In this Baldur’s Gate 3 article/video I’m going to give you Baldur’s Gate 3 First Impressions of the full version of the full game. We got a review code about four days ago, so we didn’t have enough time in my opinion to do a proper review. I don’t think it would be fair to give the game a proper review after that amount of time. Instead, here I’m just going to kind of do my first impressions after about the first 40 hours or so of the game and tell you what I think.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Review Impressions Hands-On Spoiler-Free

This is going to be a completely spoiler-free Baldur’s Gate 3 First Impressions. The gameplay we’ll be showing in the background is from Act 1. So if you’ve played Early Access you know this is stuff you’ve probably already seen before but with a little bit new UI etc. You will still be very familiar with this and I will not be talking about story spoilers at all. In about 40 hours, we managed to get through Act 2 or what I think is the beginning of Act 3. For an average player, for someone who hasn’t played Early Access, it will probably be closer to 50 or 60 hours to complete Act 2.

If you’re familiar with Early Access not too much has changed. The beginning parts of the game will have some differences and will feel familiar to you, speeding up your journey through Act 1. Those things out of the way let’s talk about Baldur’s Gate 3.

It’s a Matter of Choice

The first thing I can say about Baldur’s Gate 3 is that it’s the first RPG that I have felt like I didn’t regret a single decision that I made. A lot of RPGs, you’re either stuck with a good option, a neutral option, or a bad option. But in Baldur’s Gate 3, I felt like every decision I made was the right one for my character. Some RPGs give you many options that leave you overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices.

I think Larian did a phenomenal job here of not giving you too many options but still giving you a really good range that there are enough choices for everyone out there. What’s utterly incredible about this is that there are choices there that are based on your class, race, background and even the characters that enter the dialogue. This won’t be the same for everyone, as it is down to your own personal character.

Tailor Made for You

Though there aren’t a million dialogue options, it is tailor-made to your character and I think that’s what makes this game so special. It makes it feel like Baldur’s Gate 3 is made just for you when playing. In my opinion, because of these narrative options, the game provides very strong and compelling characters. They are interesting, and well-acted, making you interested in just about every single character you meet in the game. You end up wanting to hear what they have to say and ultimately wanting to learn more about the game’s world.

Compelling Dialogue

I can’t remember the last time I played a game where I felt compelled to listen to every single line of dialogue that was spoken. I have played tons of RPGs and we have covered a number of RPGs on our channel/website. Not one that comes to mind as of late that really compares. The ones that I can think of that maybe come close are Mass Effect or Dragon Age Origins. Games that really draw you in, in terms of characters that keep you engaged to find out things. Often you forget what you’re doing, or what your quest objective is because I’m pretty happy spending hours finding out info. I typically wouldn’t do that in another game.

As I have had limited time to review this game before the review embargo, I find myself pressed for time to get guides up. With that time crunch in mind, the average player won’t have that added time pressure. This means they will feel even more engrossed and immersed than I even was, if that’s even possible!

Exploration

Piggybacking off of this, exploration in the game also adds a ton to the experience. The game world is large. While not completely open-world, the game kind of feels that way. You can tell the narrative is more linear in terms of narrative design, driving you through the game similar to that of Baldur’s Gate 2. However, you’re still picking up quest objectives along with the main narrative route and there’s plenty to see and explore. Exploration is rewarding if you’re paying attention. There’s plenty to see and do without getting bored. You’re always finding new things and I guarantee that in successive playthroughs you will still discover more.

NPC Interactions Like No Other

What stands out in Baldur’s Gate 3 is that NPCs and characters you interact with often appear in later Acts (based on how it went in Act 2) and you find out what happens to them. Often in games, characters will just give you gold or some type of reward and that’s it. Thanks for playing, here’s your reward, that will be it. Here, you will see whether they survived, find out what perils they’ve faced and the weight of your decisions.

Furthermore, I think this has been done in a way here that’s never been done in any other RPG. A lot of times in some of the best RPGs there are characters you can interact with, their stories advance and you’ll meet up later. Usually, you will find them in the same location, they stay in the same location, for example in the world of Mass Effect.

However, in Baldur’s Gate 3 they are constantly moving around. You will find them pop up in new locations, they’re advancing their story. Something that the developer Larian has done really cleverly in this game is they’ve created little checkpoints throughout the game. These advanced events in the game world so the world state is shifting when you hit certain points of the game. It changes previous areas of the game that you’ve already been to.

Checkpoints

Some people were asking me pre-launch when you hit one of these checkpoints whether it will give you a warning to wrap everything you were doing before, before commencing and whether you can you go back. And the answer is “yes”. While you might not find everything stays the same as before passing these checkpoints, I find this incredibly special. In many RPGs, this isn’t really a possibility. Often you don’t know the full extent of the ramifications of these checkpoints. I think it will be many months before we know what they all are but that was incredible for me.

Narration

Moving onto the narration of the game, it is absolutely on point, it’s outstanding. The voice acting is incredibly done and it adds something to the game. I don’t think the narration is necessary for every RPG. But when it does done well, like it is done in Baldur’s Gate 3 and in the Divinity Original Sin series it does make you wonder if it is something that RPGs need. It is the same with music in games. When a game has phenomenal music it just makes the game better, but it is not necessary to make it a good game. I feel the narrator really adds something to the game and I think people are really really gonna enjoy this aspect. If you’ve played Early Access then you know what I mean. This stays consistent the whole way.

Minor Bugs & Patching

If I were to make one critique here, is to point out even though the game does such a fantastic job of immersing you in the game’s world that when you hit a bug, it really pulls you out of it. It’s kind of like being in a trance and someone snaps their fingers right next to you and you wake up. That’s kind of what it feels like. There were a good number of bugs in this game so far from what I’ve seen. I was a bit worried about this after playing in Ghent because I saw a lot of bugs there.

Patching

I know Larian has been doing a lot of work on those bugs over the last few weeks. They’ve pushed a patch every single-day patching bugs out of the game since we’ve been playing the review copy. So I think these bugs are just gonna get wiped out over time. None of them was major, they’re just really bizarre bugs in a lot of cases. I’ll just give you a couple of examples. For example one time during character creation the fireball cantrip just disappeared from the screen. I couldn’t select it anymore with the character even though I should have been able to. Then I had a dialogue when I was in the Grove then experienced a black screen for like 30 seconds. I was like “what’s happening?”.

Casting Animations

One of the casting animations for spells had weird bugs with their animations. I’ve had a weird audio sound when I was disarming traps in one specific spot of the game. It would make a really loud noise and then it never appeared in the rest of the game. An example was when in the shadowed lands, I would load into the game and my torch would be lit which is important to this scenario. However, when I loaded the same save once again, the torch has not been lit, leaving my character in a bad situation. It would take another load for it to be lit once again, although sometimes this wouldn’t work.

Other Issues

Other issues I’ve had are with the wizard. The wizard would be in your camp sometimes when I load and other times he would not appear for the same exact save. There have been some really strange bugs in my experience, but nothing game-breaking. These odd bugs will be slowly patched out and the only reason I mention them is the immersion-breaking effect they had.

Controller Pros & Cons

As for control and how they felt. On controller they did a really good job in my opinion as it’s very intuitive. It takes you a little bit to get used to and I think players playing on a controller are going to be just fine. There’s a little bit of time that it takes to kind of get your muscle memory down as there are a lot of things you can do.

One thing I kind of wish they would have done with the controller UI is give you a lot more information that’s like readily available on your screen. You need to go hunting through in order to find the information that is more easily available compared to on a keyboard and mouse. This one little gripe I had, but otherwise they did a good job here. There is a completely different UI for controller which they must have had to be completely redesigned. I think players will find it very intuitive and easy to use.

Romance & More

The last thing I want to talk a little bit about which I know is a popular topic for Baldur’s Gate 3 is romance. Ever since the infamous bear scene, I think people have been talking about this a lot a fair bit about romance and sex in the game. I think that’s a serious understatement. I have never seen so much in an RPG.

So Much Freedom

There is so much freedom in terms of what you can do and who you can romance. I actually feel like it’s, believe it or not, harder to not romance and fall into a sex scene than it is to do it. I am almost tempted to make a guide on “How Not to Have Romance in Baldur’s Gate 3”. If you particularly like a character and want to be with them, you have to really dodge advances from others. I feel there needs to be a guide on how to or how not to.

There is a lot of romance and sex in this game. I think it’s refreshing to see that an RPG isn’t limiting creative expression in that way. Players can have the freedom to do that, that’s part of role-playing in my opinion. Finding a character that you have a bond with and exploring that is definitely something I feel like should be in more RPGs. You play games such as the outer worlds or something similar, there’s no romance. You’re like this is just not realistic at all. It is as if they played it so safely in that game when it came to romance this game.

The Naked Truth

This is the complete opposite but I would say you know if you have young kids or something probably don’t play when they’re around. Baldur’s Gate 3 is just a very adult RPG. Even though there are filters for these sorts of things, just to give you an idea, without giving any spoilers, you can make your whole party naked. I mean run around through the whole game naked, with all of your characters including all cutscenes. In combat, I’ve never seen that before in a game in my life. That’s something you can absolutely do if you want.

Final Thoughts: Game of the Year 2023?

So in summary, to wrap it up Baldur’s Gate 3 is almost exactly what I expected so far. A very story-driven heavily narrative game that makes you make tough decisions. But you also get to see the outcomes of those decisions in a story that feels like it’s tailor-made for you and that no two players will have the exact same experience Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game. That I very publicly and definitively have been stating it WILL win Game of the Year. I haven’t been saying it should win game of the year. Or it could win the game of the year I’ve literally been saying it’s going to win Game of the Year.

Full Review Coming

After seeing what I’ve seen so far I still believe this is the case we will probably have a full review of the game out in the next week. So if you want to see what our actual review score for the game is and whether I actually still think it’ll be the Game of the Year after the full game, make sure you stay tuned for that. But I’ll just say the only slight concern is the bugs.

These as I’ve said aren’t that bad these are things that are going to get patched out over time. So a couple of weeks from now they probably won’t even exist. I’ve had no performance issues in 40 hours. Not a single frame drop and I’ve had zero crashes in over 40 hours. The load times are lightning fast I’ve had no sound issues, nothing like that. Other than a few bugs here and there. The game runs like a dream and stays tuned for a full review.

What do you guys think so far if you’re playing the game let me know in the comments below.

We’ll be putting out more guides and content. In the meantime check out our latest Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide. You can drop by our BG3 wiki for all the latest info on classes, weapons, skills, interactive map and more.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 Review Impressions Hands-On Spoiler-Free appeared first on Fextralife.

Armored Core 6 hands-on preview impressions and more from Los Angeles & Germany events. We got to play the first 11 missions and try out different cores.

Armored Core 6: Hands-On Preview for the Mech Enthusiast

Recently, we had the exciting opportunity to travel to Los Angeles for an in-person, hands-on experience with Armored Core 6, courtesy of FromSoftware and Bandai Namco. The highlight of the event was getting the chance to pilot a real-life Mech, which was undeniably cool. In this video, we’ll be sharing our impressions from the event and discussing what we think about Armored Core 6 so far, as well as what players can expect when the game releases on August 25th.

Before delving into the details, it’s worth mentioning that all the gameplay footage you’ll see in this video is our own captured gameplay from the event. This is not the same footage that has been shown in other Armored Core 6 videos; it’s specifically from our playthrough with our red Mech adorned with the Fextralife logo.

Missions of Rubicon

One aspect we want to touch upon is the game’s length based on the content we played. During the event, we were able to experience the first 11 missions of the full game, although we’re only allowed to showcase about half of those missions here. It took us just under three hours to complete these 11 missions, which was intriguing given that we were told the game would be around 50 to 60 hours long. This suggests that players can expect over 100 missions in total, although the later missions may be longer, slowing down the mission count progress.

The missions involve various tasks like taking out enemy Mechs, destroying enemy batteries, and acting as a wingman for other Mechs.

The dialogue we’ve encountered so far is well-executed, with characters feeling authentic and fitting the style of the game. Nonetheless, there were instances where the dialogues seemed overly lengthy, which could be a bit of a drawback, especially for newcomers eager to dive into combat. However, players do have the option to skip these dialogues, but we chose to listen to them to get a better understanding of the game’s background story and Armored Core 6 in general.

While the early dialogues in the game might be a bit lengthy but as you progress it becomes less of an issue. Each mission starts with a debriefing on your objectives, and then you load into the mission, which typically follows a format of starting in an open outdoor area and then moving to an indoor space with less verticality. Once the mission is completed, you return to the base for a debrief and possible foreshadowing of what’s to come in the overall story. Sometimes the story bits are told through cutscenes that tie together the game’s overarching plot nicely. 

Fast-Paced Mech Fighting

The combat is the game’s main focus, and the controls feel smooth and responsive, making it enjoyable to pilot the Mech even at high speeds. Mastering the game’s mechanics will take time, but skilled players will be able to perform incredible maneuvers and look very impressive in combat. This may even be more so than the Souls games, Armored Core 6 players will eventually be able to do even more cool and impressive things in this game. Not only will you be zooming around killing everything, but you’re going to look like an absolute badass while doing it.

Melee attacks are particularly powerful in the game, as they can stagger enemies and leave them vulnerable for a short time, making it easier to deal heavy damage. Your mech will actually be pulled forward into a melee attack animation. 

I also found that using a bazooka on my right-hand weapon made it so that after I did this melee combo, I could just fire that bazooka point-blank into the enemy before they could move. This often completely filled up their stagger gauge if they were close, and then I could repeat the melee attack and keep repeating this pattern. I used this strategy to defeat the final boss on Mission 11, and it allowed me to beat it on my first try. I was hyper-aggressive with melee and my bazooka, staggering the boss and unloading my rockets into it repeatedly.

This will definitely be everyone’s style in the game. I found that this particular approach worked well for me, but players will be able to express themselves very much since there is tons of build potential. 

Armored Core 6 Mech Customization

Let’s talk about Mech customization in Armored Core 6. At the beginning of the game, you’ll spend time customizing your Mech, experimenting with different legs, arms, weapons, and cores to find a setup that works for you. However, there are a lot of stats on these weapons that might be confusing for new players.

Understanding these stats becomes more important as the difficulty increases, helping you optimize your Mech setup. While it’s not necessary to understand everything from the start, delving into the customization options and understanding the stats will benefit you as you progress.

The Mech customization is a nostalgic and enjoyable aspect, and players can experiment with different weapon sets and configurations to find effective combinations. Players will spend a lot of time tinkering with their mechs, especially since the systems are extremely flexible. While it seemed like there were some distinctly better weapons than others, it will probably change later on in the game as more options open up. 

