Racing, Dirt Racing, Cross Country, Drag Racing and even Street Racing (aka, illegal racing, with traffic on the streets; although no cops, this is no NFS). You can even create your own tracks with your own settings, although they must always begin from one of the existing racing spots.

The map, given that this is an open world game, is rather large. Set in a scaled down version of Great Britain, there's several small towns to visit, as well as Edinburgh as the "main" city of the game. Beyond that, there's lots of fields to explore, although obviously, you might prefer driving on roads, and there's lots of them. As I got the Ultimate Edition, my version of the game also had Fortune Island and Lego Valley as two separate maps to explore, with their own events. Speaking of events, beyond the races I mentioned in the previous paragraphs, there's several "PR events" that you can complete, like Drift Zones, Speed Traps and Jumps, to mention a few.

Customization is quite extensive, as you can apply your own liveries to cars, or use one of the thousands already made and shared by other players. Speaking of player generated content, there's custom challenges in the form of the Super7. This aspect of the game, I'm not entirely sold on. While I found some pretty fun challenges along the way, there's many that are extremely simple in terms of design, not necessarily in difficulty, which might make for a boring journey through a Super7 series.

All races can be done either against the AI or against other players, and that's not the only multiplayer option the game offers, as there's the "Adventure" mode, in which you can compete with and against other players in team-based modes. For Battle Royale enthusiasts, the Eliminator mode is basically that, but with cars, as you get dropped into whichever spot you select on the map, and must scout the area for better car drops and other players to eliminate in Head-to-Head races.

Now, as I keep writing this review, I realize it isn't very useful now considering the game is no longer available for purchase, but I just wanted to share how much I enjoyed this game, to the point that I'm eagerly awaiting for Forza Horizon 6. This game's graphics already impressed me, with some very detailed cars; I can't even imagine what the newest entry in the franchise will be like (and the trailers make it look pretty). And the upcoming FH6 is pretty much why I'm writing this review, as it finally gave me the push to finally go for 100% completion in this game.

Forza Horizon 4 is definitely a great game (and it has a kick-ass selection of music, too!).

Being my introduction to the Silent Hill franchise, I gotta say that I was pleasantly surprised by Silent Hill f. I've never been much of a fan of horror games; while I've played some in the past, it's not a genre that I follow closely, mostly because I know I get scared easily. Having said that, I've mostly enjoyed all horror games I've played in the past, and Silent Hill f is no exception.

Of course, having no previous experience with the franchise, I can't say how it compares to previous entries. I am slightly familiar with the "traditional" premise of the series (the town of Silent Hill, the fog, the weird monsters, all that stuff), but it's mostly surface level stuff. With that knowledge, however, I can say that this game is probably quite different to the rest. For starters, rather than taking place in the American town of Silent Hill, this one takes place in Ebisugaoka, a small mountain village in rural Japan. Still, you can expect the fog to be present, as well as monsters.

The story follows Hinako, a young girl who, after a discussion with her parents, decides to go for a walk around town. While meeting up with some of her friends, she notices the fog that's began surrounding the town, and that's when the monsters appear. From then on, it becomes a battle for survival as Hinako and her friends try to find a way to leave town and search for help, before the story takes a darker turn. One thing to keep in mind is that this game is meant to be replayed; besides having several different endings, replaying it in NG+ reveals more details about the town, the characters, and even the forces at play.

Gameplay wise, again, can't compare to previous entries, so take my review as that of a standalone game. While it is a horror game, and there might be some need to sneak around here and there, Hinako can fight. Don't expect firearms, though; you'll be making use of melee weapons throughout the game. I've seen people describe the gameplay as being akin to that of Soulslikes, since you have a light and heavy attack, as well as a dodge button, and you have a stamina bar. On top of that, there's also a sanity bar, which allows you to focus in order to unleash powerful attacks. Beyond that, another mechanic to make use of is Omamoris. These are some sort of charms that grant you different bonuses depending on which ones you have equipped; while at the beginning you'll only have one slot, you can keep upgrading it until getting five. These upgrades are done by using Emas which you can find as you explore, as well as Faith you have accumulated by making offerings at shrines (which act as save points); you can also upgrade your health, stamina and sanity as well.

