Recent reviews by HippieDippieWeatherMan

I've been a Marvel fan since I was a little kid back in the 80's, and I like deckbuilding games too, so I was always going to try this free game - at least for a little bit. After booting it up for the first time, I think I might have played for 10 hours straight...

The concept is very simple and each game is very quick - about 3-5 minutes each. Searching for games takes about 2-3 seconds which makes it seem like you are hitting "play" one more time almost without even thinking...

Progression is going to seem pretty fast those first 10-12 hours - but I think I've hit the wall where things start to slow down a bit. I don't mind though, because the game is fun to play, and the matchmaking only puts you up against people in the same "card pool" meaning you are all working from the same pool of cards, have relatively the same amount, but have unlocked random cards from that same pool.

That's a more detailed way of saying that this game is not pay-to-win.

The play area is divided into 3 lanes - and you need to have higher total power in at least 2 lanes to win the game - very straight forward. What makes the game dynamic and interesting is how each lane gets a random "location" from the Marvel Universe, like the Savage Land, the Negative Zone, etc. and these change the way some cards operate, apply buffs, or debuffs and many more - you get the idea.

Deckbuilding becomes an exercise in finding good card combos + anticipating possible interactions between your deck and the locations you will encounter each match. I love this little mechanic because it makes some of the cards you get at the beginning, that have no abilities, stay useful because they can perform consistently over more location effects or do not require much synergy with the rest of your deck to make an impact.

Additionally, there is a "snap" mechanic where each player may up the ante at any point in the match, if they feel confident they are about to win they can increasing the possible rank reward or loss that happens at the end of every ranked match - and any player that feels like they've got a slim chance to win can retreat and avoid having to take the larger risk.

Each player bets a cube to start, if one player snaps, they up the wager to 2 cubes, and if both players snap then each of them is betting 4 cubes which gives 8 total to the winner while the other player loses 8.

The number of cubes you have determines what league you are in. I have 31 cubes - silver league. Going up to ladder gives more and better rewards. There are lots of daily missions and other ways to progress in the game - I don't really think anyone needs to drop any money on this game to have fun, unless they would like to progress a bit faster, or support the developers.

The monetization seems to be pretty fine, in my opinion.

The game is still in Early Access, so there are no unranked modes yet, no draft mode, no co-op, or ways to play single player or privately with friends - but it only makes sense for these things to be added in the future.

I am going to be playing this game a lot, I think.. haha

Give it a go!

NOMINATED FOR STEAM AWARD - BEST "ON THE GO" GAME 2022

EDIT: It's still a good game, I still play, but after getting to a certain point, but around the time you complete Series 3.. I find myself only playing for the daily rewards...

It's become something of a chore to progress... Game is FREE -- so there will be a grind.. but at this point the fun has diminished quite significantly.

Still recommend -- but other free to play games do progression better.

If you are a comic book fan like me, there's a lot to love about Sentinels of the Multiverse.

It is the digital version of a tabletop card game, where each character and environment is a fixed deck of cards.

There's a lot of variety here, different heroes with backstories and themes that remind you of famous DC or Marvel characters, many variants of those heroes that unlock after certain conditions are met. These are really fun to accomplish and sort of introduce you more and more to the lore of this universe.

For example, Captain Cosmic is a space faring hero who creates powerful constructs that can affect the battlefield (like Green Lantern), and one of the villains is his brother who was driven insane by a special mask that whispers to him.. if you beat his brother, Infinitor, in a specific way, you can unlock a special version of Captain Cosmic that now carries the mask for himself - changing how his deck plays. haha

The fun just increases the more you play and get to know the universe.

It was a bit confusing at the start, not having played this game at all, and not being familiar with the characters.. the learning curve might turn some people off.. but I think players should give it a chance.

Playing this version really streamlines the entire experience, you don't need to set the game up, or shuffle the deck, or deal cards etc. it is all automatic, obviously. The game does a good job of giving you information or allowing you to click around to check the entire state of play, although you might need to play a few rounds before you start to figure it all out.