A substantial portion of the game revolves around customizing your Mech and engaging in pre and post-mission dialogues. However, as you fine-tune your Mech and get more familiar with the game mechanics, the tinkering aspect is likely to diminish, and the bulk of your playtime will consist of completing missions back-to-back, immersing you deeper into the gameplay.

Passing Visuals

Regarding Armored Core 6’s graphics, they are serviceable but not outstanding. Since the game is made for last-gen and current-gen consoles, it lacks the visual appeal that you might expect from a Mech game. As the industry advances with modern engines like Unreal Engine 5,

FromSoftware’s engine is starting to show its age. Despite this, the game runs smoothly, with no bugs or glitches, which is typical of FromSoftware’s games.

Armored Core 6 Preview: Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I enjoyed my time playing Armored Core 6, especially since I love Mech games. The controls feel familiar for those who have played FromSoftware’s other titles. However, I believe many players who are fans of FromSoftware’s other games, such as Elden Ring or Dark Souls, might be reluctant to switch immediately to Armored Core 6. The timing of its release might impact its initial player base. It is up against some heavy hitters, such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, Lies of P, or even Lords of the Fallen. Overall, the game is enjoyable, but its competition with other popular titles might affect its initial reception.

Be sure to check out the Armored Core 6 Wiki for more information on the game! 

The post Armored Core 6: Hands-On Preview for the Mech Enthusiast appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Exoprimal Review, we’ll be taking a look at CAPCOM’s new third-person cooperative shooter. What makes it unique compared to other shooters? What is the gameplay? Why are there dinosaurs involved? And is it even worth it? I’ll be answering these and covering more. If you’re loving our reviews, check out more here.

Story & Setting

The year is 2040 on Earth. Interdimensional rifts that are known as “Vortexes” appear on the planet. What comes out of these are hordes of dangerous dinosaurs and genetically modified reptiles called  “Neosaurs”. This event leads to global destruction. Humanity tries to fight back by deploying soldiers equipped with Exosuits manufactured by the Aibius Corporation. In conjunction with Exofighters out in the field, Aibius also developed an advanced AI called “Leviathan”. The AI assists these soldiers with their operations, fighting against Dinosaurs. Also tackling other threats who try to seek Aibius’ creations for their own.

Jumping to the present timeline, the year is 2043 and you play as Ace, a rookie Exofighter. This is a customizable character part of the patrol squad, the Hammerheads. Made up of members: Lorenzo, Alders, Majesty, and Sandy, an android assistant of the team. As the crew sets out on a patrol mission, they are intercepted by a vortex causing their ship to crash on Biktoa Island. Ace meets a Leviathan who seemingly has gone rogue. As confusion sparks, Ace is funneled back in time to a specific date in 2040. Here they learn about Leviathan hosting these “wargames” and meets a veteran Exofighter and participant of the event, Magnum.

Into the Wargames

As players progress, they are forced to participate and survive in the “wargames” that consist of different combat circumstances. They involve fighting hordes of dinosaurs and neosaurs that appear from vortexes controlled by the Leviathan itself. With the support of Magnum and Ace’s team, your goal is to survive the wargames while uncovering the truth behind Leviathan’s secrets and agenda. Ultimately to get off the mysterious island.

The storyline of the game and the mechanics of how to progress are not exactly Exoprimal’s strongest suit. At first, even though it felt gimmicky, I was still drawn in because I wanted to find out what would happen next. Ultimately wanting to uncover why these events were happening. However, after learning that I needed to keep playing matches in Dino Survival, my interest slowly started to fade away since its forceful, repetitive gameplay of slaying dinos slowly crept up on me.

Bumpy Beginnings

Either way I gave it a shot and as I reached pivotal moments of the game, it just wasn’t quite enough to reel me in. I had to continuously slog through its slow paced and clumsy cutscenes that I personally think didn’t really need to be there. If I wasn’t progressing the story, I was left with gathering pieces of lost intel that can be found on the Analysis Map. This ended up worsening my experience, because it left me confused on how to even manage it at the start.

The story of Mech Suits fighting Dinosaurs and solving the mystery of vortexes together with a rogue AI is quite a bold idea. Furthermore, might I even say quite unique in video games. However, it’s such a shame that Exoprimal loses its momentum and fails to entice players just because of its poor execution in progression.

Talking about the Setting of Exoprimal, I can’t say that it’s groundbreakingly original since the areas you play in Dino Survival mode are unexplorable. They also looked almost identical, and are pretty much objective-driven. This meant needing to head to Point A, defeat dinosaurs, head to Point B, slay more of these dinos. Rinse and repeat until you reach the end of the linear map, followed by completing the final face-off mission.

Character Development

As for character development, despite some missteps in dialogue and cutscenes, I was still somehow able to empathize with how Ace’s team struggles to survive. It was a delight to see how each member of the Hammerheads shine and flourish in their own way. It’s not as emotional or immersive I would say, but at least it was still able to translate into some sort of a reaction.

Gameplay

Wargames: Dino Survival

Exoprimal, currently only features one game mode called Dino Survival. A road map is planned for the next seasons to come, CAPCOM plans to release other game modes as well. There is no single-player mode that focuses purely on the story element of the game. Instead you are given a 2-for-1 mode that forces the player to jump into the PvE-slash-PvP system while progressing the story which leaves a concern that it can easily exhaust players with its repetitive gameplay.

When you jump into Dino Survival, two teams that consist of five players race against each other to complete different objectives. Ultimately ending in a showdown between the two groups, and whoever finishes first has the upper hand such as acquiring a Dominator that lets you summon and control one of the large dinosaurs. Dino Survival’s objectives, if I’m being honest, reminds me of some of Overwatch 2’s game modes such as capturing the point, deathmatch, and escorting a payload. The only difference is, throughout the course of the objectives, both teams need to make an effort to finish first just like in a race. In the middle of the segmented objectives, players can freely switch their Exosuits as they see fit.

Upon reaching the final mission, both teams will appear on the same map where they will need to complete the last task while fending off dinosaurs and fighting against each other. And yes, it is only during the final mission, when you reach the end of the map that both teams clash. By completing the final mission, regardless of winning or losing, you can receive in-game rewards, various experience points, lore intel, and story progression.

Lack of Single-Player Mode

At first, experiencing Dino Survival was fun and it felt exciting due to the fact that dinosaurs are involved and the idea of the game intrigued me. Combat without a doubt was fluid and fast-paced as I tried the different classes of Exosuits. This is not a surprise coming from CAPCOM, where they excel in delivering a great experiences when it comes to shooting, melee attacks, and movements.

However, at some point, it felt like a repetitive objective since there was no other choice but to participate in the said game mode. All I wanted was to progress the story faster and hoped to play in a Single-Player mode. This was such a bummer because currently, it doesn’t have anything else to offer but Dino Survival.

It’s a Team Game

When it came to playing with random players, just like any other team-based shooters, your experience with playing Exoprimal depends on how knowledgeable and skilled your teammates are when playing. And I’m going to be frank here, I was not having a great time playing with randoms especially if we weren’t working as a unit, it came to a point that it felt frustrated because we’d lose the match. I’d end up having to repeat the map only hoping that for the next matchmaking, I’d be in a decent group.

On the other hand, my initial negative experience was somehow alleviated the moment I got the chance to play with my friends, since there was proper communication and it was fun to think of different team compositions to win. I found playing with friend much more rewarding in this sense.

Apart from that, there is no form of looting and exploration which is a missed mark. I personally could see potential in this game if only it had introduced us to at least some variety of game modes and more features in its launch.

Exosuits

Exosuits are the different powered suits used to fight against enemies and these are divided into three classes or roles: Assault, Tank, and Support. Assault Exosuits are the main damage dealers that vary from close, medium, or long-range. They are fully equipped with abilities and weaponry that focus on combat. Tank Exosuits specialize in protecting their allies by absorbing damage and drawing enemy attacks. They are the team’s first line of defense, rigged with a defensive arsenal such as shields, and usually have a high HP. Finally, Support Exosuits are experts in using healing and debuffing or buffing abilities to ensure survivability and improve the combat effectiveness of the team.

Each Exosuit is unique in its own way when it comes to design and combat. I was quite excited to witness the differences of each and experience how effective or ineffective they are in a team compositions. For example, it is recommended to either have 3 Assault, 1 Tank, and 1 Support. Or 2 Assaults, 1 Tank, 1 Primary Healer, and 1 Buffing or Debuffing Support. Although I’ve countlessly mentioned how repetitive gameplay can be, Exoprimal actually shines in presenting a well-realized line-up of different Exosuits you can play and it invites players to be creative with forming an effective unit, that is strong enough to win matches.

Exosuit Customization

With that being said, even with having a diverse selection of Exosuits that consist of different gameplay and design. Exoprimal falls short when it comes to customization. It does not offer a variety of customization and has very little when it comes to creating builds for your Exosuit. This feels just like another missed opportunity. When it comes to altering an Exosuit, players can only modify the following:

• Rigs are secondary equipment that grants an extra ability such as firing a laser beam, deploying a small repair field, and more. These are only limited to equipping one Rig per Exosuit.
• Modules of up to three are passive chips slotted to an Exosuit to refine its overall effectiveness in combat such as adding a movement speed burst, increased durability, faster reload, as well as enhancing the performance of some of the Exosuit’s unique abilities. These are unlocked and its level can be improved by spending BikCoins, provided that the Exosuit level has reached its requirement.
• Finally, cosmetic customizations where players can change the outfit of the pilot. This includes the Exosuit’s weapon and actual suit by modifying its skins, as well as equipping different emotes and stamps of the personalized communication wheel.

For a team-based shooter game, there are some interesting and unique features, but to be honest, there’s not much really going on beyond that. Despite the lack of customization that I was looking for, CAPCOM at least holds its own when it comes to gameplay, design, mechanics, and combat fluidity of the Exosuits.

Audio & Visuals

Let’s talk about the Sound and Visuals of Exoprimal. As much as I wanted to observe the design of the maps in Dino Survival, it wasn’t enough time for me to place my judgment since the game would either kick me for being inactive or I would be teleported near my team if I strayed to far away. In Dino Survival matches, players are pretty much distracted by hordes of dinosaurs while focusing on the objectives. With that being said, whenever I was rewarded with cutscenes the rendition of the characters and surroundings of Exoprimal had plenty of attention to detail.

You don’t really get to see a variety of locations here since you’re trapped on the island where you’ll only find Ace upon the crew ship, the space of augmented reality, and currently, the few maps you’ll play in Dino Survival. But visually, the overall background is pleasing to the eye even with dinosaurs running at you, colors pop when looking at vegetation growing around structures, and the effects of abilities are not distracting or flashy.

What stood out to me is the performance captured of the characters which I personally think Capcom perfects since their technology is some of the best out there. The facial expressions and voice-overs of the actors did a great job of portraying the emotions that were portrayed well.

Sound

When it comes to Sound, I was sometimes confused as to why the use of sci-fi metal music was intermittent. Appearing in some moments while not in others. The rest of the the music that was produced seemed rather forgetable. This didn’t really help my immersion since it was mostly combined with clumsy cutscenes and it easily pulled me out of the fantasy. However, when it came to moments of the game where danger was imminent or when you are battling and hearing the screeching sound of a dinosaur, its tone felt right getting your heart pounding and adrenaline rushing.

Performance

As far as the Performance of the game, during the time of this review, I played Exoprimal on the PS5 and there were no issues when it came to lag or frame drops. Loading transitions of the game were almost non-existent. Howevere there were a few instances where it would take about a minute or two for the loading screen after matchmaking in Dino Survival. Exoprimal is equipped with cross-play, so queue times are fast and the longest I’ve waited for matchmaking was about 2 minutes, which is not bad.

Replayability & Pricepoint

Talking about Replayability, I honestly think it’s not looking great at this point. Currently, it only offers Dino Survival mode, and with the next seasons to come, new game modes, variations of Exosuits, Maps, new dinos, and collaborations will make their way to the game. But I foresee that it’s not enough to retain a large volume of players in the long run.

If it’s your first time trying out Exoprimal, it’s definitely is a breath of fresh air in terms of experience, and there are tons of fun times ahead simply because you’re about to fight dinos. Also, with enough matches, the game does at least throw some unexpected features at you like stronger dinos and new objectives.

These are great but the core of Exoprimal is team composition. If you are someone who plays solo you’ll easily get burned out and frustrated if you’re unlucky to be teaming up with inexperienced or stubborn players. So if you really do want to give Exoprimal a shot, I highly recommend that you introduce the game to your friends and influence them to play it with you because the experience of playing Exoprimal shines bright when you are playing with people you know or simply can communicate with.

Pricing

The standard edition of Exoprimal is priced at USD $59.99 while its deluxe edition is at USD $79.99 that includes full access to the Battle Pass and a Head Start kit that unlocks additional Exosuits Vigilant, Murasame, and Nimbus, as well as three Exosuit skins. USD $60.00 is the standard price now for most of the video games out there but I don’t think it’s a justified price because of the underwhelming content it presented at launch, plus a battle pass that offers exclusive skins and cosmetic items.

Despite the price and involvement of cosmetic microtransactions, Exoprimal is not a shooter game that has the element of “pay-to-win”. As for cosmetic items, you don’t really need to buy the Battle Pass unless you want to. Most of the cosmetics that are not BP exclusives, can be easily earned by opening war chests or spending in-game currency, called Bikcoins. These can be acquired through character leveling and by simply completing Dino Survival matches.

Luckily, Exoprimal is available on Game Pass. So if you’re someone who wants to try out the game, you can easily hop right in if already subscribed. On the other hand, if you’re on the PlayStation, try watching gameplay first. Or wait until a new game mode is released. It’s not that far off anyway for new content to drop as its first update and game mode are expected to release on July 28th.

Final Thoughts

Exoprimal is a game that may seem familiar to players who are veterans of other shooter titles. After sharing my concerns on repetitiveness and replayability, behind it all is a bold statement where proper team composition and gameplay shines. This makes the game at least stand on its own two dino feet. If you’re someone who has a solid group that religiously plays online games, then you and your friends will have a good time. However, I anticipate that Exoprimal is a game that for some that will enjoy playing initially and eventually move on which is a shame since the game does have potential. If only it had a structured format and a variety of content upon launch.

It’s definitely is not for everyone as it may divide and leave players confused with its dipsarity of unique elements such as the PvP-PvE system, diverse Exosuit combat mechanics, and credible visuals. Personally, I don’t see myself hopping back into the game anytime soon unless my friends ask, but I can’t avoid the fact that I had some fun with it, which is what matters.

