Articles from GameswithDeath Article Feature Guide Impressions News Opinion Review Dec 10, 2025 Post Malone's Murder Circus Encore The Ringmaster Returns to the Bayou with New Features, Twitch Drops, and One Angry Bear Article 9 Mins by Death Dec 1, 2025 No, High-End Weapons Do NOT Need to be Buffed There's a lot Going on with the Weapons in ARC Raiders Article 6 Mins by Death Nov 17, 2025 Extraction Shooters are NOT Oversaturated Media Claims about Extraction Shooter Market Saturation are Grossly Inaccurate Article 6 Mins by Death Oct 27, 2025 100 Starter Tips & Strats For ARC Raiders Everything you Need to get Past the Initial Learning Curve Guide 30 Mins by Death Oct 9, 2025 THE EXPEDITION PROJECT REVEALED Embark Finally Details their Voluntary Wipe System for ARC Raiders News 4 Mins by Death Sep 23, 2025 Embark Drops Huge ARC Raiders News Preorders are Finally Available and Server Slam Announced News 1 Min by Death May 26, 2025 It Just ****in’ Works ARC Raiders carries the hopes of a stunted and underestimated genre Impressions 7 Mins by Death Nov 29, 2024 Immersive Playthrough Details All the Mods and Details for Death's Immersive CP2077 Run Feature 2 Mins by Death Apr 14, 2025 Death's Anime Watchlist 死のアニメ視聴リスト (This is Japanese!) Article 2 Mins by Death First Prev 1 Page 1 Next Last

Gaming Reviews, Guides, and Insights from GameswithDeath Post Malone's Murder Circus Encore The Ringmaster Returns to the Bayou with New Features, Twitch Drops, and One Angry Bear Article No, High-End Weapons Do NOT Need to be Buffed There's a lot Going on with the Weapons in ARC Raiders Article Extraction Shooters are NOT Oversaturated Media Claims about Extraction Shooter Market Saturation are Grossly Inaccurate Article 100 Starter Tips & Strats For ARC Raiders Everything you Need to get Past the Initial Learning Curve Guide Oct 9, 2025 THE EXPEDITION PROJECT REVEALED Embark Finally Details their Voluntary Wipe System for ARC Raiders News by Death 4 Mins Sep 23, 2025 Embark Drops Huge ARC Raiders News Preorders are Finally Available and Server Slam Announced News by Death 1 Min May 26, 2025 It Just ****in’ Works ARC Raiders carries the hopes of a stunted and underestimated genre Impressions by Death 7 Mins stream schedule Live on Twitch Hunt: Showdown 1896 w/ JonWright & Barittaneyyy Today, Dec 10, 2025, 9:00 AM UTC Hunt: Showdown 1896 ARC Raiders [SOLO] Tomorrow, Dec 11, 2025, 4:00 PM UTC ARC Raiders A Hunt Stream Will Happen... Dec 12, 2025, 9:00 AM UTC Hunt: Showdown 1896 An ARC Raiders Stream Will Happen... Dec 12, 2025, 4:00 PM UTC ARC Raiders Hunt w/ AngryTwitches & Davey Dec 13, 2025, 9:00 AM UTC Hunt: Showdown 1896

Death's Article on Hunt: Showdown 1896: Post Malone's Murder Circus Encore "The Ringmaster Returns to the Bayou with New Features, Twitch Drops, and One Angry Bear" Dec 10, 2025 9 Mins by Death Post Malone’s Murder Circus Encore The Ringmaster Returns to the Bayou with New QOL Features, Mechanics, and One Angry Bear Post Malone returns to the Bayou with vengeance on his mind in the new winter event for Hunt: Showdown 1896 (2018). Update 2.6 also brings a plethora of UI and gameplay improvements, a new way to customize your in-game profile, and a holiday-themed Twitch Drops campaign with new legendaries. Here’s everything you need to know. The Murder Circus Saga continues: Post, the former Ringmaster (now “Disciple of Death”) and Giggles are back to continue where they left off after the events of last year's Circus visit. Ursa Mortis, the escaped two-headed circus bear, returns as well and has been reworked to be much more deadly than before. She adds more chaos to matches, with more health and damage, and the ability to smash through the circus fences when chasing players; she's also immune to explosive knockdowns, so Hunter should prepare for the fight of their life. Shredder Rework (Event-exclusive) The infamous Shredder is back after a significant rework, requiring more skill to use this time around: Saw blades no longer “smart bounce” toward players – bounces are now pure physics, requiring players to carefully place shots or flood an area with blades to incapacitate enemy hunters. The Shredder must be manually charged after every shot, making the rate of fire much slower. There is no auto-charge on equip; the weapon must be charged manually by pressing X on PC or Up on the D-pad on console. The blade now spins down over time and unequipping no longer stops the spin. The Shredder will keep spinning when stowed, so it can still be “primed” for a quick shot; but this carries the risk the spinning noise will give away the user. Blade projectiles no longer pierce multiple targets; instead sticking into bodies like bolts or arrows. Event Traits & Troupes The Troupes return, each with a unique Trait bought with Pledge Marks — Hunters can now pledge to as many Troupes as they can afford. The Knifethrower Troupe features the Blademancer trait for two pledge marks. Hunters can use Dark Sight to pull retrievable ammo in front of them back into their inventory, up to 100m away. The Mystic Troupe gives the Communion trait for one pledge mark. While in Dark Sight, hunters can temporarily lose 15 max HP to heal a teammate for 75 HP and cleanse statuses up to 25m away. The Trickshooter Troupe gives Crack Shot for one pledge mark. Hunters have less weapon sway and higher ironsight zoom for rifles and stock pistols. These effects do not apply to shotguns or sawed-off variants. The Strongman Troupe muscles in with the Bruiser trait for one pledge mark. This trait lower melee stamina costs and reduce aim punch when taking damage. Finally, the Ringmaster Troupe brings back Corpse Seer for two pledge marks. Hunters gain one second of Dark Sight Boost when looting downed enemy Hunters. There’s also a new High Striker booth: smack it with any melee weapons to earn Event Points; your score is shared across all High Strikers in the current mission. Player Customization Cards The new patch also brings customizable Player Profile Cards. Each card can show an avatar (Hunters, monsters, etc.), up to 3 badges (item mastery, progression), up to 3 stat trackers (kills with specific items/Hunters, bounty earned, etc. – mainly Bounty Hunt and Bounty Clash stats), a title (item mastery titles, nicknames, achievement tags), and a cosmetic frame. An example of the new customizable Player Profile Cards coming with Patch 2.6. Most of these are unlocked through regular play, Story Challenges, and events; while others can be purchased with Blood Bonds. Most stats start tracking from 2.6 onward, with only a few using historical data. Hunters will see player profile cards on the death screen, on the last mission screen, in the lobby (by clicking on their teammates), and during the pre-match sequence. Hunters can create their customizations in the reworked Career tab, alongside Story Challenges. Check out the official Crytek News post here for more details. Story Challenges Story Challenges are a new, chapter-based progression track that mixes lore and gameplay tasks; they are found on the updated Challenges screen, which now houses both Weekly and Story challenges. Each Story Challenge line is broken into Chapters, with rewards tied to completing individual challenges and entire chapters. Two storylines ship with 2.6: On the Winds of