Recent reviews by MusicallyInspired

A fantastic sequel to a fantastic game. It really takes the first game and runs with the concepts in terms of story, lore, and one-upping the concepts about what came before aesthetically, philosophically, and design-wise. The puzzles themselves are as engaging as ever, if a bit simpler. That's not to say they're so much easier that it's not worth your time given experience with some of the first title's real stumpers. It's absolutely worth it. And I can say that a fair amount of the recently released DLC really make up for that as well if you're really worried that it won't measure up to your expectations.

The puzzle mechanics from the first game return. Some with a new take on the concepts and some newcomers that both build on the existing mechanics as well as some brand new ones. I was thoroughly entertained and still got stuck a few times, I had only found myself wishing there were more steps in the puzzles. Luckily, again, I got exactly that in the DLC.

The story is phenomenal. Probably one of my favourite concepts of any game I've ever played. I really appreciated its optimism in the face of the normally depressing and nihilistic messages from many modern games these days that touch on some of the same adjacent subjects, such as where we're going as a species and what we're capable of at our best and at our worst. The characters (yes, there are characters this time around, and all fully voiced!) are very well portrayed and voice-acted and I found myself really immersed and pulled into their performances and, as a result, the story. There are questions and mysteries raised everywhere that keep you wanting to learn more and find out what's going on! And without spoiling anything, I'm really looking forward to what Talos 3 is going to be about!

The graphics are absolutely stellar. So far above Talos 1 (which was already stunning!). This time around they're using Unreal Engine instead of Serious Engine, but the developers have stated that they couldn't resist going under the hood and customizing things a little more even in that case. The game performs as well as ever and looks absolutely gorgeous on my RTX 2060 at 4k even at slightly over medium settings. I don't always hit 60 fps at that resolution but it's bearable for me and doesn't take me away from the experience.

The music, again, is wonderful. Damjan Mravunac has outdone himself from his work on Talos 1. I loved the OST from the first game so much I bought it. As soon as I played the free demo of Talos 2 before its full release, I was itching to do the same for Talos 2's OST and bought it as soon as it was available. Chris Christodoulou is also featured on the soundtrack as composer for the New Jerusalem theme and it's one of my favourites from the whole game. Where Talos 1's soundtrack was a little melancholy and filled with wonderment and contemplation, Talos 2 has a new and fresh breath of excitement in it. It has the same reposeful contemplating themes for puzzle time, but when key moments call for it the music takes you into a truly uplifting and even sometimes exciting level that really encourages you to keep going.

And it's not all just puzzles, there's a lot of exploration and dialogue (most of which are optional if you're not into that) for those who like to really dig into the lore and even discover a few easter eggs here and there (which Croteam are always excellent at) and there are also heart-pumping moments (there's an escape sequence in this puzzle game!).

All in all, as I mentioned before, it really takes everything from Talos 1 and, like a good sequel should, elevates it to a new level and a new experience without just repeating what came before. (don't mind the introduction tutorial sequence, it's supposed to be very familiar...but it will all change quite quickly into something MUCH bigger.

I highly recommend it.

This is an amazing retelling of the classic puzzle/narrative game. The Myst remake a couple years ago was beautiful and wonderful to re-experience, and the new randomized puzzle solutions feature was a welcome addition giving a bit more replay value than the original had. But what Riven 2024 does is far beyond that. Not only are there additions, but there are also changes to some of the puzzles, lore, narrative, and clues. Many elements are really fleshed out and it also allows you to explore further in some areas that longtime fans have always wanted to poke around in. Think of it like an Extended Director's Cut. It's almost like an alternate universe Riven where the story is more or less the same, but it's been somewhat remixed in that you cannot simply play through Riven 2024 with knowledge of how to beat Riven 1997 and expect to finish it easily. It's a retelling of the same game, but it's like a game you've never played before at the same time with new puzzles that you can solve all over again! And it does this rather well and with care for those who are very familiar with the original.