For more gaming reviews check out next Remnant 2 Review and Final Fantasy XVI Review: An Action-Packed Upgrade for a Beloved Franchise.

The post Exoprimal Review: Dinosaurs Let Loose appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Remnant 2 Review we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the anticipated sequel to Remnant from the Ashes, which brings a lot of new mechanics and improvements to the franchise. Developed by Gunfire Games, Remnant II takes the foundation laid by its predecessor and builds upon it. But the question is: Should you play Remnant II? Is it a Soulslike game? How is the character progress in Remnant 2? Read on to find out.

Remnant II Review

Remnant II: Story and Setting

Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth Remnant II is a direct sequel to Remnant: From the Ashes. You play as the Traveler, an individual who can traverse through realms via World Stones and possesses extraordinary will and resolve. The World Stones connect Earth to other Locations and beings. It’s one of the greatest human discoveries and triumphs of mankind, but also their gravest downfall.

The main enemy in Remnant 2 is the Root, a grave threat that has left humanity on the brink of extinction and brought about the collapse of civilization. Humanity strives to recover, setting a base of operations in Ward 13, the last standing bastion of safety, and a recurring location from the previous title.

While the story of Remnant 2 continues along the same lines as From the Ashes. The narrative design may feel clumsy at times. Rather than progressing in a crescendo of intrigue, the game fizzles out when it comes to lore aspects, and fails to capitalize on the most interesting parts of Remnant’s unique setting.

Story Progression

Story Progression is also lacking, and I found myself begrudging my unrelatable companions and insipid supporting characters. The Traveler, seems stuck in an unfortunate cockiness that was off-putting as well, leaving me with little emotional investment in any of the available cast, which is a shame.

Despite the shortcomings in narrative development and writing, the Remnant 2 team did successfully create an interesting world. The World Building is actually quite enticing, and I found myself pondering and inventing my own independent backstory to the circumstances of each world that I visited: how did this place come to be? What led to its current state? Will my actions here change the fate of this realm? Should I try a different approach in my next playthrough? My interactions with the factions and parties that I met in other realms felt like the true story, even though they are considered side content or flavor text.

In short, the story and narrative of Remnant 2 is not as compelling as I would like for my RPGs. But there are highs to be found by looking thoroughly, and fortunately, the game does shine on its core focus: Gameplay.

Remnant II Review – Gameplay

Level design, overall gameplay, and replayability are Remnant 2’s strongest aspects, it is clear this is where Gunfire focused their talents and efforts. Remnant II features a great blend of exploration, combat, and character progression. As a player, you’ll embark on a journey through diverse and dangerous environments, encountering a wide range of enemies and bosses along the way and with the freedom to engage them via a vast array of intricate character Builds.

Remnant II – Exploration

We all know how progression goes for Soulslike titles. However, this is where the Remnant series deviates from the template by relying on RNG when generating the content of your playthrough. For clarity, each playthrough will be different as the game assigns and randomized the events and scenarios that a player encounters in a certain world. This covers dungeons, map layouts, enemies, main objectives, and even NPCs. Expect different encounters and gameplay variations that may involve puzzles reminiscent of Resident Evil series or a little bit of platforming and avoiding deadly traps on certain levels when cycling on each playthrough.

I quite enjoy this mechanic, as starting a new playthrough provides a fresh experience due to the variety of stories involved, and cycling through these worlds makes your character stronger every run. The more you hunt for rare loot, the more your character develops via XP for your Archetypes equipped and through valuable materials to upgrade your weaponry.

This provides an addicting loop that can become quite obsessive, particularly if you’re taking on it with friends. There are drawbacks, of course, as you may find farming time-consuming when trying to hunt a specific boss in a dungeon for certain loot, especially Archetype Engrams, which let you access different Archetypes, since I needed to restart the worlds countless times and check if the dungeon I was looking for was generated each time.

RNG by Design

The whole RNG design is a double-edged sword and players with limited time may not appreciate this aspect, while those that enjoy a bit of a grind or some farming to acquire the gear they need, will likely look at this as a major plus point of the game.

Gunfire has provided some ways to circumvent this in a sense though, as a player can engage in two modes: The Main Campaign Mode, and Adventure Mode. The main campaign is self-explanatory, this determines the progress of the story. It is advisable to start your first playthrough here rather than spamming Adventure Mode so your progression follows certain main story objectives rather than plunging into new worlds without it in mind. Once the player unlocks all worlds, these worlds can be revisited in Ward 13‘s World Stone. Adventure Mode on the other hand serves as “quick matches” and they can be reset limitlessly while retaining the character’s main progress.

Remnant II – Combat

Remnant II’s combat is fast-paced, and intense, requiring precise timing and strategic thinking that follows the familiar tempo of the Soulslike Genre. Some of the original allure of Remnant from the Ashes was its nods to the Fromsoftware titles, and Souls fans will see the similarities and note the varied applications of familiar mechanics.

Intermingling souls and traditional RPG mechanics with third-person shooting and some new and clever ideas, the gameplay is simply a lot of fun. The controls are improved from the previous title, and their fluidity allows for quick movement and dynamic combat maneuvers. Manage your ammo and time your shots carefully while calculating dodge timings and I-framing against hordes of enemies.

Remnant II is a step up from its predecessor in most cases and enemy designs have also improved. Like in a Souls game, every enemy poses a decent threat, regardless of its size, and each world features its own kind of creatures and enemies, with their own strengths and weaknesses for you to discover and exploit.

Enemies

There are many enemy groups and they can become overwhelming, with Elite mobs having the assistance of a group of minions that you have to thin out before you can proceed. These encounters are fun to play, and you will probably appreciate them even more when playing cooperatively.

If you are an enthusiast of the genre, and are accustomed to the traditional Soulslike design where the main focus is melee combat, even if you have modest experience in shooters you should have no issues, thanks to the well-thought-out combat mechanics, transitioning and adapting to Remnant’s gameplay is easy. If you have not played the first title, you should expect to die a lot while learning and adjusting to the new mechanics and tempo, which is typical Soulslike design.

The overall difficulty is debatable as “skill-based”, but it may pose a challenge for beginners while fans of the previous game will feel right at home, particularly with the approach to Boss encounters, and each boss encounter has mechanics of its own.

It is plain to see that the bosses in Remnant II are not as good as those you’d find in a FromSoftware title, however, each of the bosses in Remnant II has mechanics that you must discern and counter, from finding weak spots to identifying arena safe spaces. These can also come to feel gimmicky, but overall the combination of level design, enemy and boss farming is a good gameplay loop with entertaining combat, mainly because of the build variety. So let’s look into that a bit more.

The Traveler’s Archetypes

Defeating hordes of enemies and relatively good bosses is fun on its own, but how much more if correlated with an intricate class system and a competitive array of weapon types? Remnant II provides a hefty amount of customization with a good variety of builds to suit different playstyles.

Archetypes are Remnant 2’s classes and you gain class experience as you kill enemies. Similar to D&D classes, as the Archetype level goes up, the more “features” in the form of perks and skills that the player unlocks. Players can start with distinct Classes right from the start by selecting one of: The Hunter, The Challenger, The Handler, and The Medic. Each type has unique gameplay and they all interact in a multiplayer party. For example The Hunter is the basic DPS that specializes in critical hits, while The Medic provides support to the team with helpful buffs such as damage mitigations and heals.

The most interesting part about the classes is not only that you unlock more classes by playing further into the game, but that you can also slot a second class, and gain levels in that class. Multiclassing is massive in the sense that each build can have a primary Archetype and equip a second one, enjoying all the passive buffs, perks, and unique traits. This makes builds and combinations really fun to explore and discover, which is only then enhanced further by equipment. 

The Traveler’s Equipment

Archetypes are already a treat but how about Weapons and Armor sets? There’s a significant repertoire of both traditional or otherworldly guns and melee weapons available in the game. Weapons that have unique stats and effects are categorized into three main types, Long Guns, Melee Weapons, and Hand Guns. Further customization can be made by adding Mods.

Armor passive bonuses from the first game have been removed, so you now don’t have to focus on a specific set and can instead equip each slot of your inventory based on the benefits each piece provides, which was one of the main changes requested by the fans of the original title.

Remnant 2 Review – Design, Audio, and Visual

Remnant II’s level design was a surprisingly bright point for me. I could see the efforts the developers did to make each level or world unique as possible for the player to explore, and this was definitely appreciated. I found myself frequently halting just to take in the landscapes in front of me. The lush forest of Yaesha and its floating islands, the unearthly and massive barren fields of N’Erud and dead spaceships with aliens’ nests, Losomn’s dark fantasy-themed castles, and maze-like city streets, to the mysterious and bizarre Labyrinth that connects all worlds. Each of these worlds provided compelling encounters due to the well-thought-out environmental storytelling.

The world design is also supported by a strong soundtrack that matches the setting and delivers the right atmosphere for nearly every situation. The voice acting is also competent and well-suited to the game, making everything work well together to help you lose yourself in the creative vision of the team.

Graphics

While the graphics are not the top of the industry, they are improved from the previous title and serviceable for modern gaming. You will probably notice this most on the character models and on the cosmetics for armor and weapons as you play.

Performance

Performance-wise, the game ran smoothly for me at 2k resolution with 80 frames per second. Your preferences and mileage may vary depending on your rig. We did however encounter several bugs and rendering issues, however we had a very early access copy of the game that is missing crucial patches that should be done by launch, so overall I don’t think there will be anything game-breaking. That said, and as always, we cannot verify how the game will look after the day 1 patch, so if you have performance-related concerns you can wait until then and check out our streams to see how it’s looking on launch day.

Remnant II: Replayability & Pricepoint

Replayability & Multiplayer Aspects

Replayability is one of Remnant 2’s greatest strengths, but if you don’t like the “loot farm”, it can also be its greatest flaw. If you are the type of player who loves exploring an ever-changing world and loves to tinker with builds via RNG, this is for you. Endgame activities include trying harder difficulties while improving your builds, revamping your equipment, or exploring the different options for the many random scenarios you encounter as side stories.

But why dive into a sea of RNG alone when you can play with friends? Much like its predecessor, Remnant II offers a rewarding multiplayer experience. Team up with friends or random players online to tackle challenging missions together and explore intricately map layouts.

I really enjoyed my time with the game and the cooperative gameplay adds another layer of excitement and strategy, as players can combine their skills and abilities to overcome formidable enemies and bosses. The seamless integration of multiplayer features makes Remnant II a truly social and collaborative experience.

Price Point

My first playthrough in Remnant II took 25 to 30 hours, but bear in mind that the game progression is highly dependent on the player’s skill level so this may greatly vary. Your first playthrough is almost the introduction to the game as the whole point is to delve deeper into the difficulties and get more loot. Considering the Steam Standard Edition is being sold at 49.99, the sheer amount of content that the game offers makes it worth every penny for players who enjoy this kind of gameplay loop, particularly if they want to play with others.

Final Thoughts

Remnant II is a step up compared to its predecessor in every way, and it’s clear that Gunfire put effort into listening to fan feedback. Striking world design, immersive character progression and combat, cooperative multiplayer features, an engaging gameplay loop, and good replayability propel Remnant 2 forward where many games have taken steps backwards.

If you are a new player and still on the fence, I highly suggest hopping into the game despite its perceived difficulty, as you can easily find help online to get over the initial hurdles.

Jumping into Remnant II? Check out our Beginner Guide to get all the necessary tips & tricks. Head to our wiki for all the info on classes, builds, weapons and more.

The post Remnant 2 Review appeared first on Fextralife.

Final Fantasy XVI Review:  In this Final Fantasy XVI Review, we’ll be taking a look at the latest entry to the Final Fantasy series which is developed by Creative Business Unit III and published by Square Enix. What does this game have to offer, what makes it stand out among the other Final Fantasy games, what is the gameplay, and what are the things you can do for both side and post-game content? We’ll answer these and cover your other questions in this Final Fantasy XVI Review.

Final Fantasy XVI Review: An Action-Packed Upgrade for a Beloved Franchise

• Genre: Action Role-Playing Game, Adventure
• Developed by: Creative Business Unit III, Square Enix
• Published by: Square Enix
• Release Date: June 22, 2023
• Platform/s: PlayStation 5
• Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
• Price at the time of Review: USD 69.99 ~ 99.99

Final Fantasy XVI Review: Story and Setting

Storytelling and the fictional world of Final Fantasy XVI are well-realized, breathtaking, and compelling. As a player who finds story-driven games attractive, the game does its job of reeling me into the unfolding plot, making me fall in love with the characters, and imprinting itself in my mind even when I’m not playing it, leaving me wanting to come back for more. That is what Final Fantasy games are known for. Delivering a solid story with a cohesive world. Final Fantasy XVI is no exception, and Creative Business Unit III and Square Enix have nailed it.

Final Fantasy XVI is set in a medieval period within Valisthea, divided into two continents, Ash and Storm. The land is scattered with Mothercrystals that provide people with magic and energy, driving civilization through the Aether’s power. In the present day, the nation is divided into six kingdoms that are fighting to gain control of their respective Mothercrystals, each with different goals of maintaining the alliance, conquering, and surviving the Blight’s corruption that continues to threaten and destroy Valisthea.

The key components of the story heavily revolve around the political aspects of the different kingdoms, their military, leaders, and the Dominants: humans who have been chosen as hosts to the different elemental Eikons. These Dominants can use magic without the crystals and can transform into their respective Eikons, making them the ultimate weapons used in war. However, excessive use of their gifts can lead to serious implications for their lives and ultimately result in death.

The game follows the story of the protagonist, Clive Rosfield, the firstborn son of the archduke of The Grand Duchy of Rosaria. He is also the dedicated “Shield” to his younger brother and successor to the throne, Joshua Rosfield who happens to be the Dominant of the Fire Eikon, Phoenix. As we witness Clive’s life in his teenage years, a series of unfortunate events unfold. The Grand Duchy of Rosaria falls, a battle between two Eikons emerges, and a tragedy befalls the Rosfield brothers, setting Clive on a path of vengeance.

Throughout your journey as Clive, you’ll experience the different phases of his life and learn more about the game’s lore through story progression, interactions with different NPCs, side quests, and the game’s unique feature, the ATL or Active Time Lore. We won’t spoil too much in this review since we want everyone to enjoy the story and the revelations that unfold.

Final Fantasy XVI has a darker tone, and we appreciate it. It may not be how we are accustomed to a traditional Final Fantasy game, but for this installment, the Game of Thrones inspiration and grittier vibe seemingly work. Video games, in general, are another form of storytelling, and overall, the story and setting of this game are among its strongest features. When combined with superb voice acting and a well-written script, it definitely leaves both new and veteran fans of the Final Fantasy series in shock and awe. One tip: you might want to keep a box of tissues beside you.