Exploration is key in this game. Not only can you find useful items and weapons (and you'll need to look for new weapons regularly, as they'll eventually break unless you repair them), but you can also find documents that help piece together the mystery of the town. Even in NG+, you might be able to find new stuff by going through old areas.

Now, I've said a lot without talking about the town itself. While it is a terrible place covered by fog, I'd say it's beautifully eerie. Even when out of combat, exploring the town keeps you tense, as there's a lot of nooks and crannies all over the place. And it's not like the environment doesn't change, since you'll go from Hinako's house on the hills, to the "central" part of town, through rice fields... There's even a school to explore! And that's not all, as you'll also explore a Dark Shrine in-between areas, which connects back to the central mystery around town.

I personally played the game with Japanese audio (and English text, obviously), and I found the voice acting to be very good in that case; you can feel the emotions in Hinako's voice as she goes through the ordeal that is this game. The soundtrack is of excellent quality as well, and the Deluxe Edition (which I have, although for some reason I could still buy the Deluxe Upgrade when writing this review) allows you to freely listen to it while browsing through the game's digital artbook (which does contain some slight spoilers, as well as designs for unused enemies).

Something I was forgetting to mention in regards to the story and general tone of the game is that, by taking place in Japan during the '60s, there's a lot to deal with regarding traditional gender roles in Japanese society, and I think it was an interesting overarching structure for the game.

I think I've written a lot now, and even then, I don't feel like I've properly expressed my love for this game, because truly, I loved it. It was a fantastic experience, and I can say as much, having played it five times; the last one on the hardest difficulty too, for the true ending; although the difficulty setting isn't necessary for that. And that's one more thing I was forgetting to mention, difficulty. When starting a new game, you get two difficulty settings: Action difficulty and Puzzle difficulty, as there's not only combat, but puzzles to solve as well. Action affects the combat, obviously, while puzzle difficulty changes the clues for most puzzles so that they're easier or harder.

Each difficulty consists of three levels: Story, Hard and Lost in the Fog. The game suggests Story for action difficulty and Hard for puzzle difficulty, and that's what I played at first. I don't recall exactly if that's the case for Puzzle difficulty, but the Lost in the Fog Action difficulty is only unlocked after beating the game for the first time, and it's definitely hard. Even when fully upgraded, some enemies could take me down in three or four hits (and their attacks are usually rather quick), but with the right Omamori build, you can still make it through the game.

Well, now I feel I've covered most points... And I just remember I didn't. The graphics is what I was forgetting. The game looks beautiful, and there should be no doubt about it winning outstanding visual style, because not only are the graphics good, but the art direction is top notch as well. The red flowers covering town as you progress, as well as the disturbing monster designs... It's all excellent.

With all that said, and probably still more to say, I can say that this game has earned a place of honour among my favourite games of all time, and it's one I can easily recommend to all fans of horror.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been a Mortal Kombat fan, with the first one I ever played being either MK3 or UMK3, I can't exactly remember which, on the Sega Genesis. I've played practically all main entries (besides MK vs. DC), and even Shaolin Monks on the PS2. When this collection was announced, I knew I had to get it. Sure, there'd already been another collection of the classic games, but that one only included the arcade version of the first three games, and required GFWL, so it was a subpar experience for me, who grew up with the home version of the games.

Now, you probably read in other reviews that performance was bad on release, but I'd say it's performing very well now (personally, I didn't even find issues during release, but then again, I play mostly SP; the MP was indeed broken when it released); I'd personally consider this to be the best way to play all the classic games, especially considering all the extra options they included to improve your experience, including proper adjustable difficulty and a rewind feature.

