If there's one way I can describe Where Winds Meet it'd easily be "too good to be true", except that in a rare twist of fate it actually somehow is true. In a game landscape rampant with cash-grabs, half-baked released products, and soulless creations, WWM manages to be basically the anti-thesis to all of this. There are people out there who will definitely try to nitpick the small issues the game currently has--whether this be because they want to be needlessly annoying or they have gripes with the game being Chinese developed-- but I think when you consider the fact the game is completely free-to-play which is in and of itself a rather shocking notion, I find it difficult to get hung up all small things like funky translation errors, the occasional bug, or Asian developers notoriously whack ass grasp of UI design. This isn't to say the game is not capable of criticism, there's absolutely things that can be improved upon, but it's always worth viewing the entire package before casting a wide stroke of negative feedback. Also considering how heavily review bombed it was from the start, it's not hard to guess why some people might feel compelled to do that, which sucks.

The game is extremely fun for what it is. It has fast and engaging combat (depending on the weapon type you use ofc), a surprisingly competent plot, I find myself actually quite engaged by it which I can't say is usually the case for most games that tout multiplayer heavy elements to them. Even the side quests are /amazing/, some of them are seriously pure cinema. While not an outright "MMO" it can certainly function like one depending on how you want to play (i.e. Make guilds, play online etc.). Personally, I actually quite like that there's a solo-play option, not because I prefer it (I don't usually find much enjoyment playing single player games tbh) but because sometimes there can be a lot of lag in online mode. Being able to avoid that while still playing with my friends when I want to? Golden. It has continued to keep my experience pretty fantastic. I also really like the varying difficulties. I prefer playing things more casual, so the easier difficulty really helps me enjoy the game at my own pace; Whereas my friends prefer having challenges and playing on the much harder difficulties. DESPITE THIS, we can /still/ play together. That's really awesome.

Something else I like personally is that they are drip-feeding the level caps and content. I have a job, most of my friends have jobs. Not feeling pressured to rush to max level because everyone gets a cap enforced on them has made progressing with my friends very enjoyable. No one feels stressed, everyone can enjoy the game in their own time and not feel left behind. It's honestly a genius move. Visuals are stunning, music is lovely, voice acting is fine (I play in Chinese for immersion). Also worth mentioning: the game is extremely "rule of cool" coded, so definitely go in with the expectation of something more fantastical and power-fantasy adjacent than grounded in too much realism.

My only complaint with the game honestly is that I think the UI is extremely bloated. There's waaaaaay too many things in too many places, but as mentioned above, this is an extremely common plague amongst Asian game developers for some reason. It's been like this since the dawn of games, I'm not sure if it'll ever change but it would be nice to see it improve. I have some faith that the game won't change from its non-pay-to-win monetization strategy given it's been out in China I think a year or so now and still isn't P2W. I think that bodes well. There are obviously cosmetics and gacha elements to the game but you don't have to do those things to have the full experience. And tbh, for a game this competent, I don't even necessarily mind buying a battle pass for it because I want to support a company that's willing to make a great product from the get-go and not be predatory.

I give it a solid 8.5/10, it's still really early on to say how it'll progress but for what it is now? It's hard to not recommend it to people. It's a genuinely amazing game with real heart in it that you feel in every design element. Something I think is very hard to find anymore in most games that try to maintain this level of "quality". I could get lost for hours just looking at the small details they put in to make this world feel immersive. WWM is completely free to play so the only thing you have to lose trying it is time. And personally, I don't think you'd regret spending said time on it.

Conan Exiles is just one of those games. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but it just scratches the right itch in many ways. Originally I played the game purely for just the survival/build aspect of it with some people who convinced me to get it, which I got a solid 80-something hours out of. Then about half a year later, I started again for an RP server.

It's a versatile survival game and it's fun, really fun. Especially with the right people. It has its downsides, it can be a bit clunky sometimes and for the love of god can they please add in a feature that allows you to turn off the opening cinematic lmao.

Otherwise, there's a lot you can get from the game that gives it almost limitless replayability. I rarely write reviews for games, I really only do it when I feel a game has impacted me in a way that I feel deserves me writing a review for it. Whether that be good or bad.

I can't speak on battlepasses or cash shop oriented stuff, I've never messed with any of that stuff. Which at least should give some indicator of the games enjoyment even without indulging in those aspects. I am sure Funcom probably does some sort of predatory practice in those regards since many companies these days do, but I genuinely have no take on it.

If you like survival games with PvP and a some pretty heavily mature themes, this game is probably right for you. I love it, for whatever my word is worth.

So far as giving it a rating is concerned since I've done that with previous reviews, I'd give it a 7/10. I really like Conan Exiles a lot, but it's not a perfect game, it has its flaws whether in the gameplay, or people experiencing lag, or bugs. For the actual content, it's great, the only thing that holds its back in my opinion is its execution. I try to keep my expectations tempered though, it does a lot for what it is.

I have been meaning to write a review for this game and I am only now really getting around to it.

Before beginning let me state that this review does come from the bias of someone who does heavily enjoy the Dynasty Warriors franchise. That in mind, I hope others who might be a fan of the series as well might be able to take what I say about this particular game more to heart.

On to it: The Empire series is one of my favourite in the DW’s line, I probably play them more than the main game series to be quite frank. That being said, Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires was a bit of a let down compared to past installments. I believe anyone who might have never played an Empires game or even a Dynasty Warriors game who would still be able to pick this game up and thoroughly enjoy it.