Final Fantasy XVI Review: Gameplay

As I sat down to play for this review, I was worried that the pacing would slow me down and eventually bore me since there are a lot of cutscenes and dialogue, especially in the prologue. However, with patience and the fact that the game starts off with a bang, I was unaware of the amount of time I’d spent playing and how drawn I was as the tension of the story started to build. More gameplay mechanics eventually became accessible to me as I progressed. Yes, it can be slow during the prologue, but it immediately opens more once you start in the present day, and there is a generous amount of content when it comes to the key features and combat mechanics of the game. Let’s talk more about it.

Exploration

Let me start by clarifying that Final Fantasy XVI is not an open-world game, and this could divide players since the open-world setting was already done in Final Fantasy XV. So why not make it possible here? Honestly, it doesn’t need to be for this installment. It reminds me of classic Final Fantasy games, and it feels like the developers decided to “go back to their roots,” which works for this game. In Final Fantasy XVI, locations to explore become available through the story progression. You’ll gain access to the World Map, and from there, you do have some freedom to travel to different areas, provided they are unlocked and can be accessed during certain parts of the main story. 

The locations you explore are divided into sections and are mostly linear, starting from Point A and ultimately reaching Point B, which is your objective. As you traverse these areas such as forests, ruins, village settlements, the desert, and more, you’ll encounter enemies that vary from beasts to humans, including flora and fauna. You’ll discover different loot and fight against bosses. Some areas may feel large in terms of space, but they can easily be cleared out by consulting the location’s map.

While tackling Main Quests, you are not obligated to go directly to the location where the objective of the main quest takes place. Instead, you can always go back to other explored areas and the main hub of the game to engage in side quests, bounty hunting, equipment upgrades, training, or simply exploration. Yes, it might feel underwhelming for some due to the limited space available for exploration, but I still admired the design of each location and interacting with the different characters. Personally, I didn’t feel overwhelmed or distracted by larger spaces.

In areas that require more exploration, sections can be easily traversed by discovering obelisks. These allow the player to easily fast travel from one obelisk to another, as long as it is active. The world and characters change through story progression, so it’s important to revisit pivotal locations like the hub to discover new items in shops, unlock new crafting recipes, find additional side quests, engage in more NPC interactions, and more.

Overall, the exploration aspect of the game, searching areas as I progressed while fighting enemies and bosses, including interactions with the environment and characters, left me satisfied. I appreciated how easy it is to use both the world and area maps, as well as the convenient and simplified features for fast traveling.

Combat Systems

Final Fantasy XVI excels in three areas: the story, visuals and sounds, and combat. When you start the game, the pacing of combat might be slow for some, but this won’t matter since more options become available as you progress through the main story. Be patient, learn the basic maneuvers, and experience Clive’s journey as he unlocks his full potential as a skilled warrior.

Clive has the capability of wielding different Eikonic powers, as heavily featured in trailers, and this is where the combat shines. Without a doubt, the combat reminded me of a combination of games such as Stranger of Paradise and Devil May Cry. You can execute different combos that involve melee attacks and abilities, as well as switch Eikons on the fly to unleash unique elemental skills. The fluidity of combat enhances the experience, allowing me to instruct Torgal to jump in and attack, heal, and launch enemies in the air while simultaneously using combos of melee and magic, ultimately finishing them off with a cheeky little mortal blow finisher.

During minor and major boss battles, I found myself in awe of the smooth transitions between fighting and cinematic moments that involve Quick Time Events (QTEs). The exhilarating experience of Eikon vs. Eikon combat, reminiscent of Kaiju battles, left me picking up my jaw from the floor. The action role-playing game (ARPG) elements in this installment fit perfectly, and it felt rewarding whenever I perfectly dodged, parried, staggered, and executed combos using different combinations of Eikonic Abilities.

Eikon combat in Final Fantasy XVI plays a pivotal role in the game due to its breathtaking and majestic sequences. As you embody an Eikon, you’ll have access to their unique controls and mechanics. For example, Ifrit is capable of lunging toward the target, delivering heavy blows, and throwing fireballs from a ranged distance, while Phoenix is agile, flying in the air, evading attacks, and shooting a barrage of flames. However, summoning or embodying an Eikon does not work like in traditional Final Fantasy games, where you can summon these powerful creatures at any given time in battle. Instead, it only happens during pivotal moments in the game.

As mentioned, you’ll need to progress the story to unlock Clive’s full combat capabilities. But early in the game, players have access to a set of basic combat skills and the Eikonic Abilities of the Phoenix. Abilities in Final Fantasy XVI are unlocked by spending Ability Points (AP), acquired by defeating enemies and completing quests. You can learn these abilities and improve their effects or potency by “Upgrading” and “Mastering” them in exchange for more AP. For each equipped Eikonic power, Clive can choose two abilities mapped to the Square or Triangle buttons. Pressing R2 with Square or Triangle unleashes the Eikon’s Ability. These abilities have cooldowns and will refill over time.

While the combat sounds exciting, it’s important to note that you’ll need to get used to using combos effectively. Yes, it is an ARPG, but it doesn’t mean you can just keep mashing buttons and hope for the best. I had to learn through the training mode and constant battles that chaining combos while giving commands to Torgal and switching between Eikons requires timing and situational awareness. The number of combos you can perform on the ground and in the air is exciting, and it’s refreshing to see in a Final Fantasy game. The game also features a recommended string of combos, which you can view in the ability details by pressing Triangle, making it easier to try a variety of moves and abilities.

Like any other Final Fantasy game, Clive has access to equipment such as weapons, armor, and accessories that improve his offensive and defensive stats. Once you unlock the forge, you can ask Blackthorne to craft new weapons or reinforce existing ones to increase their level and stats in exchange for materials. Alternatively, you can purchase equipment and items from general merchants like Charon’s Toll. While I do wish they added some cosmetic items like costumes to change Clive’s or the party members’ clothing, I’ll let it pass since there’s still a touch of customization where each weapon available for Clive has a unique appearance, which is a staple in Final Fantasy games.

Regarding party members, you only get to control Clive, and throughout the story, you are joined by different characters who act as AI companions in battle. These companions cannot be controlled directly, nor can you switch between them; they act of their own free will. AI companions do not have health bars, which means they won’t die, but they can get hit with attacks that interrupt their actions.

However, you do have some control over the greatest companion in the game, Torgal. Torgal is a hound who is your trusty companion most of the time. He has access to three moves: Sic, a basic attack that can be used to extend combos; Heal, which recovers Clive’s HP; and Ravage, which launches small enemies into the air. If Torgal accompanies Clive during battle, his Pedigree level improves, increasing the potency of his attacks and effectiveness in combat.

My only gripe is that these AI companions sometimes react slowly when I need them to follow up with attacking a staggered enemy or even help with healing the party. I also wish I could customize their equipment to improve their effectiveness in combat. However, this is a minor issue that doesn’t significantly affect my overall experience. I hope future patches or updates will allow us to control and customize other party members, similar to Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Side & Post-Game Content

In addition to the main campaign, Final Fantasy XVI offers a considerable amount of side and post-game content. While we can’t disclose the exact number of side quests available in this review, there is a generous number of them. There is also an “Arcade” mode, bounty hunts, collectibles to find, and a New Game Plus mode that introduces further challenges. Let’s delve into the different side and post-game content:

• Side Quests: As you progress through the game, side quests become available and are marked with a green exclamation point on the area map. These side quests are important for your journey as they provide additional lore, unlock features or upgrades, and offer useful rewards. Certain side quests may become temporarily locked during specific points in the game and will only be available after progressing through the main story.
• Collectibles: The lore of Final Fantasy XVI is compelling, and you’ll want to stay updated on the events. As Clive progresses, he can interact with Loresman Hapcrates to find a comprehensive compendium of Valisthean lore. The compendium covers basic information, persons, geography, history, and past ATL entries. By sharing stories of Clive’s adventures with Hapcrates, the Thousand Tomes gets updated, and more topics become accessible as the Loresman’s level increases. The hideaway also includes an Orchestrion that provides background music for the hub. The tracklist expands as you acquire more orchestrion rolls from completing quests, purchasing them from merchants, or finding them as loot.
• Bounty Hunts: As you progress through the main campaign, you’ll unlock the Hunter Board, where you can select from a group of elite enemies that need to be slain in exchange for hefty rewards. These unique enemies can be challenging to fight, depending on their rank, so make sure you are prepared before taking on the hunt.
• Arete Stone: The Arete Stone is unlocked as you progress and offers replayable elements to hone your combat skills. The Hall of Virtue serves as a training mode where you can adjust parameters and try out different combos. Arcade Mode allows you to replay any previously cleared stage and awards a score based on performance. Stage Replay, like Arcade Mode, lets you replay a cleared stage at the current level to gain experience points (EXP) and obtain random loot.
• New Game Plus: Upon completing the game, you’ll have the option to start a New Game Plus (NG+) playthrough. In NG+, you can carry over certain progress and items from your previous playthrough, allowing you to experience the game again with added challenges and benefits.

It’s worth noting that side quests and post-game content provide opportunities to gain additional experience points, AP, and items, which can be beneficial for tackling more challenging battles, optimizing your character’s abilities, and unlocking achievements.

Final Fantasy XVI Review: Design, Audio, and Visuals

The design of Final Fantasy XVI is undeniably beautiful and well-suited to its medieval setting. As I explored different locations, each one felt unique and I found myself admiring the lush green forests with dangerous fauna, towering medieval castles and ruins with impeccable details, bustling cities surrounded by market stalls, and small, quiet towns where citizens lived their lives. Even areas that were once vibrant had been consumed by the blight, turning lifeless.

The characters, including NPCs, are well-crafted and each has their own unique wardrobe. The Dominants are dressed to reflect their personalities and Eikons. For example, Jill, the dominant of Shiva, wears a conservative battle robe with hints of blue, while Benedikta wears a more provocative outfit with feather accents to represent the wind Eikon, Garuda. The representation of different magical elements is stunning, with vibrant colors that pop when magic is cast, making combat visually satisfying.

The audio in the game is exceptional, thanks to the work of music composer Masayoshi Soken. The orchestral score he created enhances the adrenaline during combat and suits the different locations you explore. The intense drums, violins, brass instruments, and angelic choir voices adapt and build tension according to your gameplay, immersing you in the experience.

Voice acting in the game is available in multiple languages, including English, Japanese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish (Latin America). I initially played with Japanese voices but found it distracting that the words didn’t match the characters’ mouth movements. Switching to English felt more natural, but both Japanese and English voice acting were delightful to listen to. The actors delivered splendid performances, fully realizing their characters.

Final Fantasy XVI is currently exclusive to the PlayStation 5 and offers the choice between Frame Rate or Graphics Mode. I predominantly played in Frame Rate Mode for the fast-paced action and over-the-top scenes and effects, aiming for a smooth 60 FPS experience. Graphics Mode, on the other hand, enhances visual clarity with higher quality at the expense of a lower 30 FPS frame rate, which can affect fluidity in battle sequences and input responses.

The game transitions seamlessly between combat, cutscenes, and cinematic quick-time events. Loading times are virtually non-existent, and fast traveling is nearly instant. Overall, the game performs exceptionally well, with the only minor issue being a few seconds of frame drops during a specific cutscene in one of the early chapters. However, I believe this can be addressed through post-launch patch updates.

Final Fantasy XVI Review: Replayability & Price Point

According to game director Hiroshi Takai, completing the story of Final Fantasy XVI will take around 35 hours, and including all side and post-game content could extend the playtime to 70-80 hours. In my opinion, starting New Game Plus (NG+) in the harder mode could potentially add another 90 hours, as it adjusts enemy and boss behaviors and increases combat difficulty.

After finishing the main story for the first time, you’ll unlock New Game Plus, which introduces Final Fantasy Mode (Hard Mode) and other game modes accessible through the Arete Stone, such as gauntlets where players can upload scores and climb online leaderboards.

In Final Fantasy Mode, enemies become tougher, their placements are adjusted, combat difficulty is increased, and better rewards are available for gear upgrades. Completionists will likely benefit from experiencing NG+ features, while most players may choose to end their journey after completing the game once.

The physical and digital Standard Edition of Final Fantasy XVI is priced at $69.99 USD, while the physical Deluxe Edition costs $99.99 USD and includes pre-order DLCs, a cloth world map of Valisthea, and a steel book case. The Digital Deluxe Edition on the PS Store is priced at $89.99 USD and offers digital bonuses such as an art book and soundtrack.

Considering the exceptional quality of gameplay, storytelling, audio, and visuals, the $69.99 USD price point is reasonable for Final Fantasy XVI. If you have been eagerly anticipating this game, were convinced by the demo, or are simply a fan of the Final Fantasy franchise, I believe it’s a fair price. However, if you’re still unsure, you can download the demo on the PS5 to experience and gain a better understanding of what the game has to offer.

Final Thoughts

Initially, I had reservations about Final Fantasy XVI due to my preference for traditional turn-based combat mechanics and my mixed feelings towards previous entries like Final Fantasy XV, which leaned towards an action RPG approach. However, after playing the demo and experiencing the full game, my perspective changed. I accepted and embraced the new direction Square Enix has taken to appeal to a wider audience.

Whether you’re a new or veteran fan of Final Fantasy, I highly recommend this game. Final Fantasy XVI combines new features with the core elements of the franchise. It boasts a refreshing, grittier, and darker tone, with storytelling that consistently builds tension and reveals intriguing revelations. The gameplay is satisfying, featuring different types of action sequences and fluid combat mechanics, fully utilizing the power of the PlayStation 5. Final Fantasy XVI has become one of my favorite entries in the series, winning me over with its well-crafted story and breathtaking gameplay.

The post Final Fantasy XVI Review: An Action-Packed Upgrade for a Beloved Franchise appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Armored Core 6 preview, we’re going to be talking about new gameplay details for the mech Souls game that’s being developed by From Software, releasing on August 25th, and coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and PC via Steam.  

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Gameplay Preview and Impressions

Just a couple of days ago, we were fortunate enough to attend a presentation being put on by From Software and Bandai Namco, where the producer of the game, Yasunori Ogura, showed us the ins and outs of Armored Core VI.

If you didn’t know, Armored Core is a staple franchise for From Software and one of their first franchises, first being published in 1997 at the studio’s inception.

Armored Core VI aims to take this franchise and reboot it in a sense, and it seems to me, having seen this presentation and watched the gameplay, that there are a lot of Souls-like mechanics that you will see in this gameplay if you look closely enough.