Regarding the difficulty, for those who're not familiar with the story of early MK AI, the arcade games' difficulty (and even that of the early home versions) didn't quite work as one would expect. While one would expect the easiest difficulty to be, well, easy, the way it worked was that the first fight would be at the easiest, but as you climbed the tower the difficulty would increase until the highest level. Basically, all it ever did was give you a few easy fights before all the input reading ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ would begin. It's because of stuff like this that I'd never managed to beat MK2 back in the day in a legitimate way. I say this so that you're informed that the difficulty isn't bugged, that's the way it's always worked; even then, as I already mentioned above, they've made some changes so that the triggers that increase difficulty after each fight don't get activated, if you choose that option.

The collection itself is pretty extensive, having all five arcade games (MK, MKII, MK3, UMK3 and MK4), as well as different home versions of most of them (Sega Genesis, SNES, even Game Boy and Game Gear versions). Each game also includes options to easily access secrets, like the Reptile fight in the original MK, or playable Smoke in MK3. While it is an extensive version, there are some omissions that I found a bit disappointing; the lack of the Genesis version of UMK3 being a big one for me, as that's the version I grew up with. Same goes for MK4; while some people would've like to have Gold included (which had more characters), I'd have been happy enough with the PC version being included, as that one had better cutscenes than the one in the collection. The collection also includes the handheld versions of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, which are obviously inferior to the console versions, but at least one of them includes Sareena as an exclusive character.

Something I was forgetting to mention was that, beyond the "main" games, the collection also includes the two spin-offs that released for the PS1; Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces. Thanks to this collection, I was finally able to experience them for myself, having always been interested in Mythologies in particular. And thanks to this collection, I didn't have to endure the extremely frustrating experience that the original version of both games were. While I love the idea of MK spin-offs (I loved Konquest mode in the 3D era games, as well as Shaolin Monks), these two games were extremely clunky in their design. That doesn't mean they're bad games, and there were some good ideas, as well as some cool additions to the lore in them. Honestly, I think a game like Mythologies could do with a modern remake, if NRS ever decides to start making spin-offs again.

Beyond the games, the collection also includes a whole bunch of extra goodies, like a music player with tracks from all four games, lore entries and information about each fighter, and a pretty extensive documentary that goes over the early history of the franchise, with tons of videos, pieces of concept art and other info.

All in all, I personally think this is a great collection, and so I can recommend it. I do hope that they manage to include more games in the future, like Mortal Kombat Gold and the Genesis version of UMK3, but what I'm really hoping for is for a Legacy Kollection 2 with the 3D era games. Now that would be a dream come true.

Back when I was a kid, going to the arcade in town, I once discovered this cool fighting game called Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and it quickly became my favourite game at the arcade. When the arcade closed down, it was a sad moment, as I wouldn't be able to play that game anymore.

Flash forward some years, to 2008, I'm now in my teenage years. My parents get me a PS2, and around a year later, I finally get a copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for it. Reliving those times from my childhood, in my teenage years, was fantastic. Time passed, I started Uni and stopped playing on the PS2, focusing on my studies, and I'll admit, my PC gaming as well. Feeling nostalgic at times whenever discussions of fighting games came up, I'd say I'd love to see MvC2 on modern systems. And in 2024, that finally happened. Now, due to life getting in the way, I didn't grab the collection until last year (2025), but even then, it's been a blast.

Now, I've talked a lot about MvC2, but this isn't just MvC2, but rather, a compilation of all "classic" Marvel fighting games published by Capcom, going all the way back to X-Men: Children of the Atom. All these games started as arcade games, and, at the risk of sounding ignorant, I'd say they share some gameplay features with Capcom's Street Fighter series, which would make sense, considering the first crossover was with said franchise. All the games in this collection play very well, and there's plenty of adjustments to make your experience easier or harder. Some of the bosses can still feel unfair at times (Magneto in COTA and Onslaught in Marvel vs. Capcom were particularly troublesome for me), but even then, they're all very fun to play.

While the fighting games are the main "course", so to speak, this collection also includes the arcade version of The Punisher. This is another game I remember playing in my childhood, usually picking Nick Fury as my character, given we shared a first name. Anyway, the version I played was the home console version, and back then, I'd usually play on easy, meaning the game would end after the third stage. Never did I see that actual ending game until playing this collection, and for that, I'm grateful as well.

