Recent reviews by Chimichanga

Blackrock helped fund this game. Explains some of the heavy biases in the game. Historical inaccuracies. If you care I just saved you a purchase.

Lack of updates and replay-ability. A lot of unfulfilled potential. Amazing skeleton though.

You fight massive shadowy creatures who engulf the area in tar and emerge, where upon killing them you gain a massive amount of crystals which you can use to build a large variety of structures which other players can interact with as well, or craft more items to help you on your journey. You can drive trucks, bikes, ziplines that you set up every 300/350 meters as you traverse to make your journey easier in the future, contribute to roads where other players' contributions affect it in your world as well making for cooperation. You gain likes when someone has used your structures or roads where you know that you helped them. You can steal materials from bandits as well as their trucks while fighting all of them with an intuitive, versatile and impactful combat system and then make a quick getaway to recycle the materials and build more roads. You can equip 3 different types of exo-skeletons which either make you a lot faster and able to jump a large distance, carry more cargo, etc. You can accept multiple premium orders at once and challenge yourself to complete them all in one go to massively boost your ranking, and gain "Legend of Legends" status. You feel fear as you hold your breath while crouching so the shadowy creatures who pull you into the ground if you are not careful do not hear you. You can use a carrier to race down a snowy mountain while dodging rocks and objects. You can go in guns blazing with quadruple rocket launchers, grenade launchers, assault rifles, riot shotguns etc. yet people call this a "walking simulator." This false narrative throws a lot of people off and far away from ever trying it themselves.

This game is a journey for the player just as it is for the protagonist you are playing as. The story is not hectic and chaotic, it's insanely unique, well crafted and comes together in a massively unexpected way where everything you have done in gameplay comes along together and makes for an entire universe where now everything you have done and will do feels purposeful and impactful. There are times when you need to "keep on keeping on," as you feel that the game is getting slightly boring again, but then something happens. Something in the story that makes you laugh, smile, shocked, surprised, mindblown. Something in the soundtrack that makes you feel melancholic, at peace, proud of how far you have come. Something in the gameplay that felt really good, or gave you a surge of dopamine because you realize that your prior work has made for an insanely big network where you have conquered the Icelandic landscape. That is Death Stranding.

Previous Review:
I was excited upon the reveal trailer, but hesitated when I heard the motto "Stand and Fight." I hate when games lower skill ceiling and slow gameplay down. I then saw more and more of it, and I noticed a certain oomph. It seemed satisfying to play, how you shield bash into enemies and so on. I finally caved in and decided to try it, as I was one of the people who was rough on the game at first. I had some fun with the limited time I spent on this game, but I'm also extremely underwhelmed.

This game has gone backwards, not only in the fact that it is a prequel... But also the quality of gameplay, skill ceiling, soundtrack, pacing, etc. If you compare the Dark Ages to one of the old DOOM games, Doom 1, Doom 2 you'll notice many more similarities than DOOM 2016 and Eternal had to those. TDA has a much more 2D feel, even though it is obviously 3D. The fact you can only jump once, how you're weaving through projectile, and parrying green stuff when the green stuff comes out. This makes you feel limited while also forcing you to interact with enemies for a smooth, and successful gameplay experience.

Parrying is an amazing addition, but I don't like being told when I can parry. In Sekiro for example, you're consistently parrying each time an enemy attacks. The only indicator is the attack itself. That is a game with a very high skill ceiling, where you're rewarded and each parry feels earned. The parry window is honestly too big even on Nightmare, 90% of the parries I hit I felt way too easy. Going backwards in game design all the way to the 90s with the weaving through projectiles, then adding a green one which you're supposed to parry feels old fashioned to me. It would feel more rewarding if projectiles were faster, and you could parry all of them in quick succession with the damage stacking up to 3 parries for example. Games like this need to feel rewarding. Yes it's fun to shield bash, throw my shield to shatter a pack of mobs, parry attacks, but that's it. It's fun.

The soundtrack sucks. It has no kick to it, it blends into the background. They tried way too hard to bring back the sound of the previous games that Finishing Move didn't even create. It's imitation. Like when Sumo Digital took over Little Big Planet. Music is pivotal to the experience, and the music has not stood out for even a second in this game. The DOOM team must have not understood what made Mick Gordon's contributions so great to the franchise. Those songs had buildup, release, a hard and technical sound. They were distinct, unique and matched perfectly with the gameplay. I'm listening to the TDA OST as I write this. This game has generic metal riffing. trying to imitate Mick Gordon after ruining their relationship with him which is already disrespectful enough, but then also not understanding the magic behind the previous games' OSTs. I could listen to those by themselves, while not even playing the game. This soundtrack I could barely listen to while playing. The passion is dead. DOOM Slayer has been made cliche with phrases like "The Slayer has been activated," and how you're thrown into levels fighting big Titans with your big Mech. I thought I'm playing DOOM, not Power Rangers.

I'm not 10 years old anymore I don't care about flying on a dragon or punching Titans in a mech. Those levels are gimmicky and feel like a slog to get through. This game was obviously made for the casual player. I can fully understand the appeal in all those things, but for a gamer who values their time being rewarded through learning how to juggle many gameplay mechanics simultaneously (DMC V, Eternal, Ultrakill), this is not the game...

This game is good. If it was half the price, okay. I don't mind paying €80 BUT the game needs to reflect that. It's a fun shooter, and a break from button mashing, but it's basically a spin off like Far Cry Primal was a spinoff. It should be treated as such. Not the big new DOOM game, but a different take on it. Then with a pricetag that reflects that, all is good. But I couldn't help but feel like I got scammed through every single minute playing this game.