Midwinter is a Premium, time-limited three-chapter storyline. Rewards include: Krampus (Hunter), Hoof and Horn (Legendary Terminus skin), Clamor’s Carol (Charm), Profile items (avatar, frame, title), and Event Points, Hunt Dollars, Bloodline XP, etc. An Acquired Taste is a free, permanent three-chapter storyline. Rewards include: Tennessee Morgan as a returning tiered Hunter (Rookie / Survivor / Veteran), Profile items (avatar, title), and Hunt Dollars, Bloodline XP, etc. These are not the only Story Challenges hunters will see, as Crytek has stated they plan to expand on this feature in future updates. UI, Ping & Compass Rework The map screen has been significantly reworked; traits are now ordered by “last acquired”, and traits picked up mid-mission are marked; the map background is now semi-transparent for better situational awareness; new map art, icons, and boss target borders provide players with more clarity; a widget now tracks weekly and story challenge progress directly on the map. The ping system is now more detailed with more ping types per player. Pings now indicate what type of object is being pinged, including, healing, ammo, toolboxes, caches, money bags, trait charms, blueprints, barrels, traps, tools, weapons, animals, clues, and more. Standard markers last 15 seconds, danger pings 2 seconds, and trap pings 24 seconds. New contextual pings will clear up some of the "confusion" in these parts. Marker visibility got buffed too. All ping icons show on the compass, lined up with their world position. Markers fade slightly when you ADS. Lighting no longer alters ping colors, so they stay readable. The compass UI itself has been redesigned to handle multiple icons cleanly. Gameplay & Balance Changes There’s a new Doused status that interacts with water and fire. Hunters become Doused when moving through deep water, and stay that way for 15 seconds. While Doused, Hunters are harder to ignite, recover charcoaled HP faster, have louder, easier-to-track, wet-sounding footsteps. Water Bottles will instantly kill Immolators. Water Bottle is a new world item that spawns randomly in the world. Throwing it creates a big splash and applies the doused status to Hunters and Immolators. Water bottles put out most flames and burning Hunters; however, hitting an oil fire creates a bigger flame burst instead of extinguishing it. Water bottles can be shot on the ground to detonate the splash, but cannot be stored and will break if dropped. Changes to Traits, Healing & AI There are also several significant changes to traits, healing, and AI in this patch: Recovery Shots and the Relentless trait now restore HP chunks with 24 points of charcoaling, slowing their immediate benefits. Burn traits, like Relentless, Remedy, and Rampage, no longer stack; Hunters can only have one instance of each. Beetle cocoons can now spawn any Beetle variant, reversing a previous change. Immolators will become Doused in deep water, heavy rain, or from Water Bottles; while Doused, they can’t ignite, are slower, and take more damage. Hives now moves more slowly in water. The Assassin has had his HP reduced to bring its TTK in-line with the other bosses. Weapons & Meta There are several weapons and meta changes, that will impact play this patch: The Centennial Wildland's spread has been increased from 17.5 to 22.5, making it less effective at range. Rare Locked Weapon Boxes, containing a Wildland or Homestead, can now spawn at watchtowers; unlocking them costs 3 Pledge Marks. Silencer volumes, occlusion, interior gun tails, melee flybys, and more now have improved positional audio and clarity. Rich Presence is now available for Steam and Discord; players who opt-in can now show more details about their in-game status. New Player Onboarding has been streamlined. Several bugs have been fixed, but some persistent issues remain. See patch notes for complete details. Hunt Winter Twitch Drops Campaign Alongside Update 2.6, there’s a Twitch Drops campaign starting on December 12, 2025 – 15:00 UTC and ending on December 24, 2025 – 15:00 UTC. Viewers can earn rewards by watching any Hunt streams after linking their Hunt and Twitch accounts. For the first time, Crytek is providing a way for viewers to support their favorite Hunt streamer with Support-a-Streamer Rewards. Subbing to any Hunt streamer during the drops period will give the following reward bonuses: 1 subscription of any tier, gifted or direct, to any live Hunt channel awards the Hunt Twitch Chat Badge. 2 total subscriptions to one or multiple channels awards the Hunt Twitch Chat Badge and the Head Taker Legendary Hunter. Details for the Hunt Winter Twitch Drops Campaign. Viewers will also receive rewards for watching every hour, up to nine hours. Each successive hour watched gives the following rewards and a Supply Crate: 1st hour – a Random Charm. 2nd hour – a Random Avatar. 3rd hour – a Random Legendary Equipment Skin. 4th hour – a Random Sleigh Ride (Legendary Ranger 73 variant). 5th hour – a Random Legendary Hunter. 6th hour – another Random Charm. 7th hour – another Random Avatar. 8th hour – Random Legendary Equipment Skin. 9th hour – Random Death’s Caroler (Legendary Krag variant). Each Supply Crate contains one random Rifle, one random Pistol, one random Shotgun, one random Special Weapon, three random Tools and/or Consumables, and a random amount of Hunt Dollars. Random rewards take into account what legendaries a Hunter already owns; see Crytek's Twitch Drops page here for official details on how to link accounts and claim rewards. Conclusion In all, update 2.6 is a big one; the Murder Circus is back in town with a nastier Ursa Mortis and a more skill-based Shredder; profile Cards and Story Challenges give Hunters new ways to customize their appearance and something to grind for; ping, compass, onboarding, and audio all get meaningful quality-of-life passes; and the Winter Twitch Drops campaign has plenty of rewards for everyone involved, streamers and viewers. If you’re thinking of returning to the bayou, 2.6 has plenty of reasons to do so. I'll be streaming the drops everyday from 9 AM EST on at twitch.tv/GameswithDeath , so come by and join the murderous fun. Otherwise, I’ll see you on the other side, Hunters. [The audio version of this article was generated using machine-learning technology.] Hunt: Showdown 1896 2018 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 08:32 Link Copied! Post Malone's Murder Circus Encore The Ringmaster Returns to the Bayou with New Features, Twitch Drops, and One Angry Bear Article

