October 2022 Update

Next update (works only on profile page)

Activated: 12/2021

Serious Sam's Bogus Detour (Q2 2017) ⭐️⭐⭐⭐☆

Beaten after: 10 months

Co-op Action Twin-stick shooter
8.2h | 12 of 37 (32%)

⇱ Click to show summary⇲

The good
- Nice Serious Sam vibe of older games, same music and sound effects
- Enjoyable enemies mowing without being too punishing
- Simple skill tree system

The bad
- No minimap
- It always feel like we're swimming in ammo

Conclusion:
Simple but enjoyable carnage game. Like other Serious Sam games it doesn't have really a story, but it doesn't have to have. It did feel like a nice come back to a game I played as a teen, with the bonus of playing it in co-op.

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Story:

Aliens invaded earth and we must stop them. The end.

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Gameplay:

💸 Microtransactions	None	🏆 Achievements	Some are obtained through progression, and some are grindy or require beating the game on harder difficulty.
📊 Performance	No issues	💾 Save system	One automatic checkpoint per map. They are often enough to no feel punished for dying.

🦚 Game customization options	It's pixel graphic came, so not many. Basic sound and graphic options.
🌍 Map	No map! I really dislike when games do that. Getting stars to upgrade skills require going through a hidden passage, and it's hard to try to think of the way though without a minimap.
🎮 Controls	Standard "move with one stick and aim with the other" approach. Weapons are selected via weapon radial menu. We can dash and interact with some objects. So nothing much. Controls are at least fluid and responsive.
📇 Inventory	No real inventory. Weapons occupy their respectable slots, and we can't change any equipment apart from that.
🏹 Weapons	The same as in main line SS games. Pistols, laser guns, ball cannon, minigun, shotgun. So everyone can find their favorite gun. They have good balance of damage vs shooting speed and are all useful.
🕵️‍♀️ Abilities	No real abilities. We can level up HP / armor / speed / weapon damage. And some extra things like picking more health or dropping flash grenade when we roll. But abilities are not the main focus of the gameplay, they mostly just give passive bonuses.
🤖 Companion and enemy AI	Enemies are dumb, just like in original games. They will either charge or try to shot us with a lot of bullets. Only bosses and humanoid sentries (with guns that hit really hard) are of a challenge and require some strategy.
🥊 Combat	Nice and brainless. Pick a weapon and mow through the enemies. I mean, if you played any of Serious Sam games you know the gameplay. Only that here it's seen from the top. It does not make it easier though, as maps are designed to always have corners from which kamikaze or skeleton can jump on us.

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Technicalities:

Graphic - ⭐️⭐⭐ - It does feel like a Hammerwatch, but it means that graphic is nice and detailed
Music - ⭐️⭐⭐ - Fitting. Good that developers get permission to use original sounds, otherwise SS game would feel weird
Bugs - ⭐️⭐⭐ - No problems that I found

With this one, I only have 2 unfinished games on Steam. One will be beaten over the Christmas when I have my Planescape: Torment save file. Other is Unravel 2 that I will play this month I think.

I started Second Extinction, DAEMON X MACHINA and Warhammer 40K: Mechanicus on EPIC. Second Extinction is meh, I wonder why they will release it after 2 years with so little content. Few simple fetch missions and really small map… DAEMON looks better, but also too grindy for me to stick for longer. Mechanicus is nice, I will beat it this month or next one, depending on my time.