Beyond the games, the collection also includes lots of artwork for each game, there's medals you can earn for beating each game (which are also tied to achievements), and there's also a music player included, so you (or at least I) can listen to Marvel vs. Capcom 2's character select music on a loop. Seriously, though, most of the music in this game slaps, but the MvC2 soundtrack stands out in particular. Regarding graphics... Well, these are old arcade games from the 90s, so they will look a bit dated, but the sprite work on all the characters is top-notch, not to mention the character art shown in places like the select screen of certain games or the end credits.

All in all, I'd say this is a solid collection. The fact that it gave me Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on modern systems already makes it incredibly worth it to me, everything else is a bonus. I recommend it.

If you know me, you'll know I love Half-Life. And I'll say I've played plenty of Half-Life mods over the year that aim to restore, renovate or update the original game, either by adding cut content, bug fixes, or other minor improvements. Of all of those, I personally think Half-Life Legacy might be the best. You see, beyond being a Half-Life fan, I'm also an achievement hunter. Yes, probably something silly to care about, but ever since I got into Steam all the way back in 2010, that I've wanted to be able to play through Half-Life and earn achievements in the process.

Going beyond that, if you are at any rate familiar with Half-Life, then I feel I don't have much more to say about this mod. If you have played through Half-Life after its 25th anniversary update, that's exactly what you can expect here in terms of content, as it includes not only the original campaign (and the Hazard Course, obviously), but Uplink as well. The main draw of this mod, again, is the achievements, although there's some interesting additions in terms of visual effects and mechanics (I loved the auto-jump, although I'm not good enough for bunny-hopping).

Storywise, as said above, it's the original Half-Life. Same exact writing, no extra chapters added, nothing of the sort. Of course, it's a great story, a great soundtrack, and despite the outdated graphics, it's still an excellent game. I recommend it, especially for achievement hunters like me.

I've had this game since 2017, and back then, I remember making a few attempts at the first level and thinking "I'm never gotta beat this thing". Well, flash forward to December 2025, and as I'm looking into my library for games with card drops remaining, my eyes fall upon this game. Rather than simply idling for the cards, I decide to give it another shot, at least to distract myself for a bit.

Big mistake. I ended up getting the achievement for beating the first level, having finally reached 60 seconds. Welp, guess I now have to keep playing, I must at least try to get a few more achievements so my average completion rate doesn't go down. Second big mistake. You see, this might seem like a game, but in reality it's a drug, you end up so hooked to it that you lose track of time. Heck, I can't believe it took me 11 hours to actually beat it! I could swear it was faster. At the same time, it'll also make you feel how long a minute can be.

At any rate, I feel I've talked too much and said basically nothing about the game, so allow me to rectify that mistake. Super Hexagon might seem like a rhythm game at first, given the amazing beats that play, and how that beautiful hexagon at the center of the screen moves to the beat, but it's not. I think the best way to describe it would be as a test of reflex; you control a tiny triangle that moves around the hexagon at the center, avoiding the walls that are closing in on you. It's incredibly fast paced, though, ironically, now that I've beaten it, the first level seems extremely slow.

The main goal of the game is to survive for 60 seconds; of course, you can keep going for as long as you want, trying to get better and better scores, but in order to "finish" the game, 60 seconds per level are enough. Now, since it's been a long time since I first played it, I don't remember if all three basic levels (Hexagon, Hexagoner, Hexagonest) are unlocked from the start, or if they unlock after a certain amount of time in the previous level. At any rate, once you complete each level, you unlock its Hyper version, which is usually faster paced, and might include patterns not seen in the normal version.

There's not a lot more to say about this game than that. The graphics are relatively simple, although pretty colourful, and the soundtrack is a banger. One recommendation I'll give, which I found on Steam guides for this game, is to disable V-Sync. While you might get some screen tearing that way, your triangle is way more responsive. Heck, when I was trying to beat Hexagonest, I came across that tip, and after I did it, my times got immediately better.

Great game. I recommend it wholeheartedly.