You'll find new areas to explore, new puzzles to solve, new dialogue, and new music. It's often been said that Riven has all of two puzzles and the whole game is more about exploring and discovering the information and clues you need to tie it all together and unraveling the compelling plot at the same time. All you're missing is the information. The remake is no different, but there are new elements to discover as well. We also used to get the pen and paper out to make notes on our discoveries. You can still do this, but the game also graciously offers a Notebook feature that allows you to take screenshots and add notes to them allowing you to reference them at any time during the game. Sometimes drawing is easier (and more fun) to really work out the details, but you can absolutely get by with just the Notebook feature. A very welcome addition!

And then there's the graphics. Ever since the first realMyst (3D remake of Myst) by Sunsoft in 2000, I've longed to play Riven in full 3D as well. But as time went on and graphics capabilities improved, I more and more wanted to see Riven given the quality it was due. The Starry Expanse fan project sought to remake Riven in full 3D and put a ton of work and effort into it over the course of the past two decades and even released a small demo of one section of the game. The feeling was amazing. But I really was hoping that the graphics quality would improve. Then Cyan created Obduction and we got to see what a full 3D adventure game by the creators of Myst could look like. It was very nice, but didn't quite reach my standards for what a Riven game should be. Then they remade Myst. Wow! In my opinion it was a few steps above in quality of what they did for Obduction. But now with Riven 2024.....well, it's everything I could have hoped for. The photorealism in full 3D I always dreamt of. The graphics are absolutely stellar. If you poke hard enough you'll find things that look a bit off, but I'd say 98% of everything is about as photo-realistic as you can get with an excellent graphics quality to performance ratio with a system with decent specs. I'm running on somewhat medium setting graphics with an RTX 2060 at 4k and I'm quite happy with the results. I don't always get a full 60 fps, but it is certainly satisfying enough.

My next playthrough will be in VR and I can't wait to experience it. I HIGHLY recommend this game for old fans and newcomers alike! The puzzles themselves, as I said, deviate quite a bit from the original but they're also a lot more fair I feel. I love the original Riven experience and I wouldn't change a thing, but all those little sore spots that people have had with the original for all these years I can safely say have been very competently dealt with and made more fair with all the clues you'd need to notice things. No more "how could I have known that??" moments. But it really gives return players like me a new reason to enjoy the game. It's not something I can beat in 25 minutes, like the original, and I really appreciated it allowing me a real reason to spend more time in the game and discover all the new areas. Maybe some return players might not appreciate this, but I certainly did. The original is always there and this remake is not SO different that it disappointed me. It gave me a GAME to play and not just run through the motions with. I loved it and I expect/hope you will too.

So support Cyan's amazing effort, buy Riven, and enjoy!

A fantastic remaster for Quake. I never was a fan of this game when it first came out. The identity crisis it seemed to have turned me off. I instead got into games like Duke3D, Half-Life, and Unreal. I actually preferred Quake 2 at the time because it had more of a focused design even if it had nothing to do with Quake 1. However, this remaster really gave it the kick it needed for me to really start playing it and enjoying it. The additional mission packs by Machine Games are also incredible and feature some of the best mapping designs I've ever seen.

While this is a remaster, it's handled very tastefully. There are completely optional enhancement options like slightly higher fidelity weapon and monster models, dynamic lighting, and the like. The higher poly models however aren't TOO high poly and are, again, done very tastefully and authentically. But again, it's totally optional. Also, it features a Quake 64 addon that allows you to play the N64 version of the game with its coloured lighting, graphical effects, and alternate map designs. Add to the some regularly updated fan mods which can work even on consoles and you've got a fantastic package! It's done in the KEX engine like NightDive's other remasters, but it will still work with any Quake mode you have. Also, unlike the Doom 1 and 2 remasters, it features online multiplayer so if that's you're thing you won't be disappointed. Great package! Fantastic oldschool FPS gameplay!

