Recent reviews by derExperte

The game itself is nice I guess* but there's a serious bug which prevents it from launching a second time due to the save system being broken. There's a workaround (see Steam forum) but that only works for one launch, then you have to do it again. Note that this bug has been there from day 1 and despite promises from the devs never got fixed and never will be.

So think twice before spending money on this broken game, I got scammed by Ovosonico/505 Games, don't be like me.

EDIT: Managed to get it running again by using the Vista (yes, only that worked for me, not 8) compatibility mode. I won't change my review though because this is a widespread issue that should've been fixed but they didn't release a single patch.

*Nope, boring as hell, you'll see the same stuff over and over again and the blabbering of the characters is just annoying. Interesting concept, lackluster execution, didn't care much for anyone in the end.

Is Sekiro %$§&$$% you off? Making you cry on an otherwise nice Sunday? Play a few levels of this inbetween getting clobbered for the 50th (200th?) time by some nasty boss. The rules are simple, controls are intuitive with mouse or pad, no need for precision like in real golf, 100% a puzzle game, music is relaxing and everything's just nice and calm, no one poking you with spears here. I assume the amount of content will only last for 2-3 hours but the price is low and the last patch added more worlds. Ah did I mention you can undo every move? No need to start over all the time. Really can't think of anything negative to say*, great nice little game.

*Thought of something, you can't skip a level so if you're ever stuck you'll need to do it by trial & error. Which isn't too bad though thanks to the rewind feature.

A nice little game that comes close to being great and certainly deserves more attention.

The story is rather intriguing, you're wondering what's going from minute one and imo the solution/explanation is satisfactory. As are the puzzles, even though they aren't quite as clever as in let's say Portal but everything makes sense and can be solved at a reasonable pace, also new puzzle-elements get introduced on every new 'floor' to mix things up.

My one criticism regarding the structure is that the main puzzle rooms don't have much if any connection to the story, they're just there with barely any explanation. Then you finish them and get the next part of the story. Then more puzzles. Not a big deal tho, neither are other small issues like having to run through way too long, boring corridors again and again which borders on padding. Visuals are alright, some parts of the hotel look great (loved the library and pool), others not so much, voice acting is very good and I didn't encounter any bugs.

Impressive stuff considering this was made by a very small team (one guy?). Also the price is very reasonable.

Thumbs down for one reason alone: There are only two difficulty settings for the career, hard and easy.

Hard is horribly unforgiving from race one onwards with barely controllable vehicles (using an X1 pad), brutal AI and a full damage model. I either spin out, get rammed off the race line or, usually when in front for once, my engine starts to die or the suspension breaks. Sure you can stop for repairs but then you'll be dead last. I've been fiddling around with upgrades and tuning a lot (no tutorials, few useful tips) but have no idea if I'm doing something fundamentally wrong, with the result being: No fun, none at all.

Easy on the other hand is piss easy, you'll win literally every race even in the higher leagues by 10-20 seconds no problem, no matter the upgrades. No fun either.

Now the most baffling thing is that Baja does offer options to fine-tune the difficulty for single races, one can choose between arcade-y and sim-y physics and adjust the AI via a slider. Not for career tho, hard there is basically '♥♥♥♥ you' and easy is '♥♥♥♥ you for not gitting gud'.

Makes no sense and is too bad because everything else is pretty great, cool setting, looks outdated but not ugly, lots of different tracks that drive very differently, a very long career, tuning, many cars, fitting music.

An easy recommendation for everyone interested in the subject matter, the many (mostly) interesting recent interviews sprinkled with old footage don't provide groundbreaking new information but hearing those stories from the Amiga guys themselves adds a lot, their enthusiasm is still palpatable after all these years. We learn of the beginnings, how Commodore came into the picture, how hardware development was done in the 80s (spoiler: whiteboards), what did and didn't work marketing-wise, why the Amiga was such a big step forward and why it got received differently in Europe vs the USA. Even the demo scene gets a dedicated chapter which is commendable as they often get thrown together with common software pirates, dimishing the scene's longterm importance not only for the Amiga itself but for the gaming industy as a whole.

Only thing I found disappointing was that later Amiga models beyond the 500/2000 didn't get covered at all, neither did Commodore's downfall. At least the A1200 and 4000 would've deserved a few minutes while some of the 'Amiga changed my life' talk towards the end could've been cut and so despite much ground getting covered the docu still feels somewhat incomplete. Only a minor nitpick though, overall there's plenty to love in here and the bonus material I've watched so far is good too.

Huh, I didn't expect Vertical Drop Heroes HD to be a rather intricate Rogue Legacy-style game where you can choose between heroes with different abilities and level stats up permanently, I thought it would be something simpler.

Don't know about the longevity yet (haven't unlocked the more difficult New Game+) but compared to Legacy I prefer the short levels with a mini-boss at the bottom instead of having to grind a while before getting somehwere. Here there's instant gratification including temporary level ups you lose after dying and permanent upgrades that are purchasable in the levels and in the hub with gold (which you only lose between runs when rerolling the heroes offered). Keys are important as well as they're used for multiple purposes like opening chests, removing obstacles, freeing computer controlled helpers or even bypassing a mini-boss with five keys. And there's more, for example short quests that get you XP, water that flows around when blocks are destroyed, the possibility to warp back to the top and lots of tombstones which e.g. spawn artifacts but also enemies when activated. Enemy variety is high, graphics are good enough for a 5-7€ game and the artstyle reminds me of Scribblenauts (in a good way).

Almost forgot another nice touch, you can play as 'pacifist' and gain more XP by picking up symbols that disappear after killing one enemy (kills by ai companions don't count). Also levels have modifiers, enemies with less HP but more damage, two bosses instead of one etc.

A few cons: No online coop, only local and LAN. Sometimes enemies spawn right into me and when the health is low can lead to an unavoidable death. Or there's a bunch cuddled together and it's impossible to fight them without losing a lot of health (but avoiding those mobs is an option most of the time, plus health gets restored when leveling up which happens frequently). Lastly the controller config needs work due to a few inconsistencies and bugs and button icons would've been appreciated. Overall the controls are fine though, very responsive.

So thumbs up from me so far, a pleasant surprise.

PS If someone cares for that kind of stuff the achievements are done right here, reasonably difficult and going for them will teach you some of the game's mechanics.