Death's News on ARC Raiders: Embark Drops Huge ARC Raiders News "Preorders are Finally Available and Server Slam Announced" Sep 23, 2025 1 Min by Death Update 23 Sep: According to an event posted in the official ARC Raiders Discord server, the Server Slam will be 50 hours in duration, starting at 9 AM EST on Friday 17 Oct and ending at Sunday 19 Oct at 11 AM EST. The Server Slam Event in the official ARC Raiders Discord Server. A lot of huge ARC R aiders news dropped today! The game is finally available for preorder on all platforms; the Standard Edition is $40 USD and the Deluxe Edition is $60 USD, with cosmetics and raider tokens being the only difference between them. Standard and Deluxe Editions comparisons. From the ARC Raiders Steam store page. Summary of the ARC Raider Preorder and Deluxe Edition bonuses. From the ARC Raider Steam store page The accompanying preorder trailer also teased at least two new ARC Enemies; the first looks to be a quadruped as tall as a human; the other is of indeterminate size as we only get a brief glimpse of a tank-like cannon turret. We got closer look at the walker arc see in the launch date trailer, which looks to be the same size or bigger than a bastion or bison. Terrifying stuff! Embark teases new ARC Enemies in the new Preorder Trailer. Embark also announced plans for a Server Slam shortly before launch from the 17th to 19th of October. The Server Slam will be on every platform and is open to everyone, no purchase required. Embark is also going to have a booth at TwitchCon San Diego this year. So while all the other streamers are lining up to play the game there, I’ll be streaming it on Twitch, ( twitch.tv/gameswithdeath ) so be sure to come and check it out. I definitely can’t wait to get back into the ARC Raiders world. October 30th can’t come quick enough. See you on the other side, Raiders. ARC Raiders 2025 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:06 Link Copied! Embark Drops Huge ARC Raiders News Preorders are Finally Available and Server Slam Announced News

Death's Article on Steam Deck: A Steam Deck Revolution? "A Christmas Day Surprise Changes Death's After-life Forever" Sep 17, 2024 3 Mins by Death If you're like me, a North American semi-hardcore PC gamer with disposable income, no impulse control, and a fiber internet connection, you likely have a Steam library with hundreds of games that have sat unplayed for years. For those who don’t know, Steam is a PC gaming service from Valve Software, the makers of Portal (2007) and Half-Life (1998). Steam is a juggernaut of the online gaming industry and, in 2021, had 133.0 million active users, with 69.0 million daily active users. [1] In 2023, Steam had an estimated revenue of $8.5 billion, down from its 2021 high of 10.0 billion. [2] The Valve Steam Deck was released on 25 Feb 2022. One method Valve uses to create this much revenue is the seasonal Steam sale. Steam sales are an excellent opportunity for most gamers to get a discount on a game they have been waiting to play; for gamers such as myself, Steam sales drain my gamer wallet every time they happen. For almost every sale, I fall prey to the cute marketing art on the Steam store front page and those little green tabs advertising 75% or 80% off some critically acclaimed titles I have yet to try. Oh, you didn’t play Death Stranding ? It's weird, but good. Kojima, right? 50% off! Red Dead Redemption II was on PlayStation, and you didn’t get to play it? How about now for $20? Art for the 2023 Seasonal Steam Sales. Objectively, Steam Sales are, more or less, a pretty good deal. If you are interested in various games and genres, you can save a lot of money, which is good for the consumer. Typically, a good Steam sale will contain significant discounts on games that generally cost $70-80. These discounted games are suitable for gamers with finite resources and generate extra revenue for products nearing the end of their natural life cycle. The problem with Steam Sales is that they are almost too good sometimes. Oh, are they discounting an entire franchise this time? What do you mean by all Bethesda games being on sale? Skyrim , again? How can you not buy every game in the Resident Evil series for less than $15 each? It's one of the most incredible video game series of all time. You'd be losing money if you didn't. Capcom executives would be justified in showing up at your front door and guilt-tripping you on why you hate them so much. Did you want every Dark Souls game on PC and their corresponding DLCs you didn’t play for less than $50? Here you go. Have an excellent time repeatedly kicking yourself in the balls, gamer. And remember how much Our Lord and Savior Gaben loves you. Gaben, Our Heavenly Father. I have tried in the past to resist the temptation of these sales. Still, every year, I finance a no-small portion of Gabe's lavish island sex fortress hidden somewhere in the South Pacific with my hard-earned gamer dollars. (He's a billionaire. They all have them.) As sure as the tide comes in and out with the movement of our flat disc-shaped planet, I knowingly buy several games that I know I will not play. Steam sales have gotten to the point where there isn't much I can even buy anymore. For most sales now, see the blue "in-library" tag more than the green sale tag. Even during the vanilla weekly sales, if I filter out the garbage games with less than very positive reviews (I'm not playing a game with mixed reviews; I have some standards), I have to scroll far until I see something that interests me and is not already in my library. I often see the blue "in library" tags during Steam Sales. I am sure some of you are thinking, “This man has a massive spending problem, and his wife needs to disconnect some credit cards fast.” And, I agree... but not for the reasons you think. Yes, husbands left unsupervised with credit cards is never a good thing (There are plenty of reasons why my Amazon account should have parental controls enabled.), but buying games and not playing them is not bad because it wastes money. (We’re a double income and no kids couple. DINKS4LYFE, baby!) No, the real problem that keeps me awake at night, that burns in the core of my self-centered, oblivious to the pain of other, self-gratifying, entitled lizard-brained soul with the power of a thousand suns set on fire by even more suns, is that I am being deprived of the one thing that sustains the reason I exist, my very essence. Yes, dopamine. And not getting my dopamine is fucking unacceptable! To fix this problem, we first need to understand it. Specifically, I need to know how much time and money I spend on my gaming obsession and if any optimizations are possible. (‘Obsession’ is the right word here. This train passed ‘Hobby’ station about three decades ago and has not looked back. Full steam ahead!) Looking at my Steam summary for 2023, I played thirty-eight games and bought twenty-four new games. I played more games than I purchased, which is good. However, I spent 95% of my playtime on only two games: Hunt: Showdown and Baldur's Gate III. (I’ll argue that +700 hours last year on Hunt is justified because I main it for my content, and 500 hours on Baldur's Gate was because of… well... Shadowheart. If you know, you know.) While I have more fun (i.e., dopamine) per dollar spent on a few games, much more potential fun is locked away. In my mind, money spent on a game is justified if I get one hour of game time per dollar spent (I would love to say one hour of ‘fun’ per dollar spent, but given the current state of modern gaming, you can spend a lot of time having something I like to call ‘negative fun,’ but that’s a discussion for another time. Looking at you, Diablo IV.). Over the past thirteen years on Steam, I have spent $3,339 on games, which is all things considered (not bad). That equates to roughly $250 per year on gaming, which is quite reasonable. If I include microtransactions or in-game purchases as Steam lists them, the total comes to... $10,947. That’s $7,608 on microtransactions alone. (…I already deeply regret writing