Flying Through the Fires of Rubicon

So, for starters, let’s take a look at one of the big focuses of Armored Core VI, and this is the use of three-dimensional space as a mech. Your player is piloting a mech in this game, so being able to move up and down vertically and travel in these huge spaces, which is only possible because you’re driving a mech, is a huge focus of this game.

Designing these huge three-dimensional spaces for each mission is a significant part of this game, allowing players to take on objectives in different ways and giving them enough room to maneuver around. It makes players feel like they’re in a mech and can pilot it around, and they’re not just confined to a limited space. This is one big aspect of the level design.

The other part of this is the interior spaces of each level. After you’ve explored the exterior and got into the later parts of a mission, you’re going to be inside more confined spaces, and verticality plays a lesser degree in this space. It’s more on the same level playing field, not completely vertical like in the larger spaces of the game. This is where you really get to see the combat that From Software is known for, where players decide when to use their shield when to boost left or right when to attack. 

Final Flight of the Osiris

What’s really interesting about the combat in Armored Core VI is that there is an impact gauge above the enemy. When it’s completely full, the enemy will stagger, similar to the posture system from Sekiro. So, players are not only dealing damage to the enemy but also trying to stagger them to open them up for direct hits that deal increased damage. However, players should also be cautious as they have their own impact gauge and can be staggered if they take too much damage too quickly.

There is also a boost bar at the bottom of the screen, which functions similarly to a stamina gauge. It determines how often players can boost, dash left or right, or move vertically in the larger spaces of the game. Managing this boost resource or energy resource is similar to managing stamina in games like the Souls series or Elden Ring.

Inside the internal spaces, players will have objectives they can scan through walls to locate enemies and use the element of surprise to take on enemies that are unaware. They need to hack through doors to access certain places, and there will be boss fights as well.

Boss fights are expected to play a huge role in this game, and players are expected to die. Just like in the Souls series or Elden Ring, players will have to learn from their mistakes, study attack patterns, and adapt their strategies accordingly.

Customization Core

One of the things we absolutely love about mech games in general, particularly Armored Core, is the freedom to customize your mech according to your preferences. If you want to play a certain style, you are free to do so. For instance, you can change the legs on your mech, opting for tank-like legs, quad legs, or reverse legs, each significantly altering your gameplay experience. 

Rolling around instead of flying drastically changes how you approach levels. The freedom to customize your equipment and stats further influences your playstyle in Armored Core. The focus on the parts you use dictates your approach. Not only can you change the legs, but you can also modify the head, core, arms, and internal parts, allowing for endless combinations and personalization.

In addition to body part customization, Armored Core VI offers a wide range of weapons, both ranged and melee. From machine guns and assault rifles to laser daggers and missile launchers, the options are diverse. 

Furthermore, different types of boosters and generators affect thrust mechanics and machine performance. The complexity of options and finding the perfect combination is a significant aspect of the game. Expect build guides and mech guides to help you discover effective combinations that work well together.

Mission Impossible

One remarkable feature of Armored Core VI is the ability to change your mech’s loadout and assembly between missions. Even when you die, you can adjust your loadout and retry a boss or checkpoint with a different strategy. This dynamic element sets Armored Core VI apart from other games where changes can only be made at the beginning or between missions, eliminating the frustration of replaying entire missions due to improper setups or unsuccessful strategies.

The freedom to customize and adapt in Armored Core VI is a thrilling element of the game. Discovering the perfect configuration for your mech and the ability to adjust loadouts between missions or after deaths adds an extra layer of enjoyment and strategic depth to Armored Core VI.

Armored Core VI Preview: Stocked and Loaded

There are supply points located around the maps that serve as checkpoints for players and replenish ammunition. These supply points also provide repair kits, which function similarly to Estus Flasks with a limited quantity that can heal the player until reaching the next checkpoint. 

Balancing damage taken and the availability of ammunition becomes crucial in progressing to the next checkpoint. The amount of damage sustained should not impede reaching the next checkpoint. 

Careful attention must also be given to ammunition usage, as depleting all rocket rounds before reaching halfway to the next checkpoint will pose challenges. Players need to consider the number of shots fired, the damage incurred, and the time spent to effectively eliminate enemies in Armored Core VI.

Masters of the Arena

Furthermore, it is worth noting that Armored Core VI is primarily single-player, but it features online PvP, allowing players to engage in battles with each other. This inclusion of online PvP adds an intriguing aspect, particularly for fans of PvP and FromSoftware titles. 

We fondly remember our own experiences of enjoying online PvP in Chromehounds, another mech game developed by FromSoftware, where you could tinker with their mech, participate in battles, and witness the outcomes. Although the exact player counts for simultaneous online play was not disclosed, we’re sure this will be revealed quite soon. 

The showcased gameplay and information highlight the distinct FromSoftware style present in the game. From well-crafted level designs to intense boss fights and responsive combat mechanics, the game exhibits the familiar elements associated with FromSoftware titles. The player’s character feels responsive and aligned with their intentions, creating a sense of personal responsibility when mistakes occur. 

Even if someone is not typically inclined towards mech games but enjoys FromSoftware titles like Elden Ring or Dark Souls, Armored Core VI might still hold appeal due to the presence of these important elements, which may not be immediately apparent.

Armored Core VI: Project Phantasm

So what do you guys think of the new information and the new gameplay footage? Are you guys excited for Armor Core 6?

I’m super excited to play this game. We can just see so much of From Software in this game. Every time we look at the gameplay and it just gets us more and more excited than you know. August 25th is just a couple of months away. 

Let us know what you think in the comments below! 

The post Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon Gameplay Preview and Impressions appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Lies of P Demo Impressions article, we will be checking out what Lies of P can bring to the table. The demo provided a hefty amount of content that sheds light on the game’s exploration, mechanics, combat, story, and overall presentation. Join me, especially for the fans of the genre as we dive into it together to determine if Lies of P is worth the wait as it will be released on major platforms.

Lies of P Hands-On First Impressions

Story and Presentation

Starting with the story and overall presentation, the story sets in the city of Krat where puppets became rampant and their kind wreaked havoc and dealt a significant loss to the major population of Krat. Playing as Pinocchio, you were ordered to find Geppetto by a mysterious voice and survive the perilous journey through the city of Krat.

Right from the start, players will be thrown into this world without any kind of understanding of the lore or any backstory that may explain the recent events in the City of Krat. Instead, the developers focused on an environmental storytelling approach that will soon be eerily familiar, especially for Soulsborne fans. As players progress, items like the local newspapers Known as “Krat Times Issues” can be found in different locations that contain lore bits and pieces, and as you get more of these, you get to piece the recent events and have at least have a brief understanding of what’s going on.

Exploration

Lies of P is another title that explored the Soulslike Genre and reused its staple designs to come up with something fresh. Bloodborne players will definitely find all of the elements of this game familiar. The city of Krat is a maze in general, except for the labyrinth-type layout especially when traversing the city. Checkpoints are laid out strategically across the area, and players can unlock shortcuts to quickly access the said checkpoints.

As you might have guessed, shortcuts are usually in the form of ladders and gates. While Stargazers which I will explain more about that later, serve as teleporters so players can fast travel from checkpoint to checkpoint. I had a decent time exploring at least within the first parts of Krat, where I needed to traverse from building to building to find my way to progress. Getting lost in the city streets is a plus and made my time worthwhile as I get to admire the visual fidelity of this game despite the gruesome state of Krat. 

General Combat

Moving on to the Combat side of things, this is where Lies of P shines the most. Right off the bat, when you get toe to toe with your first set of Puppets, the enemies in this game, one can observe the DNA of the Soulslike genre. Expect all the great things that this genre offers. From the intricately calculated move sets, backstabs, stagger mechanics, critical hits, attack animations, and more.

Enemies

All enemies pose a threat and have their own weaknesses that you will need to determine. Normal Puppets are easier to deal with but their numbers will usually overwhelm you. One thing to mention is, Elite Puppets blend in with these groups which often provide the highest level of threat and these enemies have their own move sets for you will need to figure out. I will call them elites from now on.

When players kill one, they don’t re-spawn and drop favorable items. It is a fact that players can’t just breeze through the enemies like a madman, it will not work here and it should be pretty clear by now knowing this is a Soulslike game. Careful planning is the key. Pick enemies one at a time if possible and master your arsenal while outsmarting your enemies. I had fun mostly in these fights and popping enemies felt good and rewarding, making the gameplay loop interesting. 

Weapon Assemble System

Combat is interesting enough, but why not add more features to make it more engaging? The Weapon Assemble feature will allow the player to play with their Weapon combinations such as changing the Handles of your existing swords to different ones or changing Blades in general. By doing this, you can alter the stats of your weapon according to your needs.

I did have a decent time playing with weapon types and at the start of the demo, you will have the option to choose a Saber which is the balanced weapon among the three that has a moderate speed and damage. A Rapier is adept in attack speed and reach but deals lower damage compare to the others. While the Greatsword has the slowest attack speed but deals the highest damage on single hits. Knowing the weaknesses of these weapons and their behaviors is a must if you want to gain the upper hand in combat. You will die, a lot and that is to be expected.

Fable Arts

Adding the icing on the cake for combat are Fable Arts, which are a set of skills with special attack animations that you can unleash on your enemies. I find the usage of these skills satisfying which often leads to death blows.

Ergo

When you die, your Ergo drops, meaning you need to find it again and pick it up if you don’t want to lose your Ergo. Ergo is your main currency in this game to buy Items from Merchants and even use it to level up as well as increase your stats. Speaking to a certain NPC in the Hotel Krat is the primary way to level Pinocchio.

Lie System

As the name implies, this is a feature worth noting. When a player reached Hotel Krat for the first time, Sophia, an NPC in the game will ask Pinnocio to lie in order for him to get through to the hotel. However, every time Pinocchio tells a lie, there are repercussions, causing him to suffer internally. At this point, it is unclear what could be the negative effects that Pinocchio may suffer. There’s a possibility that your choices will likely impact the endings later on.

Legion Arms

Pinocchio’s left arm is distinctive and functional. This Arsenal is known as Legion Arms. A prosthetic arm that can be almost anything and you see its potential as soon as you use one. Surely enough, players will have the chance to change their arms into devastating weapons. That could turn the tides of battle in the late game. The Puppet String is the one that I tried in the demo that servers as a grappling hook, hooking enemies and staggering them in a short period of time. Sekiro fans will find this feature familiar as this arsenal behaves like Prosthetic Tools. I can’t wait to know what other Legion of Arms may offer down the line, as it is something to be excited about.

Character Progression

There’s a little bit of freedom to character progression on the other hand. We already knew that using Ergo will level up Pinocchio. Players can allot it to the stat they desire, shaping Pinocchio in a way they want to. It is not much but at least there’s a little bit of depth there. I decided to have a glass cannon build putting all of my stats majority to the “Motivity” stat, increasing my overall attack.

Stargazers 

Stargazers on the other hand are your bonfires. In Lies of P, checkpoints that are scattered around the map. You are required to find and repair them to activate them. This is your way to fast travel from point to point. Helpful in case you want to jump to a specific area to explore later.

When players die, they will respawn at the last Stargazer that they activated. Other benefits that Stargazers provide are the machinery that will let Pinocchio change his Legion Arms, Assemble Weapons (Change Blades and Handles), Fast Travel, refill your Pulse Cells, and Legion.

Hotel Krat, Main Hub

One thing that I want to dive into is the Hotel Krat. This serves as your main hub in the game. Soulsborne fans are very well aware of how hubs work and it functions the same in Lies of P. As you progress through the story, you will likely meet NPCs and later on will reside in Hotel Krat. While players need to be careful whose NPCs they will send an invitation to, to stay in the said hotel, as it may result in repercussions.

These NPCs provide various rewards and often additional upgrades to the protagonists. Players can enjoy additional content when interacting with these NPCs as each of their own has their interesting backstories. Hotel Krat is your haven, you level up here, and you do your upgrades here, so be sure to pay attention to its features.

Side Quest

Related to Hotel Krat, I want to briefly touch on side quests. As mentioned, it is likely that NPCs move into your main hub after completing their deeds. Like in other Soulsborne titles, NPCs are scattered across the map, and fulfilling the objectives serves the actual Side Quest in Lies of P. Since I had a little time interacting with side quests in the demo, these NPCs progress or move to different locations according to Pinnochio’s decisions, or when he reaches certain checkpoints in the game.

Bosses

The last thing that I do want to talk about is bosses. Bosses are the meat of any Soulslike games. Lies of P did a decent job presenting their bosses. The Parade Master is the first boss in the demo and even though this boss offers basic movements, it is a fun opponent to beat. Bosses have phases as well after I deplete their HP to a certain threshold they will transform into stronger ones, which alters their combat behavior.

Mad Donkey is a humanoid boss which had three movesets for me to master. Some of these bosses felt repetitive. But I still had to mind my timing still and calculate my moves in order to succeed. Even though the bosses’ AI in general are little bit predictable it still provided a memorable experience. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I had a great time playing Lies of P even with the limited time that I had. After experiencing its combat, overall presentation, character progression, and exploration, its potential is up there. As an avid fan of Soulslikes, I can’t wait to see more of this game. Looking forward to its full release. A lot can change here as this is a work in progress. But across the board, this game is worthy to be on my list. I am obsessed with Bloodborne and this game shares the same aesthetics so it’s a no-brainer.

That’s it for our first impressions of the Lies of P Demo, I hope you enjoyed the preview. What do think about Lies of P after seeing the demo? Are you excited about it, or you will pass on it? Share your thoughts in the comments and always thanks for watching. 

Lies of P will be launching on September 19th 2023. In the meantime, you can drop by our wiki for all the latest on weapons, enemies, bosses and more! You can check out the demo for yourself from June 9th to June 27th on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.

For more previews check out next Chrono Odyssey Gameplay Preview – MMORPG In UE5 and Elder Scrolls Online Necrom Preview – Arcanist Class and More!

The post Lies of P Hands-On First Impressions appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Diablo 4 Review, we’ll tell you all about the latest installment of the Blizzard Franchise, having played for over 120 hours, reached endgame with all classes, and explored every last corner of Sanctuary.

If you are wondering if Diablo 4 is worth the price, how performance and connectivity work, how the classes develop and if there is longevity, this Diablo 4 Review will answer all your Questions. If you decide to play the game, make sure to check out our Diablo 4 Wiki, the Interactive Map we have completely filled out, and the many, many builds for all classes that we are releasing starting June 2nd!.

