Runs extremely poorly. My system specs far exceed recommended specs and yet I struggle to maintain 35-45FPS in towns. RTX 4080, 128GB DDR5 RAM, i9-14900K, NVMe SSD. 1080p. Neither graphics settings nor resolution options or DLSS make a difference at all.

Unreal 5 seems like a horrible bloated nightmare engine. For some reason it runs multiple WebHelper processes in the background which feels absurd for a singleplayer offline game. Presentation is fine and the remaster itself seems rather faithful, but the bloated libraries powering Unreal 5 seem to bring this game to a crawl.

And no mod support beyond model swapping/texture swapping seems like a real letdown. Somewhere under the hood the old Oblivion file structure still exists, but without a mod kit the future of adding mods with scripts or custom quests seems bleak. I would avoid this remaster until something changes.

I really fw this but it is basically a Quake level pack. Weapons and enemies are just reskins of Quake 1 weapons and enemies. Not really going for something as high-concept as Arcane Dimensions, but still a fun map pack for $3. If I had to be critical I'd say I think the levels could be a little bigger, with more vertical navigation. Mostly they're just flat and require you to get a key and find the exit. It's not a bad thing at all for this kind of game though, I think it's good that it's brief. Short & sweet.

There's some vague storytelling that I don't think the dev fully knew how to execute, but the atmosphere really defines the whole experience. I think the messiness of the level design is part of the charm - it's kind of difficult to make janky, messed up level geometry in Trenchbroom and I think it's really cool to navigate spaces like this.

There's several really fun, memorable points where there's like, a ton of enemies in a big open space and they give you a quad damage or something and you just get to let loose. Those moments, combined with the insane breakcore/gabber soundtrack, are probably the highlights of the whole game. Really loved the nightclub in particular. It's a fun quick romp for $3 and I think the soundtrack on its own is great and worth the price of admission.

Recent patches fixed a lot of issues. Game is a lot more stable now.

Works for me - runs pretty good, flight model is massively improved over the 2020 version, and the career mode is giving me some good activities to do, which is making me actually want to fly again. My one big complaint is that it has horrible Tobii Eye Tracker implementation with no in-game or Tobii Eye Experience settings for head tracking, and no way to turn off the horrible mini eye tracking thing it does when you're walking around outside the cockpit. Otherwise sounds are great, planes look amazing, the level of detail in the cockpits is a huge step up from the last MSFS, the world map is really pretty amazing to experience, and flying feels really great. Haven't experienced any of the network issues everyone else seems to be having, at all - perhaps I just logged in at off-peak hours?

TLDR: Metal Gear Solid 1 is obviously one of the most incredible and influential games of all time. I would say this is an *acceptable* legal version of that experience. I wish the game ran natively without a weird emulation wrapper - I think it creates a lot of performance issues.

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The launch state of this collection was not ideal, but recent patches have fixed a lot of the performance issues and input delay problems. Still no borderless fullscreen, but the gamma issues seem to have been addressed. New option for 1:1 pixel scaling is a huge improvement, and allows you to really appreciate how amazing the art direction was for its time. Overlay menu has a CRT filter option, too, which I think is a really nice addition.

In my original review I said the emulation they use has some kind of memory leak. I no longer think this is true - I have been able to replicate instances where the internal framerate gets to near unplayably low levels, while the Steam overlay consistently reports 60FPS. There's some kind of issue with the emulation they use to run this version of the game that really chugs on the more complex scenes.

I get sub-30FPS during major bosses like Psycho Mantis and Hind D, as well as major enemy encounters like the first elevator ambush. Input lag and frame delay are so bad that it makes these sections a lot more challenging than they should be. Doing a Big Boss-rank run of this version of the game would be a lot easier on original hardware, or on an emulator with a ROM dumped from your legitimate PS1 copy. I can't confirm whether or not this is true across the VR missions or Integral versions of the game that are included with this collection, they seem to be launched from the "Master Collection" launcher as separate executables.

Controller icons and codec subtitles have been updated and reflect whatever controller I'm using. I play with an Xbox controller layout and everything is updated to reflect that. I would say that's probably the best new feature of this port. Also having a method of changing controller inputs and faking PS1 Memory Stick save game data is a really thoughtful & necessary addition.