this article.) Moving quickly to any other topic, I have roughly 10,805 hours played on Steam. This makes my current dollar-per-hour-played ratio $1.013, or about a dollar an hour, which is on target, but since it is my duty to min/max everything, this could be much better. (It’s a gamer thing. If you know, you know.) Of the 417 games in my Steam library, 118 (or 28%) remain unplayed. About 50 or so other games with under an hour of playtime could be counted as unplayed. (I go where the ADHD tells me to, folks.) There are thousands of hours of quality gaming to be had without spending additional money. (In-game cosmetics aside, cause baby needs that drip in Guild Wars 2 . Again, if you know, you know.) So, there's a lot of room to drive down the dollar-per-hour-played ratio; the only real issue is how. How do I find a time-effective way to play all these unplayed games while maintaining my marriage, friendships, and work commitments? Guild Wars 2 shop outfits are absolutely worth my money. Thankfully, I found the solution on a quiet Christmas morning late last year. Or, more accurately, Mrs. Death did. “What is this solution?” you ask—first, a little context. Besides being amazingly sexy, super successful, and highly intelligent, Mrs. Death has another quality that sets her apart from every other woman: she is a gift-giving god. Mrs. Death has an uncanny ability to know what you want before you even know you want it. Being a literal Saint, Mrs. Death uses this superpower for good, specifically, spoiling her loving and adoring husband, who happens to be me. I will agree that her power is a little scary. I could be browsing Amazon, looking at some item that is tangentially related to something else I want, and, like magic, Mrs. Death will have that very same item months later when I least expect it. Sure, her ability to know you better than you know yourself is like living with an NSA agent who is constantly profiling you, and, yes, I should probably clear my browser history more often. But, even if my marriage is similar to living in a dystopian surveillance state, should I care if I receive the perfect present every 4 to 6 months for years on end? So, on a quiet and cozy Christmas morning last year in the Democratic People’s Republic of Marital Bliss, I was completely caught off guard as I unwrapped a brand new Valve-made Gaben-approved, nay Gaben-blessed, Steam Deck with a 1TB of internal storage and a state-of-the-art OLED screen. And when I say “off guard,” I had no idea. I still don’t know where she got the idea from. I think I mentioned in passing that the Steam Deck looked cool, but other than that, I have no idea. Putting aside that mystery, it was an extraordinary Christmas morning. That was until the initial surprise wore off, and I was sitting on the couch, new Steam Deck in hand, wondering, “What am I supposed to do with this thing?” The OLED version of the Steam Deck. - Serenkonata - stock.adobe.com As a PC gamer, I don’t equate handheld gaming with real gaming. (Sorry, not sorry, mobile gamers.) For me, the true peak of gaming is sitting in front of my 1440p 240 mhz ASUS ROG monitor, Logitech G502X mouse in one hand, and a Corsair k70 tenkeyless keyboard holding up the other, eagerly waiting to suck down all the juicy visuals that my GIGABYTE AERO 4090 can shoot all over my wanting face. By their nature, handhelds cannot deliver graphically intense experiences like a PC can. (Not to mention how awkward that would be in public.) I have always thought of handhelds as stand-ins for real gaming while traveling, the methadone to the real smack if you will. Handhelds are for disgruntled teenagers in the back of mom’s minivan who want to be anywhere else or for sedating iPad kids on airplanes who have no clue what the hell they are doing in Super Mario Bros. Wonder . (How is this 8-year-old kid going to survive life if he can’t even hit the first Goomba?) Or better yet, they are for introverting in the corner of your in-law's living room as your wife tries to justify her marriage to your mother-in-law, who openly ponders whether or not you are on the spectrum somewhere. (I may not make eye contact, but I have ears, Susan.) Honestly, as someone who has not ventured beyond the end of the driveway in over two months, why would I want any handheld, let alone something that could make me spend more money on Steam? For a while, I thought this gift, like all those games in my Steam library, would be a colossal waste of money. But, I could not have been more wrong after using the Steam Deck for over a month. Steam Deck 2022 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! A Steam Deck Revolution? A Christmas Day Surprise Changes Death's After-life Forever Article

Death's Review on Pearl: Pearl is a Powerhouse Film "An Exploration of Sexual Rebellion and Cultural Legacies that Resonate beyond its Setting" Sep 17, 2024 2 Mins by Death Note: A previous version of this review appeared on slayawaywithus.com on 26 Jan 2023. Pearl , a prequel to the acclaimed X (2022) and the second movie in the X film trilogy, opens on a beautiful and idyllic Texas farm reminiscent of Hollywood’s silver screen era pictures like Gone with the Wind (1939) and The Wizard of Oz (1939). Director Ti West uses technicolor saturation levels, sprawling camera angles, and a sweeping soundtrack to evoke a sense of grandeur typical for depictions of rural life on film in this period. West co-wrote the script with star Mia Goth . Out of this pastoral paradise, Pearl (Goth) appears as an innocent farm girl with ambitions beyond the confines of her family’s property. She preens privately in her room, sneaks off to see forbidden ‘moving pictures’ in town, and dreams of dancing on stage to adoring audiences, all out of the eyesight of her domineering German mother, Ruth ( Tandi Wright ). However, her dreams encounter opposition as the realities of her life come into view. Beyond the usual demands that one would expect living on a farm, Pearl is also responsible for helping her mother care for her ailing father ( Matthew Sunderland ). Goth and West skillfully build sympathy for Pearl in the opening stages. However, this sympathy is tested when Pearl’s capacity for violence emerges, and the carnage begins. Pearl's violence is terrifying because of how her femininity is portrayed. She is childlike and dependent on the love of those around her, which aligns with traditional agrarian values. Unfortunately for Pearl, she only experiences love when her actions align with the expectations of others. She is loved for the utility of her gender and only in the way that others choose to recognize it. When she attempts to use her sexuality to fulfill her desires, she finds punishment or abandonment. As frustration mounts, Pearl states, “… you have no idea what I’m capable of.” This foreshadowing exceeds all expectations as Pearl descends into cruelty and malice. Her eventual brutality exceeds even the worst that Lizzie Borden was only accused of. Like Borden, Pearl’s violence resonates that much more, not only because of a natural distaste for murder but because it rejects an entire value system, one based upon her fertility and expected female roles. Serving as backdrops to Pearl’s sexual rebellion are the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 