The Sinking City - feels like returning to school

The Sinking City - feels like returning to school

Reviews

Besides being known as a means to socialize with your peers, school is basically a place to study or study. Not only about listening or understanding, but also when you are asked to be able to apply what the teacher has taught you in the form of assignments and tests.

The memories of this experience were the impression I had felt when I tried the new game created by Frogwares entitled The Sinking City. This game, which was released on the PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch platforms, is basically an Open World game with the feel of Lovecraftian horror whose inspiration for the theme is taken from Cthulhu mythology.

Set in a city called Oakmont, you will act as a detective named Charles Reed who happened to be invited there to investigate a mystery both about Oakmont and the supernatural experience of him who always sees strange things. 

Interestingly enough, the city of Oakmont was described as having a background story as a city that had been damaged by a major flood. Frogware successfully presents a gloomy atmosphere that looks real and memorable. Especially when looking at the shape of the damaged or sunken debris structuring until you need to explore it using a motorboat.

Where they are able to compose them neatly into the form of an open world world full of art. However, unfortunately the charm is not directly proportional to the level design models in the interior of the house or buildings that can be entered. Where everything seems to look the same and minimal variation.

Aside from being commonly regarded as an open world and horror game, The Sinking City also has a kind of investigation and detective style gameplay model. If you are quite familiar with previous Frogwares games such as "Sherlock Holmes", almost all of the gameplay systems are really adopted naked in the game The Sinking City and become one of the "cores" that I call most especially from this game.

So therefore, this game is not a game that is quite suitable to be played by casuals. Especially if you don't have a good understanding of English. Because like in the game Sherlock Holmes (version of Frogwares), The Sinking City will never give you a direct guide about which places you should explore, spots that you have to investigate, and which NPCs you will interrogate. All of that you need to know for yourself by looking at the various clues to the evidence that you have obtained.

For me, this is an experience playing a very interesting and positive open world game. It's like when you're being taught by a teacher at school and tested at the same time. If you are already familiar with it, it is not impossible if your accuracy and agility in solving a problem in this game can also be applied in the real world.

Given that The Sinking City is a horror game, this game also requires you to always prepare mentally strong when you go there. You have to get used to meeting a kind of monster creature that looks like a Silent Hill creature called "Wylebeast". Present in several variants, both the weakest and the strongest, they will truly give you a challenge that can sometimes be frustrating.

They themselves are usually presented in a shocking and troublesome moment. Aside from the tendency of the Wylebeasts who are fond of making disturbing sounds, unfortunately your character is only equipped with fire weaponry and very limited fighting abilities. So trying to avoid it as much as possible is indeed the wisest choice.

However, if you happen to be at the investigation site and meet them in large numbers, you seem to have to be forced to serve the uncharacteristic creatures. The combat aspect itself unfortunately does not look polished so well. It tends to be rigid and very "punishing" towards the least carelessness that you do regardless of the sort of crafting item system in this game.

Apart from the combat system that looks rather "broken", I remain fully appreciative of frogware that is able to implement a gameplay system that for me is innovative, namely in the form of mentality or sanity bar (in the form of a blue bar next to the health bar). This bar has a function that is quite unique. Where your character can panic until hallucinate if the bar continues to fall.

In fact, the monster figure that appears in your hallucinations can sometimes manifest manifestly when your character is in a very alarming mental state. Whether it happens because of fighting the enemies, killing civilians, or finding the results of an investigation of a case. The hallucinatory effect was really worked out to the maximum and was able to give a very memorable psychological horror.

From about 7 hours of my experience in the first time playing a classified horror and squeezing this brain, for a while maybe that's all I can describe. Details as well as the results of a more complete review can you all look forward to in the coming days.

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Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night - nostalgic game metroidvania!

Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night - nostalgic game metroidvania!

Reviews

Starting from Kickstarter, experiencing various obstacles until the delay, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night finally officially rolled out. The absence of the Castlevania series from Konami's hands, certainly enough to make us miss the franchise, but eventually Bloodstained: RotN came to reduce longing.

Formulated by Artplay with the producer songkongan and scriptwriter Castlevania - Koji Igarashi, Bloodstained: RotN certainly has many touches that will make us remember the Konami franchise. Two Bloodstained series were carried out by Koji Igarashi after leaving Konami, Igarashi himself did not hesitate to call Bloodstained the spiritual successor of Castlevania.