There's also some rewind functionality, allowing you to wind back to a previous heroes turn, or get to make a different decision or play a different card, if it didn't go as planned - that prevents you from having to start over if you make a big or annoying mistake.

The game does a good job teaching you how to play.

It really isn't about smashing the enemy or winning every match... setting up little challenges for yourself, giving the game a "roleplay" aspect, for me, is where the fun comes in.

Use a fancy team of magic based heroes like "Justice League Dark" to try to save an innocent child trapped in a dream state, trying to free her without killing her, or assemble the "Avengers" of this universe and go up against each villain 1 by 1, and see how many enemies you can take on without changing team members.

DLC's add more characters, villains, more locations, and many more ways to play the game - there is A LOT of content here.

I've only started exploring a greater number of the heroes and different combinations, and there is still a lot more to discover and challenges to attempt. Whether you win or lose, the game doesn't feel frustrating at all, and it's fun to just see how some battles can play out.

When you start finding extremely complex combos with 2 or more characters interacting based on their cards, character position (who play first or next or last), the location and villain, etc.. it is very satisfying.

It is a fun game that does not require quick reflexes or long play times. Can just set up an interesting scenario and play it out at leisure, walk away, come back next day, win or lose, switch out one hero, restart and try again, etc etc etc.

It is definitely worth the asking price or you can even wait for a nice discount. Even has multiplayer, but since I haven't tried it yet, I won't comment beyond saying it's probably going to be pretty fun too.

Give it a try! I highly recommend.

It is really not good to keep selling this while it is in this broken state. Especially when there has been several years to either fix or take off the market. There is really no excuse.

Some units cannot be called in, some enemy units literally become invincible, and many more bugs that others could mention. I have never been able to play it as it was meant to be, because I only decided to play the campaigns after 1000+ hours of multiplayer.

Hopefully this can be fixed, but it has been years wherein these issues have been known, so it doesn't seem like it will be fixed.

Otherwise, could have been a nice implementation of an RTS campaign, felt a little like Risk, managing 3 unique companies over a board. Also awards you with skins and intel bulletins to be used in multiplayer.

So, there's reason to play the campaign thru even for players who mostly just like the multiplayer aspect of the game. Should be fixed really, since it's still being SOLD as if it was functioning properly...

Hands down, my favorite RTS of all time.

The graphics and sound design are top notch. Love the way the game looks and sounds, and watching the action is a real treat. All the bombs, planes, machine guns, grenades, artillery, light to massive vehicles, and the destructible nature of the maps, all combine beautifully to create dynamic battle scenarios in each match that are just fantastic to behold.. the game just feels awesome to play.

I think that the reason why I love COH2 so much is because it doesn't rely on twitch reflexes and micro as much as an RTS like Starcraft 2, for example. I think winning has a lot to do with patience, positioning, and making correct decisions on what action or objective to prioritize at any given moment.

Deciding which points to capture and in what order, giving up positions in order to win key engagements, knowing when to commit to risky dives, sometimes sacrificing a unit or squad in order to kill a key piece in the enemy army. Knowing when to lose map control in order to save resources for an important unit or playing desperate defense while setting up that ONE KEY BATTLE that turns the tide and flips the balance of power on the map. These big moments are thrilling and it is incredibly satisfying when you pull off a game changing push that takes you from being completely dominated to suddenly being in a position to hold and win.

Game allows you to save a replay of the last game you play or spectate, which gives you an opportunity to review timings, mistakes, positioning, etc. great tool for improving your skills and strategies. Nice little spectator feature that lets you just pick a game to watch, either with fog of war off and free cam or following a players camera view, allowing you to learn from other people's games or see the first person view of pro players.