and the First World War. Both events combined killed millions of Americans and fomented widespread anti-German sentiments. Germans, historically one of the largest immigration groups to the United States, were accused of being spies for the ‘Vaterland,’ intentionally spreading the pandemic, and were frequently attacked violently. German families who did leave took measures to hide their heritage by changing their family names, claiming another acceptable European ancestry, and refraining from speaking German in public. Mia Goth makes the dichotomy of Pearl's innocence and brutality look easy. Given this backdrop, Goth and West are not just writing about denied female agency but also reflecting on contemporary reactions to the recent COVID pandemic. If sympathy exists for Pearl and her forbidden dreams, then compassion should also exist for Asian Americans who recently experienced the same discrimination. In a way, Pearl is an ethnic anti-hero struggling against the world’s injustice due to no fault of her own. She is a prisoner not only to her gender but her ethnic heritage as well. Goth navigates Pearl’s predicaments and skillfully transitions her from dutiful daughter to merciless killer in an authentic and nuanced performance. She conveys Pearl’s sexuality and rage equally, making these characteristics equally impactful. She makes Pearl feel sympathetic, even while carrying out her heinous crimes. Right up to the closing shot, it is evident that Goth has poured all she has into Pearl. In all, Goth’s performance deserves recognition at the highest levels. West supports Goth’s performance with outstanding direction, cinematography, and storytelling. The tempo of the film never fails to engage the viewer’s attention. West’s framing of each scene effectively builds tension, even if no pitchforks are flying at a given moment. West’s use of red is worthy of special mention; red features prominently in almost every scene and is unusually visible due to the heightened saturation levels. Like his use of animals as emblems for violence, fertility, and decay in other parts of the film, red visually embodies the power struggle between characters on screen. West’s skill as a storyteller is on full display and is a pleasure to watch as the film unfolds. Pearl is an outstanding and masterfully crafted horror film. Goth’s performance shines simultaneously with sympathy and brutality. She delivers one of the best performances of the past year, and not just in horror. Note: A previous version of this review appeared on slayawaywithus.com on 26 Jan 2023. Pearl 2022 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! Pearl is a Powerhouse Film An Exploration of Sexual Rebellion and Cultural Legacies that Resonate beyond its Setting Review

Death's Review on V/H/S/99: The End of the 90s Zeitgeist "V/H/S/99 loses the 90s nostalgia in translation at times, but is still a fun collection of frights." Sep 17, 2024 2 Mins by Death Note: A previous version of this review appeared on slayawaywithus.com on 21 Oct 2022. V/H/S/99 is the fifth installment in the V/H/S anthology series and platform for myriad horror filmmakers since the original was released in 2012. Like previous installments, it features five segments from various directors of different styles within the found footage subgenre. For its own efforts, the collection does not stray from the formulaic structure the series is known for and delivers a predominantly successful entry, although it may grossly misinterpret the late 1990s in many ways. I don't know if we were as cool as we thought we were in the 90s. Courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. The collection opens with Shredding, written and directed by Maggie Levin , a segment that seeks to capture the 90s punk era’s Zeitgeist. It features a band of misfits trying to aspire to the greatness of their now-dead (or undead) rock idols. The music is ostensibly inspired by the early 90s grrl punk rock trend, but with heavy corporate pop punk undertones, despite the fervent claim to the contrary. The music definitely isn’t punk if one actually experienced the west coast 90s punk era firsthand, but it works for the story’s setting. (Also, mosh pits were not about violence; they only looked that way. Guess you had to be there.) Levin is guilty of telegraphing some gags, which is bound to annoy the audience, but she delivers in setting a ghoulish tone. I was as confused as they look watching this segment. Courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Second in the line-up (and first in how to commit involuntary manslaughter) is Suicide Bid, written and directed by Johannes Roberts . The story follows a young college student making an all-or-nothing play to join her dream sorority. The one-dimensional cruelty of the antagonists is the worst thing about this short. The over-the-top and overused mean girl trope only serves the audience’s desire to see pretty girls getting killed by monsters. There are some strong The Craft (1996) and Mean Girls (2004) vibes at certain moments, which gives audiences hope initially, but it quickly devolves into confusing and inexplicable plot jumps, resulting in the weakest segment of V/H/S/99 . Steven Ogg will always be GTA V's lovable meth head Trevor to me. Courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Thankfully, despite its shaky start, V/H/S/99 offers some solid storylines and scares worth watching. Ozzy’s Dungeon, co-written and directed by Flying Lotus and Zoe Cooper , harkens back to cable television hell that was the Nickelodeon game shows when parents were all too willing to have their child risk life and limb for a slim chance at fame on clearly unsafe obstacle courses. Strong performances from Steven Ogg and Sonya Eddy carry the story, and Flying Lotus comes the closest of any of the filmmakers to saying something profound. There is a moment when the exploitation of these shows collides with racial wealth disparity in an attempt to say something much bigger than focusing on the OSHA health and safety violations on display. However, it is lost when the segment plunges into cynicism and the need to complete its horror movie checklist. This kind of video streaming was just not possible in the 90s. Courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. The Gawkers, co-written and directed by Tyler MacIntyre with Chris Lee Hill , provides the interlude for V/H/S/99 and delivers some potent scares when it finally comes into the foreground in the fourth act. Of all the other segments, it feels most anachronistic, belonging to the 20s rather than the 90s (the internet could barely handle text-based communication in 1999, let alone high-resolution video, CRT monitor or not, let’s be honest here). This segment may look like the late 90s in fashion and style, but it reads like YouTubers found a box in their parent’s garage marked ‘90s stuff’ and decided to make a horror film with the contents. MacIntyre salvages the segment by employing some very nice special effects to tell a hormone-soaked peer-pressure story about adolescent boys, this amazing new invention called ‘the internet,’ and the hot girls next door. Admittantly, some Y2K New Year's Eve parties did get kinda crazy. Courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. To Hell and