Diablo 4 Review – The Best Diablo Yet

Developed by: Activision Blizzard
Published by: Activision Blizzard
Release date: June 2nd 2023 (early access), June 6th 2023 (regular)
Platforms: PC, Playstation 5, Xbox Series X (reviewed on PC, code provided by Activision Blizzard)
Price: USD 59.99 ~ 89.99

Diablo 4 Review – Story and Setting Impressions

The setting of the world of Diablo is actually well crafted and interesting. As a franchise started in 1997 and with releases spanning several decades, there has been plenty of time to add nuance and intrigue to the worldbuilding of Diablo, and the latest installment does an excellent job at bringing it together.

The story of the game follows the legend of the origins of Sanctuary, where the Demon Lilith and Angel Inarius created a “Sanctuary” world to escape the eternal heaven vs hell conflict. Angel and Demon eventually drifted apart, but their offspring, humanity, populated the world.

Something is now amiss, and you quickly discover that Lilith has been re-summoned into Sanctuary, and has nefarious plans that will likely mean the end of humanity. Thus you seek out allies to find the knowledge of the Horardrim order and counter the evil propagating through the world.

The main story of Diablo 4 is told through optional NPC dialogues and cutscenes, that follow the now familiar act-based storytelling. Your quest takes you to unexpected places and brings surprising findings, which can keep you entertained and engaged into what is happening. Lilith, the main villain, is exceptionally well acted and her story well presented, so she does not seem like an empty “evil” from the previous games.

Similarly, other characters and supporting cast have backstories and personal development that adds depth to your progression beyond what is typical of the older games, and flavor text and special appearances of Unique enemies also hint at a deeper correlation between lore, world and gameplay.

Unfortunately, despite the excellent worldbuilding and a good tempo for the main story and its crescendo, the actual plot is rather stale and predictable, and your character has no personality or development, remaining a pre-made hero stereotype.

Most people don’t play these games for depth of character or excellence of narrative so the shortcomings in this regard were expected, however it does seem like a wasted opportunity to truly take on the excellent setting and worldbuilding and bring it to life. In that sense, the world of Diablo features a very well crafted mythos, but I think you’ll do better to explore those via external content such as our D4 Lore Shorts than within the game.

In addition, I feel like some of the “feel” that I had for the story and world came from the unexpected benefit of playing during the press review period, meaning my world was actually completely empty of other players. This made the open world feel very diablo-like: I was alone, it was grim, and there were no distractions. I feel like regular players will never be able to experience that Diablo 4 that I just played, because they will be forced to constantly watch “skippy232” running by with his fancy cosmetics and a multitude of other players crowding quest NPCs and vendors. This will surely detract from the wonderfully crafted atmosphere that i got to enjoy.

Overall, the story of Diablo 4 will keep you entertained as you progress through the main campaign, and you will come to appreciate the characters you meet along the way. But there will be no reason for you to relive it a second time, and you’ll likely use the “skip campaign” button for your second character.

Diablo 4 Review – Gameplay

When I set out to play for this Diablo 4 review, I was concerned that I may not be able to experience the ‘true’ game as it would require an incredible commitment of hours within the short review period. As it turns out, the gameplay of Diablo 4 is so addictive, that we ended up leveling all characters to Over 50+, tried out all the activities on offer, and even created multiple builds per class. Let’s talk about how this comes about

Diablo 4 Review: Exploration

A frequent struggle I have with Diablo games is the Fog of War of the randomly generated maps of the games. I am an explorer and completionist by nature, so I felt compelled to try and clear every black spot on the map everytime I ran into a zone. This of course became frustratingly pointless eventually, but it always felt like I was missing out if I did not. I am thus really happy that the new open world Diablo approach allows me to keep the map cleared after I have done it, even if dungeons re-fog after exit.

Traversing and exploring the world of Sanctuary is interesting and rewarding, with a great amount of cellars, dungeons and events to find, and sprinkled with Altars of Lilith to act as milestones to your progress by giving you small boosts as you find them.

The regional renown mechanic and the significant amount of sidequests made the game feel vast and engaging, rewarding me for going into nook and crannies and not running past all enemy groups to my pinned objective. I very much enjoyed discovering each unique location, meeting its inhabitants and learning about their customs and troubles.

D4 Review Impressions: Combat & Customization

As an action RPG, Diablo 4’s most important aspect is without doubt its combat and the depth of character customization and progression. The fun of these games rides mainly in giving you plenty of options for fun and unique builds that feel interesting and fresh, and that can be applied to your game farming and be satisfying.

I personally had a fantastic amount of fun leveling up the Sorceress, and felt like there was a significant reward for getting to higher levels and tiers and unlocking more of the endgame progression. I ended up getting that sorceress to level 62 or so in the few days we had for a review just because I could not stop playing and making builds, with each legendary and unique I found giving me new ideas for ways to try to play.

Diablo 4 Review: Side & Post Game Content

There are really many activities to undertake in Diablo 4. Besides your normal main quest progression, there are 120+ quests and dungeons that certainly add a lot to do, but they can also feel quite cliched or copy-pasted at times, so temper your expectations if you plan on doing them all.

You can also find Unique enemies that drop powerful rare items with unique affix mixes, take on World Bosses with a group, and participate in many events that reward gambling materials. Most of this is best ignored for your main quest progression time, as you’ll want it to feel fresh when you get to the core of the game’s brilliance: Endgame.

During the beta, we had concerns that things felt very “samey” when doing dungeons, and there was a feeling that legendaries weren’t adding enough uniqueness to really shape a build. I am happy to report that the endgame in Tier 3 and beyond blossoms your character and build in subtle and smart ways, ensuring that you have consistent progression and creating plenty of incentives to re-run the content.

There are certain endgame modes that I quickly became addicted to:

Helltides: These are special, timed zone-wide events where an entire area is overrun by demons. These enemies drop special currency that you accumulate as you play. Unique reward chests spawn within the zone with the promise of hidden legendaries within, with one chest per armor slot, one for jewelry, and two for weapon types (one handed or two-handed). Your objective is to gather enough currency to open as many chests as possible, but there’s a catch: If you die, you lose half your currency. Helltides have level 72 bosses and many mini-bosses roaming around them, and additional hazards such as random meteors, so you are kept on your toes as you try to quickly kill everything while staying alive. Events last between 30 minutes and an hour, and come by every few hours of play.

Nightmare Dungeons: These are special dungeons that you create with Sigils, obtained from high level content. The sigils apply a special effect and Tier to a dungeon, elevating the difficulty by introducing new mechanics and buffing enemies, while also improving the in-dungeon loot. The real motivation to make the most out of this dungeons, however, is to gain experience for your Paragon system special slots. The paragon system doesn’t just let you select buffs from a skill tree, but it allows you to collect “glyphs” that can be slotted at specific nodes in the paragon board. Those glyphs have powerful effects such as giving +x% boost to rare nodes in range, making your existing points count for much more than what they are. Running nightmare dungeons allows you to allocate XP to your glyphs, that become more powerful and expand their range as they level up.

Bounties for a special NPC: There is a special quest type that also unlocks after main story completion. This allows you to undertake specific tasks just as killing enemies in an area, clearing a specific dugeon, or finding a specific enemy to kill. Doing those bounties earns you points and every 10 points received you can return to the bounty NPC for a chest with an almost guaranteed legendary inside.

All these activities combine with other aspects such as zone events and World Bosses to create a varied landscape for farming, and this is without considering social activities such as group clears on dungeons, clans, or the PvP zones of the game.

In short: the main story and your initial playthrough will take you through Sanctuary in a discovery tour, but even then you will have not done all of the possible content types, and you will find renewed interest in exploring and completing objectives from the many rewards that become available as you level up.

Design, Audio and Visual

Diablo 4 is a visually beautiful game with a unique aesthetic that makes the game feel like a classical painting. The design is well thought out and coherent through the world, and in everything from the town appearances to your extensive and unique wardrobe choices. Magical effects are beautifully thought out and walk the difficult and fine line of being flashy while also functional, making each spell cast, effect and chain reaction satisfying to trigger.

Equally, the audio track for the game is excellently put together. The main themes and tunes for towns and zones are suitable matches for the visual design, creating a harmony that delivers a properly grim but adventurous atmosphere. Boss battles and main quests have their own unique scores and have been realized beautifully. Plus, the voice acting of the game is really well done, even if you end up hearing the same person doing lines for many different NPCs.

If there is a flaw in Audio/Visual it’s actually on its performance, and may have nothing to do with the design itself. Server lag is a thing and I experienced it heavily while playing to put together this Diablo 4 Review, which had a very limited amount of participants. I must disclaim that Blizzard warned us they would “intermittently conduct stress tests and this may generate rubber-banding and invisible walls” so it may have been the cause, however I feel I must mention this for the review to have full disclosure: I checked in with people playing in different regions of the world, including N. America, Europe and Asia, and everyone said they had extreme rubber banding and other such issues come and go. This is concerning, and my beta and server slam experience had not had these big spikes, so I’m unsure if it’s simply a smaller server for press test, their own stress testing, or if we are in for a launch where nobody can log in.

Optimization-wise the game actually runs very well but you should be ready and upgrade your graphic drivers as it will conduct a check and not let you launch with old drivers. I had no game performance issues outside of server lag, and I did not encounter any of the “known issues” that were warned on the press preview. Overall the game is well-polished and the only serious issue I encountered was a persistent crash and error after killing a specific boss for a main quest. I redid the boss 3 times before I was able to proceed, and I’m unsure as to what was causing the crash on kill.

D4 Review – Playtime, Replayability & Longevity

As an open world game, Diablo 4 would normally categorize as content available rather than replayability, however the nature of the game actually merges the best of both worlds.

Your main story and first run, if experienced without skips, can be enjoyed over the course of 25-30 hours. I personally took my time and reached level 50 in about 60 hours (you can do this A LOT faster), then spent over 60 hours playing endgame builds. This means that my extreme D4 marathon got me to level 62 and a reasonable amount of world completion (renown max of most zones, found altars of lilith, etc) in about 120 hours of inexperienced / chill gameplay. Fellow team members on Fextralife played a lot faster with skips, and leveled several classes to 50 and created multiple beginner and engame builds in the same time, so your own mileage will vary.

With the vast amount of open world content to complete and the availability of endgame special runs in the form of helltides, bounties and nightmare dungeons, players can expect to get a lot out of the game. In addition, the game offers fantastic replayability in the form of build variety for each class and class distinctiveness, which really made it a joy to do a Diablo 4 Review.

Making an alt and skipping the main story allows you to quickly get your second character to an endgame farming stage, and since each class plays in its own unique way this adds a fantastic amount of variety. Your loot is mostly for the class you’re playing, so you won’t be doing much farming on one class to give to another, but I found that all classes can be excellent endgame performers and learning how they tick is very rewarding and fun.

Now you may be thinking that it will get boring or stale to redo the same content type just to get new or better loot, or level up your paragon tree. This is true, however I played A LOT and I did not feel burnt out in the slightest, and this is even when playing uniquely solo. The availability of multiplayer adds a whole new dimension of fun: helping your friends find gear on the dungeons they have to do, taking on world bosses, or even farming world events and helltides in a group can give a lot of freshness to the content.

If this wasn’t enough, Blizzard has also revealed that they have planned for frequent content updates, with a post-launch plan spanning years. Diablo 4 will have seasons, with each one adding a gameplay feature and questlines, similar to what Path of Exile leagues have been doing. There will also be free “Season Journeys”, for players to get time-limited rewards that escale with completion progress, with the best one locked behind a challenging boss encounter.

Diablo 4 Review – Pricepoint

An important factor in all games is the pricepoint, but moreso when a game has the now-so-dreaded ingame shop. Unfortunately, the review period did not include the shop so we have no way to see the actual cost of items or verify what is available, but we have limited information from Blizzard regarding what to expect. I’m quote verbatim what we have been told:

The Shop is an optional experience that allows players to purchase cosmetics for Premium Currency in addition to collecting the hundreds of transmogs unlocked from in-game drops. Shop cosmetics include things like character armor sets that can be mixed and matched with other in-game armor drops and mount cosmetics to alter the appearance of your horse.

The goal of the Shop is to give players even more options to customize the visual appearance of their characters, and nothing offered grants a direct or indirect gameplay advantage.

Diablo 4 Press Review Guide

TL;DR Blizzard claims the shop will offer only cosmetics, so if you can resist the urge to look a specific way or have a specific mount skin, you should never feel the need to spend more than the cost of the base game. In addition, they claim the battle pass has a free tier that is unlocked just by playing and leveling:

• The Battle Pass awards cosmetics, premium currency, and free Season Boosts.
• Players can purchase Tiers-but they won’t speed up getting Season Boosts.
• The Season Journey accelerates Battle Pass progression.

Since I cannot verify how this all works in practice, I’ll instead focus on what matters to me which is: what do I get for what I paid for? In this regard, I feel Diablo 4 actually delivers an excellent value for money, and I can see myself playing this game for years to come.

I managed to cram 120 hours into the press review event, and I felt like I could play for at least three times that before considering I may need a one day break. The game’s content scope is fantastic, the combat is engaging and addictive, and the production values deliver polish consistent with the pricepoint of the game. Personally, I feel few games give you as much bang for your buck as Diablo 4 will, so even if the store ends up tempting me into buying cosmetics, that will end up being my personal choice and since at no point during my gameplay I felt I was missing something from not having a shop, I can conclude that it’s entirely possible to play and enjoy the game while completely ignoring the store.

D4 Impressions – Final Thoughts

My time spent for this Diablo 4 review was actually incredibly fun, surprising even me of how much I was enjoying each small aspect of the game. Having played the game in essentially “solo mode”, I may have had a different story experience than what many players will encounter, but I also missed out on the fun and engaging aspects of the cross-platform cross-play at offer.

Few games allow you to play with your friends across platform lines, and to carry your progress from one console to another, and the novelty of that flexiblity is very appealing.

Giving us a complete and satisfying experience with an effectively limitless level of replayability, Diablo 4 has become my favorite game this year, and I wonder what any of the many upcoming RPGs could do to try and win me back from its addictive clutches.

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Be sure to check out our Diablo 4 Wiki for any other questions you have about the game and the Builds page if you are looking for more Diablo IV Builds, as well as our Ultimate Beginner Guide and Best Class to Play Guide if you are looking for more Diablo 4 content!

9.3

Brilliant

Story & Setting 8

Gameplay 10

Design, Visual & Audio 8.5

Replayability & Multiplayer 10

Pricepoint 10

Summary

Diablo 4 is an excellent game and a fantastic next step for the ARPG genre. Smartly melding Open World and Online elements with traditional dungeon crawling and loot farming, this game will become the favorite time-sink of millions for years to come.

