Austin is very mixed on: Banishers - Ghosts of New Eden (Review)

Banishers: Ghost of New Eden combines strong presentation and story telling with sub-par combat to deliver a very patchy experience.
Video written, voiced and edited by Austin B.
Game code provided by publisher, Focus Interactive.
#Review #Banishers #FocusInteractive
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[@je19921]

great review. really like that you talk about perf on lower hardware. too often reviewers are like: "ran great on my 4090 with 128gb of ram"

[@Did_No_Wrong]

Exactly, with today's economy and the rise of ininflation not everyone has that and either has more basic computers.

[@CrystallineLore]

To be fair, Skillup does this and even covers Steam Deck performance sometimes, but yeah glad to see.

[@Aliens1337]

@@Did_No_WrongMore like devs dont bother to optimize games properly. Lots of PC ports run like ass no matter what card you have.

[@reeksphync565]

that sounds like something that bogan Shillup would do.

[@noodles9345]

@@Aliens1337 Yup, a lot of devs seem to just go the brute force route. Not made to run efficiently but with the thought of throw enough high bandwidth parts at it and force all the info through, whether it works right or not.

[@fulcrum6760]

Skill Up needs to review Helldivers 2.

[@DaMorg3]

Just said the same thing!! Let’s gooo! Destiny is dead; Long Live Super-Earth!!!

[@faridronin]

For Democracy For Freedom

[@jeffw3905]

@@DaMorg3helldivers doesn’t touch D2 it’s just new lmao

[@killastepz17]

For democracy.

[@carbor182]

He didnt really enjoy or "get" Deep Rock Galactic. Dont know if he will enjoy HD2. Concept of both games is very silmilar

[@kvothe7710]

I really liked Vampyr. It nailed the setting and a memorable story too. I'll probably give this a go

[@grodius]

the second I saw the gameplay I knew it was the Vampyr people

[@heinobezuidenhout674]

Vampyr is very underrated. I enjoyed it soo much.

[@WinstonHofler]

Need to restart it. Played a good chunk and loved what I experienced, but didn’t get far. Great story, excellent performances, especially Anthony Howell as the lead, and of course, Olivier Derniviere’s music! That man hasn’t composed a bad composition for any game. He’s like the James Newton Howard composer of video games. Vastly underrated.

[@chriswihulu]

Setting is such a hard point to hit, but man, did Vampyr nail it like a Stake through a Vampire's heart! Will more than likely give this a go as well, especially as I haven't heard anything outright bad about it.

[@newtonslore]

Yes, Vampire was very good. Its combat was better than Banishers by the sounds. Shame. Maybe they should have spent less time on the particle effects and more on tightening and smoothing the gameplay...

[@zacharron]

I have fond memories of playing Vampyr. Middling combat but the morality system and the atmosphere was top notch, to say nothing of the soundtrack! I'll pick up Banishers at some point.

[@pakkitman]

Gods yes that soundtrack is incredibly underrated

[@SolidSnake240]

The combat is the only thing that held Vampyr back from being a truly great but man like you said, the morality system, atmosphere and music are top notch.

[@Bijay007]

Olivier Deriviere masterclass.

[@n3r0n3]

yes Vampyr's soundtrack was memorable .. this one not as much.. it is more ehm commercial in a way... less dissonant and eerie but still good. The overall game is exceptional tho.

[@DoomsdayMayBeOkay]

Never played a bad Don't Nod game, their games might not be blockbusters but they always bring something interesting to the table. Also, most of their releases are new IPs which is commendable.

[@CrystallineLore]

Well, 'bad' is debatable, I guess. Their games always have stellar stories but that doesn't automatically make them good games. Vampyr is probably a good example of that. It felt more like a visual novel held down by pointless combat and a lot of people give it a hard pass specifically because it felt like a visual novel held down by bad combat.

[@DoomsdayMayBeOkay]

@@CrystallineLore The combat in Vampyr is not bad though, a little janky and one dimensional sure but its perfectly functional with a nice visual flare to it, it even has some pretty good boss fights...