EDIT!!!:
I gave this game many more chances, and it finally clicked. I'm LOVING it now. I didn't expect my opinion of it to change so much, but I'm having a blast. I turned off the HUD, adjusted some settings, and simply got deeper into the game. There might not be as much of a point to having different weapons as there was in Eternal but there doesn't have to be an incentive. The upgrades are insanely cool. Parrying empowering rockets, triple burst combat shotgun that explodes burning enemies... The mace which demolishes demons but also replenishes your ammo, where I'm simply running around with mace and combat shotgun exploding and smashing demons. This game is DOOM in the flesh. I'm actually grateful that they took such a big game design leap. Eternal can stand on its own, as can this. They both add to the franchise in their own way. This is a duty driven DOOM slayer. Each encounter feels like war. The shield + melee + weapon gameplay holds its own in the skill + fun department. It's actually really awesome to have a FPS game with a parry integrated so well into the gameplay system. The amount of upgrades in this game for each of the gameplay pillars is phenomenal. 3 different melee options that all can be upgraded. The Cosmic Realm is genius. How it's designed, the puzzles actually being challenging and fun. I'm truly impressed, and I couldn't help but rescind my prior negative comment. There is skill to this game, and a really fun rhythm that is simply addictive. There is no FPS like this one, where you feel so heavy and so powerful. They fixed the mixing of the tracks so now the OST isn't as bad. Honestly, it's not a big issue that Mick Gordon did not do this sound track. DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal are still games that me and a lot of people will be playing alongside this one where those soundtracks can be appreciated in their fully glory. In my last play session there actually was a song that was immersive and stood out to me, not sure which one it was.

My advice to everyone is, play DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal first. Then, maybe this game will be on sale at some point, which is when you should definitely try it.

I first played PoE2. This is better.

It doesn't feel like a chore to play. You never run out of things to do. You're fast and can optimize your gameplay to what you like. You're not forced to play maps you hate. You don't have to plan out which maps you play first to work towards getting decent loot. You juice every map separately. You're guaranteed at least one piece of good loot when you kill a boss. You're not clenching when you fight bosses because you have 5 more chances. You can pick your own endgame niche. You don't have to pay 5-8 divines just to fight a single boss. You can actually craft instead of spamming random modifiers. You don't need an insane build or currency stash to do anything except run through big, boring maps. You don't lose modifiers you've been working on stacking for hours by dying once. Gambling is a choice not your main source of currency or fun. There's actual crafting and replacing resistances so you don't have to run to trade site and sit there for 30 minutes looking for an item that matches your current one and fills the resistance gap. You get 10 attributes per node instead of 5. You don't have to attribute stack / use a specific unique to succeed or kill bosses. You don't have to play Deadeye to not move like a snail. You don't have to spend 2 divines on a skill gem just so you can put one more support gem on it. You don't stutter and lag when you enter maps. Bosses aren't a one-shot or get one-shotted experience. You aren't stuck to an ascendancy that is 10x worse than its counterpart. You don't have to run through a 45 minute borefest to get your last ascendancy points.

I completely understand now why the PoE1 community was frustrated at being put on the backburner.

.

This is one of the best games ever in my opinion. There's no other action or hack and slash that's as rewarding and equally satisfying as DMC5. I saw another comment saying this game isn't replayable, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Most games I never replay, but since there's so much depth even just in Dante, it feels like there's infinite potential in combos, mastering enemy attack patterns, and constantly trying to get deeper into bloody palace.

Once you get the hang of the game, and you don't just leave it collecting dust, you'll unlock the true fun potential of the game. Just like unlocking that maximum combat potential with Dante. There's not many games where a beginner player looks AS different compared to a pro as in this one. Some people could never go all out on this game simply because they lack the coordination. There's so much to process at once, as Dante alone you have 4 ranged weapons, 4 melee weapons, and 4 styles. With all styles and weapons having multiple attack moves and even more depth as it's important to know which attacks are optimal for which enemies. That alone makes the game extremely fun. Spending a few hours every day just playing, while actively learning what moves do what and how to combo them. Improving really quickly, and seeing your progress is extremely satisfying.

Honestly, anyone who puts this game down after finishing and doesn't go into bloody palace, trying to maximize their potential with Dante especially is missing out on so much fun. That's where the game evolves into something completely different. Something almost artistic. There are many amazing DMC players out there, what you'll notice is that they all are incredibly adequate at the game while having different styles of gameplay. Due to the depth, even once you have mastered the game it is likely that you'll play it completely differently than anyone else, unless you're going for speedruns. This means you can create combos that no one has ever seen before, which in turn is the epitome of satisfaction in gaming.

I wish more games had depth such as this one. It's pure fun. Although sometimes it's headache inducing and I literally divide my playtime into multiple sections as I am absorbing so much new info at one time that I have to take a break. Even sitting in the void and practicing killing one enemy as fast as possible to speed up your bloody palace run or take less damage pays off, while also being challenging. So to anyone reading this comment, if you're someone who enjoys fast paced games that test your limits such as DOOM, or you even enjoyed the optional modes like GoW Ragnarok Valhalla for example, you should definitely try this game. Also, if you have finished this game, please continue playing and practicing. You'll have a blast and it'll all pay off.

It's impressive how immersive this game is. Even fighting the normal monsters can be intense

Stuttering and performance issues. (and horrible voice acting) Good game altogether though, I'll change it to positive once they fix the issues. The optimization needs to be a lot better.

Good game, decent remake. I think people who say it's better in every aspect are influenced by how good the game looks and feels. I will still be playing the original, this does not overwrite or conquer the original. There are major changes to the story and characters that significantly change the feel of the game, so it is not a better RE4, but it's rather a re-imagining of the original and should be seen as such.