Back, co-written and co-directed by Vanessa Winter and Joseph Winter , closes out V/H/S/99 with the most intentionally hilarious segment on offer. Clearly influenced by films like Army of Darkness (1992), the Winters skillfully deliver a Raimiesque whirlwind of peril, guts, and comedy—pulling together summoning demons and the fear of Y2K to greater effect. The banter between characters and matter-of-fact treatment of the subject matter really works as short-form content. It is a refreshingly comedic end to an otherwise serious and cynical outing for the rest of the anthology. The only issue with the short is that there isn’t more of the film to enjoy. (Extra points are awarded for keeping the party hat on the entire time.) While some stories falter in V/H/S/99 , the rest pick up the slack and make a serviceable, if not innovative, addition to the V/H/S series. The collection doesn’t exploit the greater potential of some of the displayed themes but mostly accomplishes what it sets out to do. Even though it loses the 90s zeitgeist in translation in some places (something every generation is guilty of when reflecting on the previous one—don’t fret too much, Zoomers), the shorts make up a fun collection of scary stories in time for Halloween. V/H/S/99 premiered on the East Coast at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival on October 14, 2022 , before its exclusive streaming premiere on Shudder on October 20, 2022 . Note: A previous version of this review appeared on slayawaywithus.com on 21 Oct 2022. V/H/S/99 2022 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! The End of the 90s Zeitgeist V/H/S/99 loses the 90s nostalgia in translation at times, but is still a fun collection of frights. Review

Death's Review on Dark Glasses: Classic Giallo Style Horror "Director Dario Argento saves Dark Glasses, a film with few engaging characters" Jan 30, 2024 2 Mins by Death Dark Glasses is the much-anticipated return of storied Italian director Dario Argento . His long career stretches back to the 1970s, with his most acclaimed past works being The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970) and Suprisia (1977). Dark Glasses is the first time Argento has directed since 2012’s Dracula 3D. Dark Glasses is co-written by Argento, Franco Ferrini, and Carlo Lucarelli. Dark Glasses opens in Rome on a beautiful Italian summer day with an impending eclipse causing a sense of unease among the locals. Diana ( Ilenia Pastorelli ), a high-priced prostitute, observes the eclipse in a crowded park while dogs can be heard barking in the background. A mother and father explain to their child that “They’re barking ‘cause they’re nervous. Not only dogs but all animals are afraid. Even our ancestors were afraid of eclipses. They thought the sun disappearing was the end of the world.” The scene sets an ominous tone and establishes an interplay between light and dark, animal and human, and good and evil. Ilenia Pastorelli as Diana. Courtesy of Rai Cinema. Argento plays with these themes throughout the film, incorporating them into the Giallo style of Italian horror film-making, which he is known for perfecting. For context, Giallo originated as a horror genre in Italy in the 1960s and gaining international popularity in the 1970s. The genre marries murder-mystery plots with intense moments of horror, often featuring glamorous female protagonists stalked by unidentified killers in luxurious settings, think Halloween, but Laurie is wearing Versace and is being chased through an upscale resort in St. Barths. The Giallo genre heavily influenced American slasher films such as Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980), which brought the motif, especially the use of lighting, to suburbia and summer camps; locations more accessible to American horror fans. Unlike her sexually repressed American counterparts, Diana is a beautiful and glamorous Italian prostitute who shows no reservations concerning her station in life. In fact, Diana is what she needs to be to survive any situation; seductive with her clients, vicious when cornered by those who would harm her. Pastorelli’s portrays of a woman hardened by the perils of her profession, but not the judgments laid upon her. Her performance is memorable and engaging, but is sadly one of the few highlights among the films actors. This relationship has no reason for being. Courtesy of Rai Cinema. After the film's opening act, Diana becomes connected to Chin ( Xinyu Zhang ), a young boy, orphaned after a tragic accident. The film's narrative fails to utilize Chin's character to any effect. Despite Zhang’s adequate delivery of lines, the character lacks depth beyond being an overgrown handbag for Diana to drag through the film. The film struggles to develop any connection between Diana and Chin; Diana is unbelievable as a maternal figure, and Chin is annoying rather than endearing. The lack of chemistry hinders the film’s tension because the central relationship is not worth caring about. As a result, any peril the pair experiences is diminished since the audience doesn't see much to care about. The killer in Dark Glasses tries their best to fill in where this relationship falters. Unfortunately, the need to keep their identity secret until the later acts, a trope for Giallo films, proves even more frustrating. The killer is missing on the screen and as an existential threat. Argento tries to compensated for this with some moments of violence, but they feel contrived and disconnected from the rest of the film. A viewer could be forgiven for thinking they mistakenly bought tickets to an ill-conceived foreign sitcom featuring an Italian call girl and her adopted Chinese son. Overall, Dark Glasses' plot is disjointed and creates more confusion than fear. Ilenia Pastorelli's performance is one of the film's few high points. Courtesy of Rai Cinema. Despite these shortcomings in writing, Argento’s work behind the camera is easily the most interesting part of Dark Glasses . His use of color and lighting makes scenes come alive or feel sterile without being jarring the viewer. Every shot in the movie has something visually unique, with rarely two scenes being similar in camera angle, lighting, or even color palette. John Carpenter fans will recognize the directional style and lighting techniques that were innovated decades ago by Argento and other in the Giallo genre. Watching a master like Argento showing off his skills saves the films as it falls short in other areas. Dark Glasses stands out for its departure from the “sex equals death” trope too familiar in horror. Like X (2022) earlier this year, Dark Glasses refrains from depicting all sex workers as helpless victims. Diana is presented as an empowered individual who is comfortable with herself despite outside judgements. Her story is not a redemption arc from prostitute to nun, as a puritanical American audience would expect. Instead, the audience must accept her as she is, no excuses offered. It is refreshing to a horror movie not steeped in outdated views of female sexuality. Despite not being an impressive film or representative of Argento’s best work, Dark Glasses is a master class in visual technique that demonstrates that even long-established genres, and their creators still have something to offer. Note: A previous version of this review appeared on slayawaywithus.com on 6 Apr 2023. Dark Glasses 2022 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! Classic Giallo Style Horror Director Dario Argento saves Dark Glasses, a film with few engaging characters Review