I initially played the game on my PS4, where I had to stop because it kept crashing my system, so instead reluctantly rebought the PC port. Which is really all it is, a port to the PC from the PS4. The controls can be really off-putting at times, and I would highly suggest never playing this game without a controller. Going into a full list of cons, again, I want to state that these will be coming from the perspective of someone who plays the actual series and not just this singular game alone.

Cons:

-The game is a step back from previous versions. Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires had MUCH more content in it. More dialogue, better cut-scenes, an overall better system. It was just a better game. So to see DW8E get worse was really… discouraging to someone who pretty much dropped $100 just to be able to keep playing the game.

-Character customization options have literally not changed at all. Facial adjustments have maybe slightly improved? Otherwise it’s mostly just all brought over from DW7E.

-To any long time fans of the series, it’s really not worth $50. I mean, that’s a really hefty price-tag, and while I do feel perhaps some buyer's remorse from having paid double to keep playing, I also enjoy Empires enough that I really would have preferred to be able to play it on my PC. Even if the PC port is kinda okay.

-This is redundant, and I know it is, but it really bothered me how bad interactions and dialogue were. There is no visiting cities anymore? No walking about and actually seeing how your rule affects people. It’s just an occasional cutscene, and it really takes away from the immersion of the game.

-Children system is still trash, and you can only have one. And from what gameplay I have done, your spouses no longer heal you if you’re on the battlefield with them and injured.

-DW8 in general was a step back from DW7 as it was, so truthfully, I can’t be too surprised that the Empires series suffered some as well.

Pros:
These judgements are steered more towards new players of the series, as the game still does have redeemable qualities.

- From just a game standpoint alone, it’s fun. There are lots of campaigns to do, and hours worth of difficult battles to participate in.

-You can have your own character who can marry off any random officer or notorious officer and have a kid who you can also play with. As stated in the cons, the system isn’t amazing, but it’s still a fun little thing that’s there.

-Tons of variety in characters and fighting styles. Really, there is SO much to choose from, it’s great.

-It’s a hack and slash, so you get to run around killing thousands of people and it’s pretty rewarding for just that alone.

-The added strategy of the Empire series allows you to try different techniques in how you would like to take over all of China. You can rule with an iron fist, be really benevolent, or be downright tyrannical. Depending on which route you choose, your gameplay might prove to be more difficult, which is part of the enjoyment of the game.

-You don’t have to be a ruler. You can assist in helping bring someone else to power. Tear someone else down. Overthrow rulers, etc. The possibilities are really quite high.

In the end, while it might be easy for me to say “this game is bad compared to DW7” objectively it is not a terrible game by any standards. If I had to drop a flat rating on it, I’d give it a 6/10 and I do recommend it to people who might like to try an Empires game on the PC. I think anyone who might want a fun game to play would like it for what it is, but anyone who has ever touched a DW game beforehand would be able to clearly see its glaring flaws.

After a fleshed out play of [ONLINE ONLY] I decided I would give a review of this game because I felt I had enough of an opinion where I could. Again this is for online only, I really had no interest in playing the storyline to be honest, I might get around to it some day.

The game play I find to be very immersive , something I'm sure many of you would agree with. Whether you just want to play passively (the passive mode is probably the best thing they could have possibly added to this game, believe me when I say, if I had to worry about getting blow to bits 24/7 I would not enjoy myself very much) and maybe run on the beach, go play some tennis or golf; or go and blow up the next half of the city with your friends. And that's just free play. With heists and missions added in for obtaining income, I really felt that there was a lot of content and I never really found myself getting bored playing, at least not yet. The heists are always exciting to me personally, and as long as you have friends to play with, you'll almost always have a good time.

Now a few cons to point out:
-It would be nice if you could customize your apartments, not to say they don't look nice (depending on the ones you buy) but being able to add your own content to it would make having one much more personal, especially for someone who may value the role-playing aspect of the game
-Load times/lag can be kinda ♥♥♥♥♥♥, but this is more or less probably due to my own computer and it's inability to properly run the game even on full screen
-Character aesthetics are really lacking. I mean honestly for a game that takes so much pride in it's detail, I kind of expected more out of this particular part of the game. However this doesn't really effect game play, and some people might not even care that much about their characters appearance. It'd be nice to see more clothes/hair/etc added in the future
-This going along with the apartments, it'd be nice to see what they look like inside before just purchasing one
-The game can sometimes be very crashy. Now this is not something I personally experience a lot, if even at all (usually happens after trying to leave a heist for me), but a lot of my friends I play with do. Now if this is internet issues, computer issues, server issues? I don't really know. I just know it can be kind of annoying at times.
-I feel like the lack of restaurants/clubs/other buildings to go into is kind of a let down. There are very few places you can go into other than stores and the single strip club on the map.
-It'd be cool if there was just a dancing action
-It'd also be cool to see male prostitutes but that miiiiight just be me...
-I'd be nice if there were more car options that weren't sports cars.
-Some of the little details that were in single player (like the flip-flops flopping) are not in online, this I'm not gonna lie was a little disappointing for me haha, I like the small things.

Main Pros:
-Doesn't use Windows Live
-Really a beautifully made game, the environment is gorgeous
-I feel the driving in this game is significantly better than past games, whether that is true or not I don't know. I mean it is a new game so I'd think it would be.
-Basically the things listed above the cons.

Overall I'd give the game probably a 9/10 It's a really great game, that's fun with friends when it comes to screwing around, however I do feel like other aspects of the game need to be polished.