[@CrystallineLore]

You are welcome to your opinion, just know it is the extreme minority opinion and one disgreed with both critically and by personal accountings of the game, to the point where it was even directly addressed by the devs verbally and via in-game options lmao. While Kotaku is hardly a worthwhile journalist site, their headline of "Vampyr Would Be Great If Not For The Combat" was pretty much echoed throughout the web too. So I'm not really sure I can ever agree with you. It was an amazing story with some of the worst combat/action sequences I have ever played from a professional game project. @@DoomsdayMayBeOkay

[@poett8875]

⁠@@CrystallineLorethey said that they personally never played a bad DONTNOD game. Which is there opinion. There’s nothing debatable about that.

[@CrystallineLore]

It is completly debatable. Just because you have an opinion does not make it immune to disagreement or rational and logical counterarguments. You seem to just be confused about opinions always being a matter of subjective perspection, which is ultimately irrrelevant. The appreciation of art, food, etc, is ultimately subjective, but people debate them all the time and game reviews exist. Next time at least know what you're talking about when you try to correct someone, lol.@@poett8875

[@pipwolverine]

This channel has some of the best done reviews in the biz imo. You give me a really good picture of what it's like to play the game and I can make a decision about whether or not that sounds like it's for me.

[@Marvolo14]

About them not telling each other about their family and personal preferences that kind of thing dies happen with some couples. Considering the life they lived and their career path its not surprising they didn't discuss their families. Family is many miles away ad not really relevant to their life or their romance so it never came up in conversation. You can be madly in love with and loyal to a person based purely on the passion and experiences you share. Family and past life baggage isn't really necessary, and in fact it can sometimes ruin a relationship.

[@deathgorilla782]

Dies happen?

[@roadtoau]

That's fair, but I think Austin was using that reinforce his comment that they don't do much else to make the pair a convincing couple. It's fine to discover things about each other at this point in time, but how do they show what they already know/love about each other? Uncharted 4 does the same thing with secret siblings, but Nate and Elena make a very convincing couple. That said, if this really is the only thing that makes Austin think they don't seem like a couple, then I would agree that it was narrow minded thinking on his end.

[@Tonebaited123]

@@deathgorilla782 “does”. Bro use your brain lol

[@deathgorilla782]

@@Tonebaited123 wtf you mean, I just pointed it out

[@KainGerc]

DontNod also made 'Remember Me' (ironically named, because almost no one.... you get the joke), another third person action adventure game with an interesting story and premise, but with clunky combat. it seems to be a thing with them that they are not very good (or at least mediocre) at this whole concept of entertaining and/or functional gameplay.

[@geoffdb8118]

Indeed .. was a very cool game, more beautiful to look at than to play

[@ShhhHhhhz]

Cyberpunk Paris is such a cool concept, ironically that game will probably be in peoples memory than this game will ever be imo

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

It feels like it's not a coincidence that their most famous game by FAR lacks combat entirely.

[@rashiqrahman6381]

I really wish Neo-Paris was explorable as an open world ! Such a beautiful map!

[@mukulxsaini]

Remember Me had an amazing atmosphere! I have replayed that game on easy just to be immersed in that world again. Also, whoever chose Neo-Paris as the setting took an amazing call

[@zerosnakemyth7274]

Austin is just such af perfect match for the skillup channel. Really enjoy these reviews

[@sammyflinders]

Shameless mimicry isn't synonymous with being a good match. Guy should at least try and sound somewhat original.

[@bigswisschh]

It'd be an interesting metric to track on how Married vs Single players answer the oath

[@dominicdococo4574]

Married pick ascend.

[@gregperianayagam4522]

I was on the fence until you mentioned the man's a Scottsman good acting. Thats all I need.

[@aviciousfridge]

*Scotsman, just one T

[@kredonystus7768]

@@aviciousfridge Didn't you hear. We changed it to Scottland last year.

[@ignisspiritus6392]

That’s what gets you to spend money on this ? lol

[@garycargill64]

​@kredonystus7768 lol, you scotch guys crack me up

[@WolfsGamingBlog]

​@@garycargill64 fun fact, calling someone Scotch in Scotland will probably get you a Glasgow kiss lol 😂

[@lucnederhof2107]

It continues to impress me how naturally Austin stepped into the reviewer role.

[@godminnette2]

A lot of this review makes me think of Witcher. Interesting protagonist who is a specialist in dealing with supernatural threats, having to make hard choices in situations with messy complications; choices that have interesting potential ramifications down the line. Side quests whose narratives are enrapturing and engaging. It even has the clunky combat!