Death's Review on Doom The Dark Ages: A Welcome Return to Basics "Death's Complete Review for Doom: The Dark Ages" May 24, 2025 9 Mins by Death Doom: The Dark Ages (2025) is the third installment of id Software's contemporary revival of the legendary first-person shooter. It is also another reminder of how unafraid this developer is to innovate on well-established series norms. Gone are the tight Martian corridors of Doom (2016) and the high-flying Escherian arenas of Doom: Eternal (2020). In their place stands a medieval-themed semi-open world that feels equal parts Dark Souls (2011) gloom and Rammstein music video, but still remain unmistakably Doom, even if the demons bleed just a little easier than before. Doom: The Dark Ages is leaner, friendlier, and engineered for a wider audience. On default settings, the new game is noticeably more forgiving than its predecessors. The combat puzzle that once demanded flawless bunny hops and 6,000 APM weapon swapping strategies has been replaced with gentler cooldowns, forgiving parry windows, and a fully featured difficulty slider suite that lets players tailor the experience to their liking. The difficulty may be questionable, but the Slayer's hatred of demons is potent as ever. While series veterans will bemoan the changes to the default difficulty settings, specifically the Nightmare setting—which has previously acted as a sort of gut check for fans wanting to prove themselves—the difficulty sliders actually make Doom: The Dark Ages the most difficult Doom ever. Players have options to increase the game speed up to 150%, shorten the parry window to sheer milliseconds, speed up enemy projectiles, or even increase enemy damage. This allows for more creative ways to play the game than ever before, and there's a version of Doom here that might actually be impossible for even the most skilled humans to complete. My only criticism of the slider system is that the graduations are not granular enough. There is a big difference between doing 50% and 75% damage to enemies. The game would be better served if there were more intermediate options to hone the experience, especially since the upper limits may actually be beyond human capability. This system also makes me want more options, like limiting certain ammo types or modifying specific behaviors of enemies or weapons. Overall, it is a great addition that allows for more replayability than what we normally find on offer for games like this. The brilliance of id Software's Tech 8 engine is on full display in Doom: The Dark Ages (2025). Of course, the difficulty changes don't come at the expense of the game's technical execution. Id Software continues to reign supreme as the technical gods of the FPS genre. Doom: The Dark Ages is a coming-out party for Tech 8, Id's in-house game engine. The engine renders the frantic action at frame rates other shooters can only dream of. Texture detail is absurd. Ray-traced puddles faithfully reflect severed limbs as you hack them off enemies. And the game holds 180 fps on my 4090 with little effort. Id bragged they rebuilt the renderer to push more on-screen demons than Doom Eternal ever managed, and this has proven to be true. Sound, always Doom's secret weapon, hits as hard and makes every shield-bash super shotgun combo drip with satisfaction. While Mick Gordon's genius is sadly absent this time due to infamous conflicts surrounding Doom Eternal 's production, Finishing Move Inc does no harm filling the gap. I don't envy the task of trying to follow the work of the man that gave us bangers like BFG Division and Rip and Tear, songs that had had far-reaching influence beyond video games and into the metal genre itself. The score for Doom: The Dark Ages feels like Doom, but sadly there are few tracks that stand out. This won't be a soundtrack you will be blasting in your car while waiting at the drive-thru. The Doom's combat loop remains the core attraction in Doom: The Dark Ages , and the new guns feel both fresh yet familiar. Among them, the Impaler, a high damage drop shot bullet time sniper stand-in is exceedingly rewarding. The chain shot, which fires a wrecking ball that does massive damage to small groups, will be your go-to weapon for standing toe to toe with the game's toughest enemies. And of course, the BFG makes a return with its medieval version, the BFC, a massive one-shot crossbow. There are several weapon synergies that will help you unlock the gold Conqueror skins for each weapon mastery, and there are more customization options than there were in Doom Eternal . Doom: The Dark Ages features upgrades for three different melee weapons, weapon mods and runes to give your shield more offensive power. Like in the previous games, there is not a lot of depth as one would expect in something like an ARPG, but there is enough to allow players to adapt to their preferred play style. The Cosmic Baron is an intimidating foe that hits hard and fast. The most important weapon in your arsenal is going to be the shield. The Slayer does his best Captain America impression without all the, "We're the good guys" morality to hold them back, of course. The shield serves many functions beyond just protecting the Slayer from incoming damage. Locking on with the shield bash allows the Slayer to fly towards enemies, creating opportunities to initiate encounters by getting up close and personal with weapons like the Super Shotgun or locking on to distant enemies to escape a no-win fight. The shield can also be thrown to take out rows of demons or destroy enemy armor. Most importantly, you can parry incoming green projectiles back at enemies, but more on this mechanic in a moment. Here's how to do the Shield/Super Shotgun Combo. Given the movement opportunities that the shield provides, it's surprising that the main criticism of Doom: The Dark Ages has been the game's movement. While it is true that there is no double jump in Doom: The Dark Ages , it is also true that the Slayer's base movement speed is actually faster in this game than the others. The double dash has been replaced with a sprint button, making transitioning from fight to fight faster than it was before. There is definitely less verticality in Doom: The Dark Ages than there was in Doom Eternal . There are no yellow bars to fling the Slayer up in the air to headshot that imp that has been annoying you all fight. I actually welcome this return to the horizontal plane, as the high-flying acrobatics of Doom Eternal felt more like a departure from the original series than this game does. As the movement during combat has been reined in from what we played in Doom Eternal , by far the biggest change to combat in this game is the addition of the aforementioned shield parry. Parrying forms the basis for most of the combat in Doom: The Dark Ages . This mechanic is so heavily relied on that there are boss encounters where parrying is the only thing you need to do to win. Several times, I found myself standing motionless before certain bosses, focused solely on hitting parries to quickly