The post Diablo 4 Review – The Best Diablo Yet appeared first on Fextralife.

Setting the streets ablaze with another new contender for the long-running franchise, Street Fighter 6 is ready to bring some new elements. We get into how this classic series sets to introduce new mechanics, how it compares to entries past, and much more in this review.

Street Fighter 6 Review

Here comes a new challenger! In this Street Fighter 6 Review, I will talk about CAPCOM’s brand-new and seventh entry in the Street Fighter (SF) franchise. This review will go over the different game elements that it offers to veterans and newcomers. Is this CAPCOM’s best Street Fighter game? What are the classic and new combat mechanics? What makes Street Fighter 6 unique from its predecessors? I’ll be covering all of these and more in this hands-on review!

Street Fighter 6 Story & Setting: CAPCOM Takes it to the Streets!

Street Fighter 6 introduces three foundational modes that are the main pillars of the game. World Tour, Battle Hub, and Fighting Ground. World Tour focuses on single-player and RPG elements. While Battle Hub is where you engage and match up (casually or competitively) with different players around the world. Lastly, Fighting Ground is a combination of the different classic well-known game modes. This includes what the game is known for such as Arcade, Practice, Local Versus, Online Matches and Challenges. Plus a new addition, Extreme Battle mode.

Single-Player Mode – World Tour

The new single-player mode of Street Fighter 6 is called World Tour. It’s arguably an unusual yet compelling feature that CAPCOM has integrated into a Street Fighter game. This single-player story mode revolves around the Street Fighter Universe. It breaks the walls of the traditional fighting game that we are accustomed to. Players can now interact with NPCs, engage with the 18 launch characters, and fully customize their avatar. This means creating builds with a variety of Skills and Mastery of different Fighting Styles. This can all be done while globetrotting.

Welcome to the Metro City

World Tour first takes place in Metro City, which is the same location as the Final Fight. As you progress through the story, the setting of the game expands where you’ll get to travel. The player portrays the role of a robust and fully-customizable student (also known as your avatar). They embark on a journey to learn various fighting styles, in order to acquire their fighting identity. Most importantly, they find out the meaning behind their purpose as a fighter in What is Strength? The avatar is unique, and also acts as an extension of the player. You can fully immerse yourself in the Street Fighter Universe by bringing your fully personalized character to the Battle Hub to fight against other players.

Yakuza: Like a Street Fighter

During my playthrough in World Tour, it reminded me of a specific game, Yakuza: Like a Dragon. In World Tour, you can challenge random citizens to a fight, shop for combat and cosmetic items. Complete different quests, and interact with NPCs such as the 18 launch characters. Luke, Chun-Li, and Ryu to name a few from the roster of global fighters. As you progress in World Tour, you will encounter different aspects such as exploration, discovering secrets, easter eggs, character progression, achieving unlockables, participating in mini-games, and other exciting features that are exclusive to World Tour mode.

On to a Winner

Adding this single-player mode is a smart move that CAPCOM added for Street Fighter 6 because it shows that the game fully embraces different types of players. Yes, we are accustomed to how Street Fighter is meant to be played, where two players challenge and show off their fighting skills to win, but for casual players, sometimes, it can get frustrating if you fight against a knowledgeable player who dominates you with slick moves and combos, or even worse, someone who just loves to troll.

As exciting as it sounds, my only concern is will the single-player story mode stop upon completing all chapters. I hope that this isn’t the case, and knowing CAPCOM’s capability of presenting a road map for future updates, I expect there will be DLCs that introduce new features and additional content.

World Tour is a refreshing feature that I highly recommend for you to try out, not only will it focus on a single-player and story-driven experience, but it will also allow all players to learn the fundamentals of Street Fighter or to just take a break from participating in the Battle Hub. Apart from World Tour, the Arcade Mode in Fighting Ground is the traditional Single-Player mode of Street Fighter where you fight against an AI in sets of stages while following the fighter’s story, the setting and story of Arcade Mode will vary depending on the fighter that you choose. Here, you’ll find yourself in different locations such as China, the United Kingdom, the USA, Italy, and other character-related areas.

Street Fighter 6 Gameplay: A New Era that Elevates the Fighting Game Experience

Control Types

The gameplay of Street Fighter 6 redefines the fighting game genre with its exceptional combat and meticulously crafted system mechanics incorporated into the game. The combat system has both depth and accessibility for both veterans and newcomers alike. It has fluid and responsive controls allowing players to execute certain moves with precision and ease.

As a casual fighting game enjoyer, this is surprisingly my first Street Fighter game in the series, I’ve been playing tons of fighting games over the years, from games such as Tekken and Mortal Kombat to even other anime fighters. But the previous Street Fighter installments didn’t really catch my attention but somehow, something about this game just makes me want to try it out. So, jumping into this game, I struggled at first as I didn’t know how to properly connect strings and such, but I was familiar enough to learn the basics and fundamentals easily later on. First, let’s talk about the control types of SF 6: Classic, Modern, and Dynamic controls.

Classic Controls

Going for more traditional controls, Classic Controls features the 6-button layout with your three normal punches and three normal kicks. This control scheme is perfect for returning players of the series as some special moves are still similar to the previous installments, and precise motion inputs are required to perform these special moves.

Modern Controls

The Modern Controls features a 4-button layout, which allows you to perform special moves with a single button combination. Compare to the Classic Controls, you would need to input forward, down, down-forward, then any punch button for the Shoryuken to come out. In the Modern Controls, you can simply press forward and the designated Special Button, this is perfect for newcomers to the series as they won’t have a hard time trying to input these complicated motions, and they also don’t have to worry about memorizing the list of motion inputs for every special move.

Arguably, some players might look at this as a problem since inputting different moves are now easily accessible, however, this can benefit and also be used by veteran players who would like to experiment on the tactical side of fighting games where you can instantly react to certain situations such as a jumping opponent with a DP (Dragon Punch). 

Dynamic Controls

The last control type is Dynamic Controls, this is definitely a control scheme that I foresee new players or those who are unfamiliar with the mechanics of Street Fighter will use because it provides accessibility to execute flashy moves with a single press of a button. Dynamic Controls is also a good mechanic to use for learning the basics and familiarity of the different characters. Not only is it recommended for such players mentioned, but it is also suited for having a friendly casual game at a party where the players are really just there to have fun.

Personally, I think that the Dynamic Controls scheme can entice people who are not familiar with the game to eventually try out the other control types and learn more about its mechanics and fundamentals. Both Classic and Modern Control Types are Tournament legal, but it is important to take note that Dynamic Controls is only limited to certain modes in the Fighting Ground.

Main Game Mode Impressions – WORLD TOUR

As mentioned, Street Fighter 6 features three foundational modes, first, let’s talk about World Tour. This is an interesting approach that pushes the boundaries of a fighting game’s story mode. Character creation features a high degree of customization where you can freely express yourself and how you would want your avatar to look as the main protagonist in the game. I’ve spent almost an hour and a half trying to mess around with the sliders trying to perfect how I want my character to look.

After creating my avatar, I’m then introduced to my coach, Luke where I go over some tutorials and basic training. Afterward, I jump right into Metro City, and from there, I do the first few main missions, apparently, some parts of the map are limited until you finish the first few missions. Once I got the hang of World Tour, I was finally able to explore Metro City and later, more areas around the world. You can also become a student of your favorite masters including all 18 characters currently available in the game. You can then learn their fighting style and special moves, and by doing so, you can mix and match the special moves you’ve unlocked to create the perfect character that suits your playstyle.

Exploring World Tour Mode

World Tour also features different types of quests which is a good distraction to keep the player off track from completing the main questline, there are a bunch of minigames and side quests that you need to complete in order to progress the main story. For my character, I used Ken’s style which gives me his basic attacks, and I also grinded enough experience, quest completion, and story progression to have access to other masteries which expands my set of moves and unique special attacks.

My only gripe about this mode is that it can sometimes feel repetitive and stale. After spending hours in the game, I find myself mindlessly grinding just to unlock other character masteries and special moves to create the perfect character that I can show off. The story isn’t really that great, but it’s not bad either, at least it keeps the momentum going forward, and it lets me learn more about some of my favorite characters.

Regardless, I am quite impressed with the amount of content and game elements that are featured exclusively in World Tour, but I hope that it doesn’t stop there upon reaching the last chapter and that there are additional DLCs and updates for World Tour mode. This brings us to the next foundational mode in Street Fighter 6, the Battle Hub.

Main Game Mode Impressions – BATTLE HUB

The Battle Hub serves as a central hub or gathering place where players around the globe can engage, communicate, and challenge each other to a fight casually or competitively. Once I set foot in the Battle Hub, I was immediately greeted by tons of players and it was a pleasure looking at the unique and fun avatars they’ve created.

Impressons of the Battle Hub

During my time playing in the restricted schedule in the Battle Hub, including the Open Beta, I’ve had no issues playing on either the Asia or North America servers. I was expecting that I’d have issues with connectivity in the NA servers, but to my surprise, even if the match only had a 3-bar connection status, the game was still playable and the matches ran smoothly.

Although it wasn’t really perfect since there were a few matches against random players where the characters would start to lag during the battle, it eventually resolves on its own and becomes fluid after a few seconds. There are a couple of ways to avoid this and one of them is by checking the connection status of the opponent before you “Request a Match” or if a server happens to be “Crowded”, you can easily move to another that is “Normal” or “Uncrowded”.

Battle Hub Navigation

The Battle Hub area was also easy to navigate, it is organized in a way where you can find multiple arcade cabinets to join or wait for a match, shop for cosmetic items, or use arcade cabinets at the Game Center where you can enjoy a rotating collection of some previous CAPCOM classic games. When you are using an arcade cabinet, you can go into Solo Training while you wait for another player, this gave me some time to practice and it provided me with full access to the training mode features.

In a match, once it’s complete, the rematch feature works instantaneously, you can immediately start the next match once both players hit the rematch button, ensuring a seamless transition from one battle to the next and it can be an endless battle between two players as long as both parties are willing to fight again. Apart from that, players can also spectate a match in real-time.

Main Game Mode Impressions – FIGHTING GROUND

And finally, the Fighting Ground. The Fighting Ground includes the classic game modes of Street Fighter such as Arcade, Private or Public Online Matches, Practice, and Local Versus Mode. Fighting Ground also introduces a new game mode, Extreme Battle Mode which spices up a match by adding unconventional rules and fun gimmicks, we highly recommend that you try this game mode out when you play the game. Next, one thing I want to highlight in Fighting Ground is the Practice Mode.

Training Makes Perfect

For casual players such as myself or those who are trying out Street Fighter for the first time, make sure you train. It helps to understand the fundamentals of the game through Practice Mode. Here you can jump into Training, Tutorials, Character Guides, and Combo Trials. Training provides extensive features where you have accessibility to some tools such as frame data of each move, and the status of the CPU. An important feature is re-creating certain scenarios you’ve encountered during an actual match. This can help to discover different solutions to go around it.

The Tutorial is the place where you can learn some of the basic fundamentals. This includes the combat mechanics of the game. What a counter hit is, a punish counter, a hard knockdown, and other terms that you may not be familiar with.

Character Guides

For character-specifics, the Character Guides mode is essential if you want to have an overview of how each character should be played. It also helps in understanding their archetype. I chose Ken in this mode and I learned that he is an aggressive character equipped with moves surrounding powerful kicks and great space control. He is also a “rushdown” type of character, capable of overwhelming an opponent’s defenses.

This also showed me how and when’s the best scenario to use Ken’s different special moves. Ultimately, the last two sections of the Character Guides taught me how I should play Ken strategically. Giving practice to incorporating certain special moves like “Quick Dash” to close in on the opponent. From there, learning to initiate a mix-up.

Finally, Combo Trials offers a set of starter combos that can help you get an idea of what normal and special moves can be linked to create a combo. It includes three levels from Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced and it is available to use for Classic and Modern controls.

Audio & Visuals

Visuals

When it comes to visuals, character renders and backgrounds still follow the same bold colors and anime-esque art style as its predecessors. Especially when compared to SFIV and SFV. Only this time, with improved details and brand-new looks for character design.Iincluding a silly yet noteworthy feature of adding different facial expressions for characters during the versus loading screen. The different backgrounds are also visually stunning and it respectively captures the theme that is proper for the characters. Colors are well-balanced, NPCs in the background are not distracting, and battle arenas that seem to be set at night such as Cammy’s stage are well-lit and pleasing to look at.

Performance

To continue, let me briefly talk about Performance. During the time of this review, I had the privilege of playing Street Fighter 6 on the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. As I expected, the performance on both consoles was noticeable. Playing the game on the PlayStation 5 offers a Resolution and Performance Mode. Right off the bat, I’d highly recommend setting the game on Performance Mode if you prefer the traditional way of competing against other players. This maintains fluidity in movement, inputs are responsive and it runs at a stable frame rate of 60 fps. On the other hand, if you are playing game modes such as World Tour or Arcade, it is better to play on Resolution Mode to improve the quality of cutscenes and overall background and visuals.

Perfomance on PS4

Meanwhile, running the game on the PS4 works well. Load times in the loading screen and character renders require a few more seconds to process. This however is not really a big issue for me when I am in the Battle Hub or Fighting Ground. Where is does matter though, are the matches against players and it performed smoothly on the PS4.

What I found bothersome is playing World Tour. It has robust and detailed backgrounds, including countless NPC citizens roaming around Metro City. However, I would sometimes find myself waiting for an NPC to completely load. Or for them to appear where they should be standing. Even textures of my avatar’s clothing would take time to load when I’m cycling through cosmetic pieces. This could be a problem for PS4 players who enjoy playing World Tour. This just pulls them out of the immersive experience. Hopefully, CAPCOM will be able to address this issue with future updates or patch notes.

Sound

When it comes to Sound, SF 6’s overall theme is inspired by a hip-hop soundtrack which fits perfectly with the visuals. It is also equipped with a playlist of unique Battle BGMs for the stages and characters. Voice Acting is superb here. I find myself wanting to set the voices in either English or Japanese. Who wouldn’t want to hear Aleks Le voicing Luke who so happens to be the English VA of Zenitsu Agatsuma in Demon Slayer? Or the legendary Caitlin Glass who is the recurring voice actor of Cammy since Street Fighter IV.

Real-Time Commentary

Speaking of Sound, Street Fighter 6 introduces a real-time commentary feature. It incorporates the voices of popular Fighting Game Community commentators to narrate matches as they happen. This innovative addition to the game brings excitement to matches. The dynamic commentary that adapts to the current state of the fight. It creates a truly immersive experience as if you’re fighting on the main stage in a tournament. It supports 13 languages with subtitles you can enable or disable anytime. As a Tekken fan, I was pleasantly surprised TastySteve made it into the cast. I immediately tried out this feature to experience his commentary.