[@nailinthefashion]

I think it would have been infinitely more interesting if they swapped the perspectives so the dude was a ghost instead of yet another str8 ⚪️ savior of a person of color, let alone a woman lmao but whatever generic writing is gonna happen when the gameplay premise is the focus

[@hollownxt1295]

@@nailinthefashionhow is that what you think of?

[@nailinthefashion]

@@hollownxt1295 because Antea is disappointing. Forespoken was disappointing. To see more of the same pandering and have them be so bland yet over written is disappointing. I want to see more women, people of color and lgbt people in main roles and written with more care than this. I don't want generic straight romances for the sake of it. Do you?

[@KainsAddiction]

Naw this is woke as hell

[@hollownxt1295]

@@nailinthefashion this isn’t for the sake of it though, the game is about the loss of a love one and even closer the loss of a couple. Although I love seeing representation in games and its main characters, idk how you see a interracial couple and start going off about their sexuality and how it’s a damsel in distress when it’s really not

[@mjaehn]

Oh wow this channel is gonna hit 1M soon. Congrats guys

[@soralazammoa1770]

​@therotten6152 What does he give a shit about? Sorry I never heard of the guy

[@soralazammoa1770]

@@therotten6152 That...... doesn't really answer my question but okay

[@Potaters12]

Disappointed to hear all this, I would have hoped that Don't Nod's second go at a third-person action game would have bore more fruit after the criticism of their last one. I will still be playing it though, as I've been a fan of the developer and their emphasis on storytelling since the first Life is Strange. Wish the dev team would really work at their weaknesses, because they can be a real force in the industry if they solve some of those gameplay design issues they have.

[@Shinkajo]

What do you expect from a French company? Receptivness to criticism? They don't give a f.

[@ListlessWither]

3rd go, I believe. They dev'd Remember Me

[@eamk887]

Come on, man, why does everyone forget Rememer Me? It's like DontNod's most interesting game.

[@ListlessWither]

@@eamk887 I think its the doomed fate of its name.

[@malekinception]

You don't have to agree the reviewer, he thought vampyr was mediocre while others really liked it .

[@Tyr808]

I appreciate the note about “If you’re the gameplay is king type, you’ll probably drop this game by the first boss”. That’s absolutely me and I very much appreciate this being told straight up rather than trying to have it sold as something that it’s not for the sake of getting someone else to try something you’ve personally enjoyed.

[@JamesOKeefe-US]

Awesome review as always Austin! Appreciate you looking at so many game elements. It certainly helps me decide on day one games. Thank you sir!

[@Pecone]

Excellent review. Thank you. I was looking forward to it, I will wait for more reviews and sales most likely.

[@meurigjenkins]

Great review, really liked how balanced it was. I'm someone who very much enjoys good solid gameplay when it comes to certain genres (soulslikes, FPS, etc.) but doesn't really mind when the gameplay is sub-par in other genres it doesn't really bother me as long as the story is good. I'll definitely give this one a try at some point

[@Numbuh10125]

I was hoping that Skill Up would be doing a review on this game. Great work, Austin.

[@jarg8]

Vampyr was very flawed but its one of the very few vampire games that really puts you in that role and makes you think deeply about what you need to survive and how that effects the world around you. Loved the writing in it a lot. Definitely have this on the radar despite the fact that it seems similarly flawed.

[@crazytalk8120]

I went full Dracula and ate EVERYONE lol. Love that game.

[@Scyths1]

Vampyr will be one of my favourite games of all time even in 10 or 20 years. Not for its mediocre combat or lackluster RPG elements, but simply for its story, voice acting, atmosphere, setting and soundtrack.

[@kitthekat6844]

Hey Austin! (Or anyone on the team) First off, thanks for the review, I like hearing more about these AA games! I was also wondering if y'all had plans on reviewing Indika (From Frostpunk publisher 11 bit studios)?

[@Tonebaited123]

Highly recommended the game. Awesome experience

[@onlyenkei]

Austin, you are doing a bang-up job. Keep up the great work!