And through Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night he seems to have succeeded in showing that his latest franchise is no less interesting than Castlevania. Although it looks similar, there are still many unique things that make Bloodstained: RotN has its own charm & identity.

For those of you who have had the chance to read the first impression from us, surely you have got an idea of ​​what Artgar & Koji Igarashi actually offered through the concoction game. And according to our previous promises, it has now arrived for us to give a discussion on Boodoodained: RotN through this review.

Story

In 1783, the eruption of Mount Laki closed the European region with darkness, and from there the devils began to arrive and attack parts of England. To deal with this problem, the Alchemists transplanted humans with crystals that combined them with demonic power.

The times were difficult to pass and had taken many innocent victims, in the end, the threat of the demons was successfully extinguished. The Shardbiner which is no longer needed, is finally sacrificed in a ritual, but 2 of them - Gebel & Miriam have survived.

Gebel survived because of a mysterious power while undergoing the ritual, while Miriam was saved because of a mysterious force that made her fall asleep before the ritual took place. 10 years after the tragedy, the evil forces returned to the earth with a mysterious castle at its center.

At that time Miriam woke up from her long sleep, she also realized that the mastermind who brought the demon castle was Gebel. Unable to accept this, Miriam who was assisted by a young alchemist - Johannes headed to the castle to stop his friend.

So, what conflicts will Miriam face? What obstacles will he overcome? What is Gebel's motivation to bring the demon castle? And can Miriam stop Gebel? All of these questions will be answered through Bloodstained: This Ritual of the Night!

Gameplay

In addition to being able to evoke good memories such as when playing the classic Castlevania franchise in the past, Bloodstained: RotN also feels very fresh and not just "copy paste". Believe it or not, he is able to present with side-scroll gameplay that even, feels more addictive than Castlevania itself, there are many innovations & new things that make it feel more refreshed.

Feels solid

The RPG system pinned by Artplay also makes Bloodstained: RotN is more interesting, you can update & craft. Buying equipment is indeed one thing that is suffocating, but fortunately, you can craft various items such as weapons, accessories & armor.

The various equipment not only increases stats, but also makes the character's appearance also change. Interestingly, it is also encouraged by the customization feature that can change the physical appearance of Miram directly, from hairstyles to skin color.

Not only equipment, here you can also mix various foods, which later can also increase health bar and stats. The ingredients for food recipes are indeed quite difficult to obtain, but it is worth it to deal with a precarious situation or be exchanged for equipment through a side quest.

A world that feels spacious

As a game of metroidvania, Bloodstained: RotN is classified as having long playtime, one reason is because the world feels wide. A variety of scattered chests are certainly waiting for you to find, the various chests certainly save a variety of attractive rewards, ranging from crafting materials, to weapons with high rank.

Of course the exploration side will feel more open, where you will always be motivated to fully explore an area and find various items before changing to another area. Not only chest, of course this wide-scale map also stores a variety of surprises to be revealed, such as easter eggs, until the secret boss battles.

Apart from playing quests to complete, some NPCs will also provide side quests with certain rewards. The quest indeed feels quite repetitive, but the reward offered is sometimes quite a shame to miss. Besides that, sometimes completing side missons can also be used to do grinding and strengthen characters before heading to the area with stronger enemies.

Some Bugs Still Feel Disturbing

With the many advantages that exist, it does not mean Bloodstained: RotN appears in the most optimal conditions, there are some problems that cannot be ignored, one of which is a bug. We still often encounter bugs that interfere with the game, such as infinitie loading, for example, which of course forces us to do a force close.

Some small glitches that look like horror like a character's head that doesn't appear, of course, certainly look very disturbing. To provide the most optimal experience, of course we really hope that Artplay fixes various bugs & glitches through the next update.

But even so, it does not mean Bloodstained: RotN appears perfect, he still has a variety of problems that cannot be ignored. Starting from the side of the story that feels old-fashioned, to the annoying technical problems such as bugs & glitches. Regardless of the problem, of course Bloodstained: RotN is still a beautiful and action-packed metroidvania game.

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F1 2019

F1 2019

Reviews

It seems so obvious now in retrospect. The best way for an annualised, licensed motorsport game to stay fresh every summer, clearly, is to chuck in an entirely different racing series as well. With the inclusion of the 2018 F2 championship, F1 2019 feels, for the first time in the series, like a wider world of motorsport. It offers that irresistible rags-to-riches journey in career mode, and a handling model all of its own to master.