I hope the devs can address the issues with performance in the more intense sequences because fixing those scenes would make this an excellent port. Overall I still think this is a worthwhile way to experience MGS1 if you are interested in playing for the first time.

finally, an answer to "are games art?"

the answer is still no

This game has given me arcade fever. It feels like Quake with more hellish legions. The sounds and visuals are stunning, the rounds are fast and brutal, and the controls are super tight. There's just enough momentum in your hopping and shotgun-jumping to make tight maneuvers challenging but rewarding to pull off. Each round lasts about 60-90 seconds (for me) and they always get me pumped. I'm not really someone who's typically driven by competition, but the challenge this game presents is too tempting for me to turn down. It's an incredible bullet hell that's devilishly satisfying to play.

One of my favorite features is how you can download and watch replays from the people topping the leaderboards so you can learn some of the tactics they use to stay alive. And in a game like this where mechanical mastery and knowledge of the challenges you'll have to face are key to survival, that's an amazing feature. Even the top-scoring run is less than eight minutes long at the time of writing this - which means the game is incredibly challenging - but there's a lot of nuance in understanding the enemy design and movement, so having an opportunity to see the game from the perspective of someone who clearly has a level of mastery beyond your own is invaluable.

The game almost feels minimalist in design. There's one game mode, and the core of the gameplay is super simple to learn. But it's brilliant in execution. It's extremely satisfying. I'm addicted to trying to beat my friends' scores. I cannot recommend this game more highly for the price.

Pathologic is a survival game about a town that's been affected by a seemingly incurable plague. You play as one of three characters: a charming bachelor doctor, a ritualistic healer, and a mysterious young girl with an unusual set of powers. Your enemy is invisible, but incredibly dangerous - and every day is a fight for survival.

It's a dark, haunting experience. And I absolutely adore it. Your choices have immediate and often far-reaching consequences. All of the quests are optional. Sometimes you won't even have time to complete quests if you need to find food or rest, but people are likely to die as a result of your decisions - even when you think you're doing the right thing.

This isn't the prettiest game by any stretch, but the world is fascinating. If you're concerned about the graphics not being up to par, there's not a whole lot to be concerned about. It's a game from 2005, sure, but the art, music, and overall design of this world are still captivating. And luckily all of the murals and posters have had their textures updated in this release. Plus, the added visual effects (depth of field and motion blur) do actually add to the mood considerably.

And that mood is phenomenal. Pathologic is a terrifying glimpse into a place that was crafted by a team determined to work towards creating a unified, hollistic vision. I've heard that the concept for this game came from a dream, and in playing this game, I certainly feel like I'm exploring one. It's a sometimes terrifying place, with weird citizens and strange cultures where you're never sure what's real - or who you can trust, for that matter.

I love this game. I love the people who made this game. It's fascinating. I can hardly stop thinking about it. It's like being a stranger in a strange land. I feel like I'm exploring Morrowind for the first time all over again, except it's brutal and tragic and I'm not the hero.

I can't recommend this game enough. It's rough around the edges, but it's fantastic. The new translation is also beyond my expectations. The original, for those who don't know, was often incomprehensible - but with the new one, you don't even need a map. I'm deighted Ice Pick Lodge decided to revisit a ten-year-old game and fix it up. This is the remastering this game deserved.

However, all that being said, I still hope that the "Pathologic: Remake" (expected late 2016 or possibly later) makes the experience even better. If you don't feel like diving into this rich, incredibly realized fictional universe now, wait for that release. Ice Pick Lodge seem to be incredibly passionate about their games and I have no doubt in my mind that their latest re-imagining of this title is going to blow away all of my expectations. But if this universe piques your attention, then I can't see any harm in diving in right now. This is the best version of Pathologic to date, and probably one of the most important games I've ever played.

Stay up all night and have a lumber party
Truck the police.
10/10 wood recommend

Edit: The trucks are actually pretty accurate and driving around collecting logs is a dam fine way to casually spend an evening. I saw it on sale and couldn't resist.