[@ReapsVsTheWorld1]

I didn't know this was from the Vampyr people. I really liked it. The one thing that frustrated me was that there wasn't any fast travel. Definitely going to check this out.

[@ShiningEyeBrigade]

Really enjoyed the review. FYI, listening on an iPad, the background music sometimes made it a bit difficult to hear. I think because of the business and high mid range of the guitar lead. I do tend to be sensitive to this kinda thing, but wanted to let you know in case you had others commenting similar for them.

[@roquesaturni2856]

This game gives me Greedfall vibes: a fascinating story and characters, but technically...

[@SilverZephyr09]

I will say that when I played Vampyr, I felt *exactly* the way you do about this game. I made it all the way through, dealing with the mediocre combat along the way, and all the writing and music and characters along the way really made it worth doing. I'll probably check this out on sale.

[@fabitoselajuega]

I might not get it day one..but ill wait for a minor discount

[@fcukgogle9213]

No don't, these smaller companies need every penny they can get and they usually don't charge full price, I'm sure this game will be worth every cent you spend on it.

[@fabitoselajuega]

@@fcukgogle9213 my son needs diapers and money is tight...tough choice to make. Kidding I might give in and buy it day one

[@deathgorilla782]

Good choice

[@toptiertech7291]

⁠@@fcukgogle9213that’s cool. I need every penny I can get too bro 😂 he didn’t say he was going to pirate the game or even buy it used. Just a minor discount. You can look up how much these companies make. You can see their CEOs get paid in 1 year what the average person makes in 6

[@fabitoselajuega]

@@fcukgogle9213 bought it...and I don't regret it. Amazing game so far

[@soyasaucer]

who edit Austin's videos? Team Skillup are creating great content.

[@officialnucky]

Why did punching the boss sound like punching wood in Minecraft? 🤣

[@jadedj5385]

Nicely put 😂

[@LupusAdNoctem]

Bit of a bummer Banishers and Vampyr have the same shortcomings. There might be a silver lining here, though, since it doesn't sound like the difficulty setting is tied to the impactfulness of the morality/decision system like it was in Vampyr, so, if nothing else, you can play through the game on easy and mitigate the combat woes without robbing the narrative elements of their gravitas. I feel like Don't Nod is so close to creating greatness with how they try to blend actually meaningful narrative choices with action gameplay; I really hope they don't get shuttered before we get to experience the culmination of their efforts. They seem like a perfect acquisition for someone like Sony; I think the increased budget and 1st-party support would go a long way towards helping Don't Nod realize their potential.

[@Atraira]

my NA will be showing here but it took me an embarrassingly long time for me to realize this was someone else. your cadence and presentation is strikingly similar to ralph's

[@lazycouchman]

This looks like something I'd really like. I'm fine with meh combat if the story is really interesting.

[@poett8875]

I’m the same way. The last of us is great example of this. Mediocre combat with a superb story and characters.

[@sensoeirensen]

For me it's exactly the other way around.

[@sadmarinersfan8935]

Obviously, I love some fun gameplay but I will always pick story over gameplay if I have to preferably I want both to be good but for me a game can get away with having mediocre gameplay with a better story. Much easier than good gameplay, and a bad story.

[@johnnycage6676]

@@poett8875the last of us has the most smooth combat on the ps3

[@Conrock1296]

Looks like a game right up my alley, but will wait to get on sale or added to PS+

[@skillywilly187]

Can't wait to hear this main character I just got done playing borderlands three zane.. I love that accent

[@ARIXANDRE]

I love that Focus is still around. Euro jank in the trank but not enough to ruin it.

[@pets01]

Thanks! Could i suggest putting that its a laptop 3060 into the specs on the top right (when showing that footage), just for a bit more clarity! =)

[@vincentclark8386]

Will be good to get when on sale. Liked Vampyr but still need to beat that

[@worldscoolestperson7672]

VTMB is one of my favorite games, so I'm used to a great narrative overcoming funky combat. Maybe I'll give this a shot.

[@brmawe]

From the previews of this game it does sound & look interesting. Visuals look ominous. Hopefully it doesn't have any forced walking segments like a lot of these slow paced, narrative focus, lite-gameplay types.