It also works very well on the Steam Deck!

Excellent gameplay. It takes Doom 2016 and ramps it up to 11. To say nothing of The Ancient Gods DLC which ramps it up to 15. It starts off painfully difficult, but teaches you through experience how to beat it and before long you've got the combat flow down and you feel like an expert plowing through demons left and right. And the story is so rich as well if you choose to delve into all the extra stuff. Music and sound effects are top notch. As are graphics and animation.

This is my favourite version of the game. Classic 2D Myst will always be classic and I love it as well. It's timeless. But I love exploring free of nodes and looking at everything in my own way. There's something about the game being in 3D that makes it all look smaller than the 2D original for some reason, but other than that this is the ideal way I like to play Myst. I even prefer it to Real Myst Masterpiece Edition (made in Unity) because the graphics are more charming to me and I have fond memories. Also, the Masterpiece Edition of Real Myst removed a few of the day/night cycles that this version has which kind of ruins the mood for me.

It's not widescreen compatible, but that's ok. Still works fine for me in Windows 10 and especially with nGlide for 3Dfx mode. I love visiting the ages and just enjoying the atmosphere with the music and the sound effects. A favourite spot is sitting on top of the Stoneship age by the telescope and just watching the storm in the distance from dusk til dawn. Remarkable experience.

I picked this up during the Steam Summer sale of 2018 as Cyan had this version of Real Myst removed from GOG in light of the 25th anniversary bundle Kickstarter saying that this version "didn't represent their vision of quality anymore." I disagree. It was a beautiful game in 2000 and it's still a beautiful game today. It's a shame it won't be around for much longer. They removed it from GOG as of this writing but not yet from Steam. So I snagged it on both platforms. Let this review show that this version of the game still has at least one big fan.

Loved it. Great callback to the golden age of Half-Life modding and mapping. I've never played the original mod, however, so this was all fresh for me. It was a little short, but it's free so that's awesome! I love how you first escape your cell and try to find your way out. Reminds me a lot of the first Portal actually when you're trying to escape the test chambers. The enemies are WAY harder to kill than the standard grunts in Half-Life, but after a while you just learn to be more careful. Some people complain about balance issues because of their difficulty, but I think these people probably don't remember or just never experienced true classic gameplay. Games were hard! Yes, these prison guards are way stronger than HL1 grunts, but I think the balance still works because the game is as short as it is. I finished it without any cheats in about an hour. I don't know, it works for me. I love the achievements at the end, gives me a reason to go back. I may actually purchase that Executive Plunger HD model DLC to support Future Games Select. Great work, Cayle George! I'd love to see more.

Also, the wonderfully 80s soundtrack by Lazerhawk is reason enough to play. Great work. Support him as well, he has a Bandcamp store.

I receieved this collection in the Humble Sierra Bundle, but I've owned these games long before that since they first came out; from the mid-80s right through to today. I still have the boxes and floppies/CD-ROMs!

Simply put, this was my favourite game series ever growing up. I loved Sierra adventure games right from the parser EGA mouse-less days to the point&click VGA days. Space Quest was always my favourite Sierra series with its beautiful graphics (especially the artwork of Mark Crowe), the hilarious dialogue (especially the writing of Scott Murphy), the puzzles, the deaths, the locations, the stories, and everything else! This is one sci-fi series that was golden all the way through. My favourite title in the series is Space Quest IV as it involves time travel and going back and forth between Spcae Quest sequels!

If you like to sit and enjoy a game for a while taking in its atmosphere and laughing a lot, I highly recommend Space Quest! 6 games plus a remake of the first game for a low price! It's totally worth it.

