Started plying this game and I teleported 3 hours in the future.

Very good Monster Hunter game on several points. They are some very dire issues on the gameplay loop though. The game feels "done" after 100hrs while it took me close to 1000 hours for all the other series to feel that way.

To me, it sums up to the removal or tuning down of some gameplay loops:
- Any equipement works on any monster. Like, I don't even feel punished for using a thunder weapon on a arch-tempered rey dau. I still demolish it solo under 15 mins, while it was very veryt hard to do the same on a, say, arch-tempered Namielle after 1000hours on MH:World. No need to spend hours crafting a specific piece of equipement to get the right resistance/skills to make the monster easier. Just optimization of the power output to reduce a quest from a 10 minutes hunt to a 5 minute one.
- It's all about fighting now. Like, "slash > slash > seikret > sharpen > more slash". Where is the painting requirement for not loosing your target, or the need for know the monster patterns (and be totally thrown out by a one on a deviant quest that do not go on the same zones) and so on ?
- No real impact of broken parts. Even if they claim it, we can still get a tail part without focusing on breaking the tail quite easily, and that sucks. Because any strategy now work for farming a part, which make people focus less on positioning or even paralysing or stunning a monster. It's all about having the biggest damage output.
- Less impact of items and potions. Like, I have one item set for everything, no matter the monster. One goes into a hot zone, just grab some bugs along the way and done. Steaks ? why for ? just grab a meal that will last 10 hunts, even after carting (it can be considered arguably good, but whats the point of keeping this mechanic then ?). Cleansing status ? Why ? they have no impact. even dragon just reduce one's power output for a couple of minutes which have virtually no impact on the hunt. (aside from thunder with the arch-tempered rey-dau, but that was the only few times I got stunned... like come on. And also maybe with poison, but that's it). Worst is that, even if you get stunned or get locked or anything, just call your seikret and boom, easy escape).

I hope that all this criticism become outdated with G-rank (or master rank, or whatever they call them), with the base g-rank monster being at least as difficult as an arch tempered rey-dau, when having a bad-gear.

The game is still not complete, paradox mods crashes, map editor crashes, and so on... :(
I believe C:S2 will become amazing at some point, but right now, don't waste your time and money on it

Edit on 09/07/2024: Still not quite there, but I found myself being able to enjoy the game now. A lot of progress have been made ! I'd recommend for the most fond of the game

- Build a massive dam
- "Accidentally" delete it
- Look at the hours of works you put in that valley settlement getting wiped out, and enjoy every single moment of it.

10/10 would do it again.

That's a good fire emblem / advance war like tactical game !
The game's difficult as it should and each act/scene is definitely challenging.
However, it fails in the same way of advance war e.g. the story is nothing to make you excited about, but eh... we're here for the tactics, right?

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is one of those few games I'd call a pearl !

The basics are that one incarnate Phoenix Wright, a defense attorney, and one's job is to prove that your clients are innocent in the court of law; to do so, one has to conduct investigations, speak with people, piece back how the crime happen and of course, defend your client at court !

As for the gameplay, well, It plays pretty much like any visual novel you would expect.

I usually dislike visual novels and thought this one looked quite childish. But don't be fooled, this game isn't for childs. It deals with murder, lies, betrayal, sociopathy, grief, vengeance, and so many other themes and society traits are discussed through the characters encounters. All this gives it an unique feel, that could charm even the most anti-visual-novel diehards like myself

TL;DR: 7.5/10, I recommend, mainly for the story !

Globally, the thrilling and mysterious atmosphere of control is charming. It makes one want to know more as we get deeper and deeper into the secrets of the Bureau. The well-crafted visual athmosphere enhance the experience tenfolds and convey perfectly the horror/joy/thrill of diving into the story

However the game suffer of some lackluster like some minor graphical bugs or game design issues. Such as the shooting sequences that are a bit flat, repetitive and sometimes artificially hard yet still not challenging. Or the battles against bullet-sponge-like bosses that are too few and far between, and terribly boring.

Control would have been perfect as film, more than as a game. Nevertheless, it brings the same kind of entertainement we could expect from a really good one, while adding, at least partially, the fun of a well craft game !

A really good rogue-lite, simple, charming and challenging

The concept is quite simple: Fight. Die. Improve. Repeat.