[@nailinthefashion]

Ugh you know there's gonna be a section where you follow your spirit girlfriend as she monologs

[@jadedj5385]

Played and loved Vampyr at the height of our pandemic while navigating its Spanish Flu ravaged streets of London. Gameplay had jank but plenty of charm. It is pretty likely I will try this and hope for a patch to address some of these issues.

[@ddbizkit]

I cannot enter!

[@Randaddy25]

This game looks gorgeous! Bought it yesterday and loving it so far!

[@georgetrinc]

Would you say the combat is similar to classic " Eurojank " games ? ( Gothic series, Risen, Elex ) or it's more similar to Witcher 1?

[@Shinkajo]

Oh he's gonna totally reply and answer your question! Any minute now!

[@sphyre1196]

More Witcher 1 I would say if we are going from Vampyr 1 as a judgement basis.

[@geoffdb8118]

Doesn't look quite as bad as Gothic

[@FearFrontierOFFICIAL]

I actually really liked Vampyr, and have played through it a few times. The combat never bothered me enough to dislike how strong everything else was in that game, so I for one, think this game may be for me. I imagine a lot of people on the fence who want story and atmosphere over combat, would probably feel very similar to me.

[@odding3472]

Very good review, i was exited when they announced it, but seems like a game ill pass by for now, but might come back for in the future

[@alishafqat9404]

Perfect game to Pick up this Summer sale.

[@ironmooss1946]

Seems like a great review, love your take on things and your demeanor during these reviews is aptivating. However, i could not finish the review because i simply do not care about that game after watching 10 minutes of it. Love you Austin

[@arnaldocosta1298]

if it is at the same level of Vampyr, is fine by me, i will take a really good story and atmosphere and average gameplay over the inverse

[@Sektoriiiii]

DontNod will never, ever make a good combat system or good gameplay loop in their life. They can write good stories, but thats all there is to their games. After Vampyr, they should be knee-deep into making good combat. But naaaah.

[@zacharron]

Maybe that's not their focus? Does The Last of Us have amazing gameplay? Nope, but I think most people love it for a different reason.

[@Lzyboy49]

@@zacharronit’s a video “game”. The gameplay loop should probably be good.

[@spacechannelfiver]

Remember Me?

[@Aidiakapi]

​@@zacharronThey clearly want to though. You can see the effort poured in, they just don't stick the landing. I think people would just love to see them succeed at both, since their stories and atmosphere are really nice.

[@zacharron]

@Aidiakapi maybe, but every developer has strengths and weaknesses. I would never want to trade the writing and morality system in Vampyr for better combat though.

[@adamshalashaska5698]

Duh, from the first trailer I knew this would be lame and it was gonna bomb

[@ACameronUK]

I’ll be picking this up on the strength of Don’t Nod’s output I think 🤔 I’ve never played a game of theirs that didn’t have at least enough good ideas to justify the asking price.

[@doubledangerous7898]

First time ever a Scotsman has had a lead in a bigger game?!?! Finally Representation!!!!!!

[@carpetfluff35]

Plenty of people loved Vampyr, even with its flaws, and I expect that crowd (myself included) will enjoy this equally as much.

[@ObesetoBeast]

Its been so cool seeing the whole Skill up crew grow and literally see no weak links

[@hasuramapa4639]

Sounds like everything i love in a game ❤

[@UltravioletArts]

This is too bad, seems like a game that should have been a TV show

[@franciscor390]

The perfect Netflix show.

[@kingoverseas9052]

This does look really good, but I absolutely see what you mean about the combat. It looks and sounds like you're hitting an invisible barrier that's directly in front of the enemies, especially on that boss you showed. I can see myself getting around to this at eventually, just like Vampyr which was pretty great, but alas did suffer in the gameplay department too.

[@dominicspizzirri4399]

Well it’s good to know I can sit back on this one. Been playing a ton of Helldivers, and I got a backlog on my Xbox already….so I’ll wait for a discount or maybe if it shows up on PS+/GP.

[@nathanielclaw2841]

what im getting from those reviews is that those devs are one big budget away from outsourcing their combat to a studio with experience and getting games that will blow big companies out of the water.

[@jakbparish]

Quality review.

[@PXAbstraction]

I'm sorry, don't you mean AA publisher PulluP? God that's still so painful...