DOOM is the best game I've played in 10 years. I'm not kidding. I am an old-school gamer. I prefer older shooters like the original Doom, Rise of the Triad, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake/Quake 2, Unreal/Unreal Tournament, Woflenstein 3D, etc. I'm not a fan of the "modern shooters" such as the Call of Duty's and the Battlefields. I grew up on Apogee shareware and DOS games. This game totally measures up. But it's not just all old-school either. As someone who believes they don't make em like they used to, I'm happy to finally be proven wrong. This perfectly marries the best of the old with the best of the new to create something FRESH FOR ONCE.

The story is superficial but interesting enough to follow if you're into that sort of thing. Very few in-game "cutscenes" that are basically window dressing for the level which you can pay attention to or ignore completely if you want for the most part. There's a couple instances where the game forces you to watch, thankfully they are very few and far between, and not incredibly long. Generally the game just lets you keep going and shooting if that's what you're into. At the very beginning once you get your suit the game treats you to a short sequence where you access a computer terminal. Someone talks over the speaker about to tell you the whole story of what's happening and how to fix things...and then Doomguy just takes the console in mid-sentence and smashes it against a wall. In fact, Doomguy's whole silent attitude to everything in the game is just pure hatred, anger, and a lust for the destruction and death of all demons in sight at any cost. He cares about nothing else. Including the plot. The bulk of the story is told through optional data logs found throughout the game if you want it.

The glory kills are quick and not encumbering. Also, incredibly satisfying. And the more abilities you unlock the more satisfying ends you can bring to the unholy demon hoarde. The monsters are all brought back from the original game but updated and reimagined (while remaining faithful to their original designs) and bring some new abilities to the table. Not least of which is the glory kills that THEY can perform on YOU which is as gruesome and gory as yours are.

However, this is not a game where you walk in fear of demons and scary monsters. They ARE huge and hulking and terrifying to behold and make creepy sounds sometimes making you do a double take at some dark corners sometimes, but make no mistake this is a game where the demons are scared to death of YOU. And for good reason. The classic weapons are all brought back from the original game but updated with some new features that you can upgrade. Each weapon has an upgrade tree of two pathways, allowing you choose just how best you want to customize your weapons. For instance, the shotgun has a tech tree path to add an explosion projectile launcher added. This module can be upgraded to be more effective in different ways. The other path allows a quick 3-round burst which also can be upgraded to be more efficient, powerful, and less wasting of ammunition. EVERY weapon has this same upgrade tree design. And not only that, but DOOM adds a few new weapons as well which do not disappoint! I'll let you discover them. Oh yes, and the chainsaw and BFG of course make a comeback. It wouldn't be DOOM without them. Oh, and absolutely NO RELOADING.

There are also classic powerups! From high speed, to quad damage, to invulnerability, to berserk mode, which is literally tearing apart any demon you run into (no matter how strong they are, short of bosses) in one move with your bare hands! And these powerups can also be upgraded in your Praetor Suit upgrades menu!

The level designs start out small, but get bigger with each level. They're not as labyrinthine as the original Doom levels, but they aren't exactly linear all the time either. There are certainly linear moments (and the whole game is designed with a straight progressive linear pathway in mind), but each level also allows (and sometimes requires) backtracking which opens up newer areas that you previously couldn't reach. And there are secrets everywhere. There are upgrades for your Praetor Suit to make exploration easier, but I upgrading those as much as possible so I could just have fun finding them myself. However, even though once you upgrade with those enhancements secrets begin to appear on the automap (yes there is an automap!) it doesn't make finding out how to GET those secrets any less interesting or challenging sometimes. Just knowing where the secret is isn't always enough (almost in a Metroid kind of way). The various sections of the map (even though they don't look like it sometimes) are basically just one arena after another, but in this game after a good bout of exploration and unlocking new areas in progressing you can't wait for the next arena to turn a veritable army of demons into mounds of squishy red goo. Each level also has achievement challenges which grant you more upgrades for your weapons, suit, and items.