This feature can also be customized to suit your individual preferences. You can adjust the volume and intensity of the commentary. The same goes for “Rally Support” where the commentators will cheer for the chosen player during offline matches. However, I think this feature may not appeal to everyone. There may be some who may want to focus on just the gameplay. This might be distracting as the sounds can be annoyingly repetitive.

Overal Sound Design

Finally, another thing to note is the innovative sound design. It really makes you feel that this game has fully embraced inclusivity to its audience. In the options menu, you can enable or disable certain sound effects that can benefit you. For example, you can enable the sound effect that notifies you of the distance from your opponent. As well as a sound effect that plays upon hitting a cross-up, and different sounds that notify you upon landing a high, mid, low attack, and more.

Replayability & Pricepoint

Street Fighter 6 has a lot of replay value. I think it can ensure that players will keep coming back for more with its diverse roster of 18 characters, and the addition of four new confirmed characters that will release down the line. It offers endless opportunities for players to hone their skills. You can also explore new strategies, and discover different approaches when engaging in a competitive match.

I can easily see myself spending hours “labbing” different characters in training mode. On top of that, grinding ranked matches, participating in the community within the Battle Hub, and the occasional gameplay of World Tour. This will will surely keep me going. It’s still early to tell but we assume CAPCOM will be releasing more content in the next years to come that expands the roster of global fighters, new game modes, and additional content for World Tour.

The current price for the Standard Edition of this game is 59.99 USD, which I think it’s fair to say that this game is worth its price considering the amount of content it has for a fighting game. The Standard Edition includes 18 global fighters launch roster and the main game with its Foundational Modes. While the Deluxe Edition is priced at 84.99 USD adding a “Year 1 Character Pass”, additional color pallets for the characters’ outfits, and a bonus of 4,200 Drive Tickets used for in-game purchases. If it’s your first time playing a Street Fighter game, picking up the Standard Edition will suffice, however, if you are a fan of the series, the Deluxe Edition is a must-buy.

Final Thoughts: Capcom Listens

2023 is the year of Fighting Games and what’s a better way to kick things off is with Street Fighter 6 being the first to dominate the stage. It is easily one of the best fighting games to come out this year. It is a remarkable and a outstanding entry to the series. Personally, I think CAPCOM gave it their all for this one since it embraces different aspects such as accessibility, features that the community has been asking for, attention to detail, a refreshing theme, a combination of classic and new fundamentals, as well as catering to a bigger audience.

I enjoyed every hour of my playtime with this game. I’m sure that I’ll be playing more and competing in ranked matches. I cannot recommend this game enough. This is a must-buy for any fighting game player. Or even if you’re just someone who’s curious and want to try it out. I think from now on, Street Fighter 6 should be the standard when it comes to creating new fighting games. See you in the Battle Hub!

For more gaming reviews check out next Miasma Chronicles Review and Redfall Review – PC & Xbox.

The post Street Fighter 6 Review: A Refreshing Approach to an All-time Classic Fighting Game appeared first on Fextralife.

Miasma Chronicles Review – In this Miasma Chronicles review, we’ll take a closer look at developer The Bearded Ladies’ next entry into the turn-based strategy genre following their successful game, Mutant Year Zero. Instead of quirky mutants roaming through a post-apocalyptic landscape, we have a boy and his brother in search of their mother… through a post-apocalyptic landscape. How does their second game fare? Does the tactical combat feel satisfying? What can we expect from the Miasma? We’ll discuss all of these and more! 

Miasma Chronicle Review: Story & Setting

Miasma Chronicles has players following the path of two unlikely brothers living in the backwater town of Sedentary. Meet Elvis and Diggs, a young man who was abandoned by his mother and a sassy robotic companion. The basic premise of the story is that we are trying to find out what happened to Elvis’ mother and why the Miasma came to be. 

There aren’t any surprising twists and turns in Miasma Chronicles’ narrative. It just about shows what we would expect when following a boy looking for his long-lost parent – a lot of anger and confusion. Here, the story doesn’t reinvent the wheel and merely serves as a purpose for us moving from points A to B. 

Also, most of the characters you meet are your usual run-of-the-mill archetypes, such as trigger-happy sheriffs and whatnot. So they’re largely forgettable. But you do get to come across some memorable faces, such as the town’s over-the-top mayor who may have been serving the government for way too many years. I won’t spoil the surprise, but he was one of the more entertaining people to talk to.  

The world itself is much more interesting. We are presented with a post-apocalyptic version of America, one that has been ravaged not just by wars, but by the Miasma. Humanity is on the brink of literal extinction, as they can no longer rely on themselves to stay alive. Areas are very diverse and effectively convey how deprived and broken the population has become. The town of Sedentary looks perfectly like what a group of survivors would build up in desperation. 

You can see that life goes on, despite all of the horrors lurking just outside their gates. There are also imposing statues for tribute collection. This gives us a glimpse of how people have become oppressed by The First Family, the ruling class of the game. Overall, the environment sets the tone of the game even more so than the story and its citizens. 

Miasma Chronicle Review: Gameplay

Miasma Chronicles is a nice mix of free-roam exploration, tactical turn-based combat, and light RPG systems. Overall, they blend quite nicely with each other as they work together to create a cohesive gameplay loop. 

Players can choose to move around areas fully in real time. This loop will usually consist of looking for loot, going through secret passages, and scouting out enemies. You get to gather a lot of different things laying around the wasteland, such as currency, consumables, and text logs that further flesh out the post-apocalyptic world. If you’re lucky, you may even find valuable keycards that open up locked doors containing rarer equipment, such as weapons and weapon mods.

Stealth

Going through areas with hostiles is a tense endeavor. The game has a basic stealth system. It lets you crouch down to try to avoid the enemies’ lines of sight. While you don’t have things like vision cones to determine their field of view, there is a small indicator that lights up when you’re just about to be discovered. This indicator fills up surprisingly fast, however, and gives you only a split second to react before you’re caught red-handed in the middle of your sneaking session. But enemies can also be distracted in a few ways, prompting them to comically investigate and split up from the rest of their group. 

Stealth is not optional in most cases, as you can’t go in guns akimbo like you would in other turn-based tactics games. That simply isn’t a viable option in Miasma Chronicles. Instead, you will need to mix in the game’s stealth system to remove as many enemies as you can from the equation before committing to the engagement. Not utilizing stealth will put you at a huge disadvantage as you will quite often be overwhelmed by the number of foes on the map. It would’ve been great if the game would’ve been more open to a guns-a-blazing style of play for those who just want to shoot things and yell at the top of their lungs. 

Combat

Once you get discovered, or if the game throws you into a combat scenario where you’re disadvantaged, the fun can begin. Think of Miasma Chronicles as a light version of X-COM wherein you ideally hide behind cover while pelting your foes with bullets. Similarly, you have a chance-based system that determines whether your attacks hit or miss. This is based on many factors, such as distance to your target, height elevation, as well as whether your foe is behind light or heavy cover. 

Influencing fights is extremely important. Combat is immensely punishing and brutal, especially if you’re a newcomer to the genre. Playing on the Normal Difficulty, I found it hard to keep my squad healthy since they were always bruised and bleeding after encounters. Characters take a ton of damage – sometimes two hits from fodder enemies are enough to knock them out of a fight. What makes matters worse is that a lot of foes have gap closers that will make them leap into your group or teleport themselves right beside your sniper. So cover is essentially negated.

Moreover, units do not heal in between battles in the Normal and higher difficulties. As healing items are extremely scarce, avoiding damage outright is key to emerging victorious. Cooldowns do not reset either. If one of your abilities was on cooldown at the end of a fight, it will still be in that state once you start your next encounter. 

Despite these issues, fights are very gratifying when pulled off correctly. Combat is quite exhilarating, especially when the rare critical hit just ever so satisfyingly takes out a foe in one blow. Doing so will restore an Action Point, giving you the opportunity to continue the onslaught provided you still have bullets left in the chamber.

The RPG Systems

The game has some light RPG systems in play that lets you customize your party in limited ways. Take Diggs for example. He has a unique skill that allows him to be used as cover by the rest of your group and can even charge at enemies. But the rest of his skills are somewhat disappointing since there’s so little to choose from. The same is true for the rest of the characters. Every “tree” comprises four branches with three skills, bringing this to a total of 12. There is some overlap between them so there aren’t too many options to differentiate each character. 

Customization

You can further customize your group by collecting various consumables and Miasma upgrades. Consumables are your traditional things like Medipods (healing bombs), grenades, and energy refills. But you also get grenades that deal acid damage which eats away at enemy armor, or even explosives that summon dormant monsters from the ground that will do your bidding. There’s a nice variety to these items, but controls can get a bit finicky when using them. I’ve accidentally wasted one too many healing bombs by accidentally clicking the item as soon as I selected it. 

Players will also have access to nice “Miasma” powers that have powerful effects. They are more interesting compared to simple weapons as you have a wide variety of choices. You can fling enemies in certain directions, cast chain lightning, or summon minions to heal you. To further shake things up, you have a lot of Miasma modifiers to choose from as well. You can change an ability to shrink all enemies hit or steal life instead. 

Equipment

When it comes to equipment, players will have access to two weapon slots that they can deck out with one of the game’s four weapon types. Miasma Chronicles offers your standard Assault Rifles, Shotguns, and Sniper Rifles. It also features a more exotic “Bouncer” weapon that fires projectiles that ricochet across surfaces. Doing so will increase the critical damage, but drastically reduce accuracy. It’s nice to get a risk-reward-styled weapon that the players themselves can influence in some way. 

We also get to customize these weapons to a degree. We can attach either a scope or a magazine, giving us small stat bonuses. While the increased numbers may be nice, it would’ve been better if there were some attachments that could fundamentally change the gun’s playstyle instead, such as adding different damage types or even granting additional abilities to use in combat. 

Miasma Chronicle Review: Audio, Visuals, & Design

Quite frankly, Miasma Chronicles is a looker in terms of its visuals. The Bearded Ladies are able to effectively create large and open spaces that truly show how dark and desperate times have become. We get to see ruined cities that have been taken over by nature or explore settlements that are just a meld of random parts and materials strung together. Even further, we get to know what it’s like if the world just stopped one day and gave up. Everywhere we look, we see ruin, and it seems like nothing humanity can do can change things.

It would’ve been fine if the developers just featured devastated towns or broken buildings, as what they created already is great and detailed. What ups the ante even more, is the bubbling Miasma that is almost ever-present in the locations. It is a visual marvel to see the black blobs of the Miasma float menacingly into the air. Areas are chock-full of this disgusting goo that seemingly has a life of its own. Vehicles and other structures are literally torn apart, leaving husks of their former selves. Even humans aren’t spared this fate, as we can often see them frozen in place with only the dreaded element bathing their entire bodies. Screenshots don’t do the game justice, since watching everything in motion is at times, somewhat mesmerizing. 

However, where the visuals do fall flat is in the animations. While some of the characters are beautifully rendered, others look stiff and robotic. There are also some minor animation bugs that occur, like your party sometimes taking cover behind thin air, or clipping through trees and concrete when shooting from cover. Furthermore, Miasma Chronicles does not do well when zoomed in too close during cutscenes. This is due to the poor lighting conditions in some areas, making them appear too dark. 

Audio

The game’s audio is a bit of a mixed bag as well. Music is epic and exciting, especially during the game’s combat encounters. Weapon sounds are hefty and really do highlight the weight and “oomph” that each bullet provides. Even the basic assault rifles give off the feeling that each shot is quite impactful and painful. But the voice acting of the game hovers between passable to just plain cringe. Some of the performances were quite flat and failed to convey the emotion of the scene. Elvis also can’t quite seem to stop whining about trying to find his Mama to everyone he meets. Diggs barks out too many one-liners that are borderline painful to listen to. One prime example is when he yelled “Namaste my ass” to one of the game’s more zen quest givers. 

Technical & Controls

Jumping into the technical aspect, the game runs quite well. Running on a Windows 10 PC, equipped with an AMD Ryzen 3700X and an Nvidia RTX 3070, I was able to consistently manage a stable 75 fps on 1440p resolution. This was using the game’s “High” preset. These numbers are also without AMD’s FSR upscaling technology, which the game supports natively. Using FSR even on Quality Mode minimally increased the framerate but the visual fidelity did suffer since it became too blurry. Miasma Chronicles also doesn’t have innate support for Nvidia DLSS. Overall, the game is a bug-free experience as no major glaring glitches appeared throughout my playthrough.

Miasma Chronicles can be controlled with either a keyboard & mouse or with a controller. However, you can really tell that the interface was designed with the controller in mind. You can freely use the mouse when selecting tiles that you want your units to move to. But you can’t use the mouse when choosing your targets, which is an odd choice and makes issuing orders a bit more difficult than it’s supposed to be. As the controller feels more natural and smooth, it does look as if the mouse & keyboard were an afterthought.

Miasma Chronicle Review: Replayability

Just like Mutant Year Zero, Miasma Chronicles is a linear game. While we do get to choose in which order to do side missions, ultimately we are on a set path with a very defined beginning, middle, and end. Furthermore, you can’t really change combat encounters dramatically, aside from picking off some targets here and there so fights won’t be different on subsequent playthroughs. 

We also don’t get too many weapons or unique skills. This essentially means that there are not that many opportunities to try out different builds. You won’t keep coming back either to experiment with various party combinations. 

Considering these aspects, the release price of $49.99 is quite steep for what you get. It would’ve probably hit a sweet spot if the initial ask was $39.99 instead, which would put it much closer to Mutant Year Zero’s $34.99. 

Final Thoughts

Miasma Chronicles is a mixed bag. On one hand, you have an amazing-looking game that features some jaw-dropping visuals, especially considering how busy things are. Yet on the other, the voice acting ruins the immersion at numerous points of the campaign. 

You are also afforded some options when it comes to customizing your ragtag group of explorers, though you can’t help but feel like it would’ve been so much better if these systems were expanded more. More unique skills, more choices, and more weapon types would benefit the game greatly. 

If you’re looking for an extremely challenging tactical turn-based game that mixes stealth and X-COM, then you’re in for a treat. Fights are frantic and very tense, especially on higher difficulties as one mistake will spell doom for your group. 

What did you think of this Miasma Chronicles Review? Does this type of gameplay interest you? Let us know in the comments below. Be sure to drop by our Twitch Channel if you have questions about the game! If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out Redfall Review – PC & Xbox and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Review.

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