[@Alastor343]

The fact they decided to do modern God of War Combat was the first sign this game would have problems

[@lukas753331]

The problem is they are not santa monica. That combat is fucking excellent, but they just dont have the talent and money to pull it off

[@B0bbyZero]

Great review!! I had a problem with the fact that they tell you before hand to save her or not. I wanted to save her but that means saving all people, where i realised later on where all terrible people i really did not need to save. I am only 10 ours in so maybe i am wrong. But at this point in the game i would like to start over and let those people rot, And save his girl. Ps. Great game!!!

[@LaurentiuBadea]

I don't think Vampyr had clunky combat, but I guess to each his own. What I would have liked to see in this game (and what I thought it would be when I first seen the trailer) was anything other than literally punching ghosts.

[@drndrfnz8786]

I will never understand why critics consider linear to be synonymous with bad.

[@leonjan326]

In my country the PS5 copy of this game costs higher than Spider man 2, Final Fantasy 7 and Dragon’s Dogma 2. From the very first trailer I was sure that the game price will be around 40 USD, however, publisher decided to make more money on pre-orders. Will try this on the discount, looks like we will get the first one by the end of this month.

[@ryanbentley8475]

Good for me then because I've never played a game where the gameplay was so bad that it overshadowed a good story.Vampyr is actually a very good example.Still wait for a sale is still my go to even when it is good.

[@rantman2003]

Anyone know what the song at the beginning is?

[@zerocorpxc]

Way better reviewer than Shill Up lmao, love you Ralph

[@JackWse]

That was Just enough slide guitar in my morning to improve the quality of the rest of my day potentially.. appreciate that.

[@OdisraFlyrunner]

Will probably give it a go at some point!

[@deegee16k]

I loved this game! Wish there were more enemy types and a new game plus but I’ve had a blast with my playthrough!

[@SpartenCommando]

I stay up to date on games and I had no idea this game even existed

[@Jesse__H]

Same. I only learned of it last week, from TWiVG.

[@cassolmedia]

i keep forgetting about it. the marketing is really sparse

[@matthewapril3119]

Yeah this game was not super highlighted. Not really at big events, no memorable deep dives or streamers talking about it. Frankly I think I only paid attention to this game when I was looking for Evil West trailers.

[@broc4354]

How can you say you “stay up to date on games” when this was debuted at The Game Awards? It literally had gamings biggest platform to announce it WITH a trailer…

[@matthewapril3119]

@broc4354 Some trailers are forgettable, and some people might not be interested. I honestly forgot stellar blade was a thing for several years after its announcement.

[@leoGearth]

I'm gonna be perhaps a little hyper critical here and ask if the combat is that bad or are you expecting a smidge too much from a AA game? Greedfall for example does.not have amazing combat but is still a great play. Regardless, great review. Keep it up

[@MarcusBarkac]

Just hit the credits and loved this game. Going back to try and wrap up all the haunting cases and collectibles but overall I loved it. I agree with the faults but the vibes and exploration is what gets me.

[@marcuskane1040]

Exploration was one of the worst parts of the game. Absolutely terrible rewards, same boring enviroments and enemies and godawful fast travel system that forces you to run around like an errand boy

[@jesusfreakpl]

great review for a midlow game!

[@michaelstarratt4868]

I know what held vampyr back. Uhhh I also loved it

[@devilgames2217]

My type of game but i see myself buying it on the Halloween sale.

[@nathanmitchell7961]

Austin is a realllly good reviewer man

[@patricksantiago842]

I was a big fan of Vampyr, so this is going to be a big hit for me. 🤗

[@alenezi989a3]

The setting of the game lools very interesting, I love the ghost hunting with a whodunit mystery. I'll get it on discount

[@casthedemon]

Man if you could put Evil West combat into this game it'd be perfect.

[@aliabbasimoghaddam1571]

Its funny how they also made Remmember me, which no one remmembers but had amazing combat and game play.I really was expecting vampyr to be the same and better was really disapointed when played it after.

[@eamk887]

Eh, I think saying the combat is amazing is a bit overkill. Did the combat have interesting ideas? Sure, the whole game was filled with interesting ideas and concepts, but just like every other aspect, the combat wasn't just executed very well.