It makes a lot of sense. Codemasters has had the handling down for years now. It's twitchy and frightening, and gives you just the right amount of rumble in your hands as you wrestle your car implausibly fast over an impeccably rendered apex. It feels in this game, as it has for many prior instalments, like a carefully struck balance between detailed physics modelling and 'sim-cade' accessibility. 

But the developers needed to add something more than a few handling tweaks, and that's a story-driven career mode. Elsewhere in sports gaming, this kind of ascendancy through the junior ranks up to the big league is becoming de rigeur. And for the twelve other people who play the underrated MotoGP series as religiously as this one (see you at the next bridge game, folks) it's deliciously ironic to see Codemasters borrow an idea from Milestone for a change—Moto2 and Moto3 categories have formed the entry point for MotoGP's own career mode for many years now.

F1 2019's career mode is a bit of a surprise, though. Rather than a full season of F2 racing, it's a scripted sequence of condensed race highlights akin to Codemasters' beloved TOCA: Race Driver, and it serves as a prelude to your F1 career. Fictionalised drivers Lukas Weber and Devon Butler mix with familiar names like Russell, Norris and Ghiotto, and the former are very much cut from the 'broadly drawn racing stereotype' cloth. Cocksure English villain with waggly eyebrows: step forward, Devon. Bavarian stickler for rules and procedure: take a bow, Mr Weber.

That's not necessarily to the detriment of this potted F2 season matinee. What is, however, is the fact it's over so quickly. Barely half an hour passes before you're spat out of the other side of F2 and picking an F1 team. Granted, not everyone wants to get stuck into a full race calendar—and indeed it’s possible to do so in a separate F2 season mode which has no bearing on your career, but it would have been nice to have the option of working a bit harder for your F1 race seat. As it is, choosing your F2 team determines the level of interest you'll receive from various F1 teams, so your choice does at least feeling meaningful even if the season's fleeting.

When you graduate to the big cars, the career mode format takes on a familiar complexion from last year’s game. It's once again gratifying to earn the trust of your team by hitting their performance targets. As you move forward you gain access to the RPG-like car upgrade tree and spend points to improve your car. My Williams was in dire need of aero upgrades in my debut season for example, whereas the Renault-powered teams need to find engine performance to bridge the gap to Mercedes. That kind of granular detail in its simulation of the sport has long separated the F1 series from other licensed racers, and it remains impressive in this game.

That’s the format. But there’s a twist in the tale: Lukas Weber and Devon Butler graduate to F1 along with you, replacing two real drivers and popping up in cutscenes which amp up the sense of rivalry (and, to be honest, am-dram theatre). Butler and Weber are free to drive wherever the game takes them. They might even become your team-mate at some point. 

Yes, it all seems very silly if you sit watching the cutscenes like Roger Ebert expecting Oscar-worthy spectacle. But this rivals plotline really does work: you feel motivated not just to win a contract with the race-winning teams, but now to do so before your contemporaries. Winning the championship means that little bit more in F1 2019, and hammy cinematics are a small price to pay for that.

Changes are afoot over in multiplayer too, with a focus on visual customisation. Custom car liveries have been introduced, along with team-agnostic overalls and gloves. So rather than each multiplayer event being a game of F1 cosplay you’re free to express yourself—if you can afford the cosmetic items. Most are possible to unlock by spending in-game currency accrued elsewhere, but a few appear to be microtransaction-only affairs. At the time of writing, we’re unable to click through to the Steam Store to see how they’re priced.

A new leagues system and improved race highlights mode both bolster F1 2019’s eSports cred, which is good news for pro sim racers and those aspiring to be the next Brendon Leigh alike. I’m still not totally sold on the virtual stewards and how they dole out penalties, but I’ve yet to play a racing sim online that has cracked that particular nut agreeably.

This isn’t a tangible leap forward in the fundamentals of the F1 series—the handling and visuals remain roughly where they were last year, which is to say: excellent. What Codemasters have managed to add into the series in an impressively short span though is a wealth of new solo content that enriches career mode and offers a totally different challenge outside it. Many more hours of online racing will be needed before the strength of its infrastructure can be commented on—but at release, F1 2019 is generous, stable, and thrilling as ever.

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