The music is incredible. Dirty gritty and terrifyingly metal. Totally suitable to the atmosphere. And it changes dynamically depending on what's happening in the heat of a battle, in the middle of a glory kill, or when all is quiet and you're exploring through the next passageway. I recommend buying the soundtrack alone, especially if you love noisy industrial meaty metal. Don't listen to the people who say it's "dubstep." It really isn't. Seriously, YouTube the "BFG Division" or "Rip And Tear" tracks if you're unsure. And Mick Gordon was kind and clever enough to throw some really awesome callbacks to some of the original tracks, including most prominently, the E1M1 theme! There are others as well, though.

There are also small "challenge maps" which can be discovered via demon runes throughout each level which help you unlock FURTHER abilities like having more control in the air as you jump, being able to trigger a glory kill from farther away, allowing enemies to drop armour, allowing your ammunition to be infinite as long as your armour level is at least 100, and more and more. And even THOSE can be upgraded with further challenges in-game!

I haven't played a lot of the multiplayer, but I hear it's improved a lot since the free public demo was released before the full game was (which lauded loudly as terrible). But MP now has a proper deathmatch mode (previously there were only team battles) and more on the horizon.

The Snapmap function isn't a fully-fledged SDK editor like Hammer or something, but it's getting new features all the time and making maps can be incredibly easy or difficult depending on how complicated you want to go. You have a fair amount of customization at your fingertips (even if the map aesthetics are largely pre-designed) so you can go as far as to create your own game modes if you like.

All said and done? Buy this game. This really is THE BEST game in a long time. No longer will you ever be afraid of the dark again after playing this game. It's creepy, sure, but once those demons start rushing you boy is it satisfying to demolish them all in the myriad of ways that the game allows you to do so. There is SO MUCH to do in this game and so many ways to do it in. It's not just a single-player campaign game and then boom The End. You can replay each level until you've found all the secrets and upgrades hidden throughout (which also includes classic levels that you can unlock and play after you've found them! Complete with classic textures, music, but with the modern enemies and weapons!), there's an Arcade mode that allows you to compete on leaderboards for best score on any of the levels, there's multiplayer with new gamemodes being added all the time, and SnapMap for when you get completely bored and want to try some brand new challenges from other people or if you want to get creative and try your hand at your own!

TL;DR - BUY THIS GAME.

I'm not going to spoil anything. But this is an experience that you think will be one thing and then it turns into another as soon as you start. And that's only the beginning. The screenshots will not inform you what you are in for when you play it. The trailer. The "synopsis." Nothing. I can't even begin to imagine how to describe this experience to you. It's just raw human expression on a level I didn't' imagine was possible. All I can say is to encourage you to play it. No, experience it. You don't really play this. It left me in literal tears by the end. The most meaningful artistic experience I've ever had. No movie, no book, no other game has ever come close. I am speechless and hurt and flabbergasted and amazed and happy and frightened and confused and sobbing and...

Do not rob yourself of the experience of this game. This came from an actual real living human soul.

This game is a fantastic puzzle game in the vein of Portal and its ilk, except without portals. But what it lacks in portals it makes up for with a slew of other game mechanics. It also takes the linearity of Portal and enhances it tenfold with a more open-world hub-like approach. The writing of Tom Jubert and Jonas Kyratzes is top-notch and delivers a very interesting and thought-provoking story of philosophy, spirituality, religion, and science fiction.

There are countless worlds full of challenges to satiate your eager puzzle-solving OCD nature and countless layers and levels of secrets and easter eggs to keep you busy for quite a long time. Add to that the bonus handful of extra worlds and full blown expansion (Road To Gehenna) in the available DLC and you've got yourself a puzzle-packed adventure of intrigue and enlightenment that takes everything Portal did right and runs with it for a fantastic experience you won't forget and will enjoy every minute of.

If you love puzzle games, this is for you. I wouldn't play it straight through in one setting. It's literally impossible and I'd recommend taking breaks. It keeps the experience fresh each time and ensures preservation from monotony. There ARE a LOT of puzzles. Pace yourself.