Recent reviews by rebane2001

The multiplayer allows enabling collision between players which is extremely fun! Lots of cool workshop maps as well.

This review is written from the perspective of a fan of the original games, thus this review is more of a comparison with the originals than a fresh look at the series. I would have reviewed this positively even if it was just the original games packaged together, however it turns out that Submachine: Legacy has so much more to offer! I've only played through the first few chapters so far and haven't finished the game, but what I've seen so far has been awesome!

Submachine: Legacy is a seamless collection of new remastered versions of the old Submachine Flash games. While the base gameplay is the same as the originals, there have been a lot of improvements made to the originals, from QoL and puzzle improvements to new locations and artwork! The collection also ties all of the original games together into one seamless adventure to the point where they feel like chapters of a single game, not separate games one after another.

As mentioned earlier I've yet to finish this collection, but so far I've loved how the story aspects have been tackled. The older games have received various changes that make them fit better into the entire storyline and this has also resulted in a few new puzzles and locations that are really neat for someone already familiar with the original games. There are also some extra sections added between the games to transition more smoothly between them. It also seems like there's some very mysterious new stuff hidden throughout the game, but I haven't played enough to figure out what's up with that :).

The artwork in this game is unique, hand-drawn, and atmospheric just like the original games. A lot of the artwork (especially those of the earlier games) has been remade and/or touched up to fit in with the story and the newer games and I personally really like it! It feels fresh and familiar at the same time. Everything feels very smooth, the animations and transitions are great and the game runs at 60fps. A minor nitpick is that the cursor is rendered in-game and not natively, which means that the cursor feels quite laggy on a higher refresh rate screen. The game itself running at 60fps is fine for this type of game, but it would be great if the cursor could be rendered natively.

The sound design and music in this game is awesome and holds up great, the atmosphere it creates is incredible! It's similar to the original games, but has been made to have smoother transitions and is overall more coherent. I appreciate that you can switch back to the old pickup and movement sounds, they feel very nostalgic to me and I love that the option is available.

This game features many great QoL features. The new right-click inventory menu is convenient and nice to use. It also lets you zoom into items to take a closer look at them. You can leave the game at any point and your progress will be saved. The main menu offers the ability to replay any chapter of the game without losing progress on the one you're currently on. The entire game can comfortably be played with just your mouse, but you can now also use the arrow keys to switch between rooms, and it even has gamepad support (which I've yet to test).

There are a few smaller things I'd love to see added in a future update. At the moment it seems like all the items you collect don't end up anywhere, but it would be awesome to have a section in the main menu where you can view all of the collected letters and similar items. It would also be neat to have the original versions of the submachine games available at least in the game files for those who want them, I've seen other game remasters on Steam do this.

Overall Submachine: Legacy is a really awesome collection/remaster of the older games that offers plenty of new content for those already familiar with the series. It has a plethora of improvements to the graphics, audio, story, and QoL and far exceeds the expectations I had for it going in. I'd definitely recommend picking this one up to every Submachine fan!

Here are my main issues with the game:
- It's 40 EUR/USD for 2 hours of gameplay. I understand that the game is targeted towards a younger audience, but even if you got three times the gameplay out of it, it still wouldn't be worth the price imo. I would've expected the full price to be more around 15-20 considering the amount of content.
- The game is made for controllers and doesn't have keyboard prompts. You can still play the game with a keyboard, but you'll have to figure out what button does what yourself.
- There are no graphics settings at all, you're stuck with whatever the defaults are.

Those points aside, I think the game is pretty well made and is fun to play. While the gameplay and minigames are easy, which is to be expected from a kids' game, they are still challenging enough to be fun to play. The game is overall pretty polished and has thought and care put into it. I think the price is still a big deal-breaker though.

Note to Steam Deck owners: The game controls and runs great on the Deck, but none of the tutorial video clips render. This isn't a big deal if you don't need basic tutorial prompts, but it may be something to keep in mind if you're gonna give the game to the younger ones.

Couldn't play it because it kept crashing on the loading screen.

It's a very simple and charming timewaster, not much content but the time you do spend is really fun! Not very complex, so you can play it rather casually without having to get too invested. Took me about 20 hours to 100% across multiple playthroughs.

If the game trailer looks like something you'd like, then definitely pick it up.

It's like a miniature nostalgiafied version of HoMM. I'm not sure if this would appeal to people who have never played HoMM before, it might end up being a bit confusing, but if you've played a fair share of HoMM then this is a fun modern-retro revisit of the experience.

If you like HoMM and the aesthetic of this game appeals to you, then give it a shot!

As with most recent Bethesda games, Fallout 4 VR is a lazy port that is lacking lots of features and has a lot of bugs. Luckily, most of this can be remedied by the use of mods and ini tweaks for an awesome and incredibly immersive VR game (my favorite mod is the darker nights mod).

I recommend this game only on sale, if you like the Fallout universe and are okay with messing with mods to get an enjoyable experience.

I don't usually get motion sick from VR games, but there are two games (Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR) that do
Natural Locomotion helped me not only get rid of the motion sickness, but also add a ton of immersion to those two games
If you wish to play a Bethesda VR game, this is a must have. In other games, it's not necessary, but still nice to have

If you like Half-Life's look and feel and want tens of hours of unique multiplayer fun with your friends, Sven Co-op is for you.

Pros
- Free!
- Lots of coop fun
- Lots of original maps with unique mechanics
- Active community, creating cool maps, skins etc to this day
- Includes the entire Half-Life campaign
- Awesome graphics (look and feel, not technically)
- Good sound-design
Cons
- Valve Anti-Cheat (I do think an anti-cheat is a good thing, but I'd love to mod the game when playing with my friends)
- The old HL1 engine might be a bit nauseating for some people
- Many maps are repetitive
- Requires you to self-host a server with open ports instead of a modern lobby system

Pros
- Game itself is fun
- Can play any song from my local music library
- Drifting is an interesting mechanic that's hard to master and really fun
- Scoreboards work great, at least for the music I listen to (enough people to race against and pretty much no hackers)
Cons
- Some of the features (eg racing a track you haven't before) require an internet connection
- Doesn't support external services (YouTube, Spotify etc), it's your local library only
- File browser is terrible - I'd love an option to either use Windows Explorer or even drag&drop music into the game
- Track colors get extremely repetitive - half of the tracks are the same pinkish-purple color and the other half aren't all that interesting either

Summary:
Personally, I love the game
If this seems like something you'd enjoy, give it a shot, but otherwise skip it