[@aliabbasimoghaddam1571]

Tbh it was one of their first attempts on combat and it was miles better than what they produced after and despite its flaws because of the combo system it really was charming.@@eamk887

[@solofox9426]

I actually liked Vampyr. That game was interesting and really went some cool places. Have people come around on that one yet? Seems like it would be a cult classic by now.

[@forrealdoh4516]

I didn't even know this game existed nor did I care because helldivers 2

[@arturbogdan353]

Good review man, liked the story analysis between the partners. Some small issues, "Not to beat around the bush, it's not very good, to say mildly" and "For 50 dollars is it worth it? Sure if you get it for a discount".

[@KirkRedgate]

I like Life is Strange and Vampyr. I'll probably grab this one, looks cool. Is this the same Skill Up? His voice sounds different. 🤔

[@abdalla8558]

God bless Austin Thats it, if you appreciate gameplay, this isn’t for you. Thank you Austin for simplifying it 👏!!

[@PhantomHalf]

I have played vampyr and I never really understood people saying that it has a clunky combat. I found it fun and fluid I did go full vamp for the powers so that might be the difference idk.

[@skyace9386]

Never have I had a game fight me so hard like Vampyr. In my decades of gaming I had game crashes on consoles maybe 5 times, but with Vampyr it was almost a daily occurrence and almost 2 years after release. Great characters and good story and a very interesting mechanic with the ability to feed on members of the community to the detriment of it, for a massive XP gain. Very clunky combat and gets old too fast. Never managed to complete it.

[@alphacorgi_2764]

Any chance you’ll do GrandBlue Fantasy Relink?

[@iDEATH]

DONTNOD did have decent combat once, in "Remember Me" (that title makes it sound like I'm joking, lol, but that was a real game!), especially with it's custom combo system. It was too limited, though, and the memory manipulation mechanic was woefully under utilized. It's felt to me like that pattern repeats in their games, that under cooked and unpolished version of some really promising ideas. I love ghost stories, though, so I might wind up checking this one out sometime.

[@jamesguerra4440]

This totally sold me on the game. Story is king to me and this story sounds fascinating. Vampyr is a classic, anything comparable to that sounds right up my alley

[@bromeisterbryce]

Helldivers 2 review. I can’t wait to hear him gush for an hour on how incredible it is

[@vim_programar]

Despite the mixed review, the positive aspects described here kinda makes this one a must buy to me!

[@noblebearaw]

I'm always hungry for more and better story and characters so I'll give this a shot.

[@zlodrim9284]

I really liked the game, the themes, the setting, the main couple and found their quest engaging, I would also describe it more like Judge Dredd with ghosts, rather than comparing it with Ghostbusters. The gameplay is an overall improvement over Vampyr, Don-t Nod really improved their writing here and the presentation and direction are more confident, the theming is stronger and more unified, all the bigger areas contribute to a larger whole and give you bits and pieces to have a full picture of what transpired in New Eden once you are near the end. The encounters more dramatic, and less present, the game does give you more time to think about these things, to breathe and to enjoy the view and the surroundings you are currently exploring, as opposed to Vampyr that had mobs literally everywhere and was really annoying to traverse in due to that. They also managed to make the various NPCs a lot more interesting and compelling, even the minor Haunting quests have a nice twist to them to always keep you guessing and to always play with your expectations a little bit. The investigating aspect of the game could use more work, it feels more streamlined, but the constant back and forth of the Antea and Red does somewhat a little to improve this. Depending on your oath, I picked the Ascent as I found it the most fitting and the game agrees with granting you the best ending for it, it is interesting to note the binary dialogue options that the game gives Antea, as you can guide Red towards convincing him more and more to go with the Lesser Paligenesis ritual, and their differing views on how they perceive the different circumstances the people of New Eden found themselves in are interesting and flesh the leads even further. I played the game on low specs and had a fluid 60 FPS on an outdated midrange PC from 2021, stutters happened occasionally, but far too in frequently to ruin the experience or to become a hassle. Overall, a definite step up from Vampyr, and even though I am not big on the open world and how they constructed the experience, I think it would have gained more from being a linear narrative experience instead, I really loved this game, love the little nods to Vampyr that tie the two games into the same universe, and will look forward to whatever game they make after this one.

[@gregoryjames3287]

I loved Vampyr. The pros far outweigh the cons in that game