The 5 armies are different enough from each other and I get a kick out of playing all of them and slowly improving my understanding of each army's strengths and weaknesses. To further add variety to the game, each army has several commanders to choose from that allow you to deploy special abilities, passives, or commander specific units to the battlefield. I really like switching commanders out, thinking about the loadout I'm going to use with each army, thinking of which commanders are going to be effective against different strategies my opponents might use, which commander works well in each map. All of these can be purchased with the in-game currency you can earn just by playing matches. No need to spend real money, but that's an option too, if you want.

I play primarily 1v1's and I feel like there is good balance between the factions in this mode. You can play 2v2's up to 4v4's and the scale and chaos of an 8 man war really captures what must have been the insanity of WWII.

You might have trouble getting victories in online competitive when you are first starting out, and the gap between the good players and the bad players can seem extreme, but with some practice, it doesn't take long to start to understand the finer points of the game.

If the competitive aspect of the game does not appeal to you, you can play skirmishes against a.i. opponents, or try the many mission like solo or co-op scenarios on offer. On top of that, you got a really nice campaign as well. I just finished the main campaign after clocking in over 1000 hours just playing multiplayer.

The Soviet story campaign was very good, pretty replayable, and the USF campaign seems to be even better with some interesting new mechanics being introduced that make it even more engaging and replayable.

I can't say enough nice things about Company of Heroes 2. I hope more players come and give it a try!

EDIT: the Ardennes Assault campaign is an "iron man" style 1 save per run campaign.

It could be fantastic.. Except for being totally bug ridden.. There is no indication that any of these gameplay significant bugs are ever going to be fixed.

There was probably a time when it was working as intended, but later updates to the game could have maybe affected the Ardennes campaign.

I don't post reviews of every game I like. I usually do it for games I think are good, that most people are probably never going to play. Galak-Z has that same kind of mix of good design, fun gameplay, and charm that lets you know the developers really love making their game.

Really fun game, good combat, and decent challenge. I highly recommend if you into this kind of multi-directional flight combat. You gonna enjoy all the little upgrades and specials you will steadily gain through play.

Fantastic Story Mode.. beautiful and crazy immersive.

You won't find this game to be short on praise, but just so you know, the multiplayer and online mode is incredibly frustrating... you are CONSTANTLY getting kicked off the rockstar servers.

You really want to play, because the game is so good, but the constant disconnects are just awful.

EDIT: May 2020, online mode is still broken...

Can be fun for a little while, but will eventually get repetitive. There aren't too many differences between how games play out, no matter who the players are on the court. Still, fun little arcadey game. Grab on sale, can be worth some laughs with friends... but not too sure how well the multiplayer works.

This is a light recommendation.

Charming game with a lot of content. Between the classes, weapon upgrades, environments, mission types, and regular updates, the game has a lot to offer, especially for a game with this price. Does a good job drawing you into the world devs have created, and sometimes you will just stop and take in the atmosphere.

Overall, everything is done really well, and many things come together to make this a very enjoyable game. Easy to find other people to play with, as well. I'd go into more detail, but there is just so many good things to say about the game, that I'll just keep it simple and strongly recommend it to anyone who wants a fun, team-based, challenging, atmospheric, and pretty to look at shooter.

EDIT: Still getting substantial updates and additions FOR FREE, along with some cosmetic DLC's. Fantastic game that I've nominated for the 2020 Labor of Love award.

EDIT (2021): One of the games where I still can't think of ANY negatives. Still getting better and better. Nominated AGAIN for Labor of Love award!

Normally, I avoid Early Access titles. I don't want to pay to beta test unfinished games that might stay in EA forever. I'm writing this review in order to help this game get the attention I think it deserves. This is a really well made, innovative, competitive experience.

The game has this unique mix of PvP and PvE, and focuses on the use of environmental audio triggers in order to locate and stalk other players. Players can be alerted by the sounds of hostile monsters, ducks or crows scared away by your approach, dogs or chickens reacting to your presence, and a lot of other noises that simple traversal of the environment can make.

The moment to moment gameplay forces you to make a decision between moving slowly and silently, or covering more ground by running but risking these triggers revealing your position to other hunters. There is a real tension throughout every match, as you are never really sure if you are being hunted, or if an enemy team is waiting to ambush you at the next point of interest. You could be the only hunters left on the map, but you can't really be sure. You could get sniped seconds before getting extracted, and I've lost bounties by dying to monsters on the way to the extraction, because I was hurrying so much to escape the other hunters who may or may not have been pursuing me.

The game basically has teams exploring the map for clues that eventually lead to a boss encounter with the "bounty target", and the objective is to be able to escape the map alive with the bounty.

The maps are beautifully crafted and incredibly immersive. I just love the way everything looks and sounds. You eventually gain access to a ton of weapons, tools, consumables, and perks, that allows you to tailor your hunter towards a specific playstyle.

The gimmick that this game has, that might turn some players off, is that after you've reached level 15, failing to leave the map alive results in permanently losing your hunter and any gear they entered the map with. This makes the game really tense, the stakes can be very high. Defeat can be brutal, which also means that victories are very satisfying.

I can play a few matches at a time, some times only 1, before I need to take a break - my hands will be shaking from the adrenaline rush and I'll need a little break in between really intense runs.

There are currently 2 game modes, and there are both weekly and daily challenges that allow you to gain access to weapons and perks that you would normally need more levels to be able to unlock. Trust me, even with only the most basic gear and no perks, you are still a very dangerous challenge for another player that is at maximum level.

The game is all about playing smart. A good rule to follow is to ALWAYS assume you are being hunted. A bullet to the head will kill a level 100 player just as quickly as any noob. Most weapons in the game take a lot of time to reload, meaning you need to make each shot count. Pretty much everything in this game is geared towards raising the stakes of every match, every gun fight, every bullet fired - making gameplay feel meaningful.

Performance wise, I have no complaints... I have a 1070 Ti, and a pretty good rig all around, so I run everything max settings and it runs very smooth.

I don't know what else I can add.... I have no regrets getting this game, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes competitive shooters, and stealthy, tactical gameplay.

Need a solid partner though, because playing alone can be a disadvantage.

EDIT: (Jan 2022)

I stopped playing for a very long time, but decided to pick the game up again, and the concept is still top notch. However, I've upgraded my rig quite a bit since I wrote this review, I'm running a RTX 2070 now, with 16 gb ram, and i7 processor.. but dammit.. I can barely get 60 FPS with all the settings on LOW... I have no idea what has happened to this game performance-wise..

Maybe it doesn't happen for all players, but I'm feeling pretty frustrated with the game, I crash out of matches often, and get huge frame drops during gunfights... if you willing to gamble with these performance issues, I can still recommend Hunt, there's just no other game quite like it, in my opinion.

I was given this game for free, friend bought it for me. Had a lot of fun playing it with friends. We pretty much played it every day, and are still playing it now (with a good MOD).

Considering the fact that the game has been charging people money and has been on early access for over 3 years, without mods, the game can feel noticeably incomplete. Animations are buggy, which sucks when you have to land a head shot, zombies can spaz out, spin around like a top, or glitch through the floor or wall. Large parts of terrain can just disappear, you can fall through the world, chests bug out - not allowing you to open them, needing you to exit and reload the world. All in all, it is also very poorly optimized - runs poorly

Look I had fun with the game, that is very important, but I can't recommend buying this. You guys need to respect yourselves. If you buy games like these, and they do well - eventually we will be deluged with promising and perpetually unfinished products. We don't buy hopes and dreams, we should be buying finished games.

Buy this game in another 3 years, maybe then. IF you want to give money away to a charity, who am I to stop you? But I really don't like these kinds of practices. I'm going to guess that this game will be in EA forever.

EDIT:

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU@3.60GHz 3.60 GHz
Installed memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
System Type: 64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760

UPDATE:

3 years later, on a new PC, STILL in ALPHA. I tried to play again a few weeks back, and it STILL runs like absolute trash. I just can't play this game and not feel like a total idiot.

Like, what am I doing playing this garbage? Please don't give these people your money.