counter with the weapon that synergized from the parry. Yes, mastering parrying was a rewarding boost of confidence and certainly felt engaging when fighting certain bosses. However, it also felt very one-note at times. I certainly don't mind using this technique to win a fight once, twice, or even seven times during a playthrough. But for the number of times a fight was either decided or lost by parrying alone, there were times it felt exceedingly tedious. I am torn over whether this is a step back or an improvement in gameplay. I very much enjoyed the parry mechanic, but I think more variation in the enemy attack patterns could have made instances where this mechanic was needed more rewarding. Overall, the combat in Doom: The Dark Ages is no less compelling and empowering than what came before, even if it relies too heavily at times on the parry mechanics. Id has opted for a more traditional style of play centered on giving players more choice when engaging most enemies and less on avoidance and resource management. As a result, the fights feel smoother than Doom (2016), yet also less like you're spinning plates as in Doom Eternal . Like the game's combat, the campaign's structure is also more open-ended. There are twenty two chapters that will take you roughly twenty hours to complete if you forego obtaining all the secrets hidden in some rather huge levels. The level design is straightforward enough to not be confusing while being open enough to give the player a sense of exploration, exploring for the collectible toys and power-ups hidden in secret areas. Your loyal Mecha Dragon, Serrat. Unlike some, I enjoyed the dragon flying missions. (Serrat is a good boy and should be treated as such.) They were nice interludes and set up the game's engine to show some spectacular vistas before landing to fight the real fight. They were much better than the giant mech fighting levels, which were pretty, but really lacked any depth to make me want to replay them. After spending over 40 hours with the game, I can confidently say that Doom: The Dark Ages delivers truck loads of medieval demon-smashing catharsis. The game's mechanics are a solid bedrock for id to give us even more. Doom: The Dark Ages has already shattered Doom Eternal 's numbers, with Bethesda calling it "Id Software's biggest launch ever." I can't wait to see what they do with the coming expansions. While the community appears to be less unified than before on the merits of Doom: The Dark Ages 's place in the wider Doom pantheon, I appreciate Id's emphasis on innovation over iteration. I highly recommend picking it up. See you on the other side. Doom The Dark Ages 2025 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 08:41 Link Copied! A Welcome Return to Basics Death's Complete Review for Doom: The Dark Ages Review

Death's Review on Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II: A Throwback to Simpler Times "Space Marine II Reminds an Industry What it is Supposed to Be" Oct 9, 2024 15 Mins by Death This may sound simple, but the best word I can think of to describe Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II ( SMII ) is ‘video game’. This isn’t sarcasm. For what Saber Interactive set out to accomplish, calling SMII a video game is the highest compliment I can give it. Buzz Lightyear in the year 40,000. SMII feels like a game in the wrong timeline, and this is precisely why it is successful. Despite our highly developed modern interactive entertainment ecosphere, which is always clamoring to sell the latest industry-changing innovations, imagined or otherwise, there's a strong nostalgia for a simpler time of gaming—an era of pure fun, free of terms like ‘live service,’ ‘microtransaction,’ or ‘pre-order.’ During the early 2000s (and some may find this shocking), games were made for enjoyment and fun. Developers delivered polished, self-contained experiences that fully functioned on release day. Part of the reason for this was that most gamers lacked access to broadband internet, so patching after release wasn’t possible. Version 1.0, the version burned into the disc and distributed on release day, was often the only shot the developers had to connect with their audience. This meant games like Halo: Combat Evolved (2001), Gears of War (2006), and Killzone (2004) had to be good on day one, or they would never get a second chance. SMII is a throwback to this era, a time that was free of the problematic practices that plague the industry today. Of course, SMII is a modern game with the typical problems we would expect. It is a live service game with DLC and a season pass. It was sold as a pre-gaming by delivering an epic, bombastic campaign, easy-to-understand gameplay mechanics, and engaging multiplayer. SMII stands out for being what so many other pieces of modern interactive entertainment are not: a video game. In this video game, you play Demetrian Titus, a firstborn space marine. After the events in the first game, Titus is reassigned to the Deathwatch, an elite group of veteran space marines gathered from across the Imperium. After being gravely injured on a mission to release a new biological weapon against a brewing Tyranid invasion, Titus is resuscitated as a Primaris space marine within his old chapter, the Ultramarines. Titus goes on to combat the Tyranid invasion with his new squadmates, Chairon and Gadriel. The Squad: Titus, Chairon, and Gadriel. SMII ’s combat is not new, but it isn’t old, either. I can’t say that I have played anything exactly like this before, but it feels familiar. At its heart, SMII is a third-person shooter that plays like Gears of War without the cover shooting mechanics. As your character becomes overrun with enemies, SMII shifts gears and becomes a souls-like melee fighter hybrid, complete with button combos and parry mechanics. The combat is not without its issues. For example, hitting parries feels inconsistent. Smaller enemies are no problem, but sometimes, when hitting the blue circle prompts on larger enemies feels like nothing happens, even though I was absolutely hitting the button. If you do happen to hit a parry correctly, then you are awarded a deflection that leaves your enemy open for an immediate counter-attack. Often, this is a satisfying bolter shot to the head, a definite highlight of the combat in SMII . As pleasing as this can be, the sound design for some of the melee weapons lacks ‘oomph.’ (I don’t think that is a word, but it best describes what I mean, so let’s go with it.) Melee hits with weapons like the Chainsword, Power Sword, and Combat Knife don’t have that meaty thump feedback that I expected. It was not until I started playing with the Thunder Hammer that I really started to enjoy hitting things. When it comes to ranged combat, I enjoyed shooting things much more than swinging a melee weapon at them. Everything from the standard Bolt Pistol to the Plasma Incinerator felt impactful and fun to shoot. Of all the systems that make up the combat in SMII, the shooting really stands out. There are many ways to play SMII . Mouse and keyboard are the most accurate and will help you dominate in PvP. But this game really shines on a controller, especially on the Sony DualSense. The DualSense tactile triggers offer resistance when pulling the trigger and pushback when firing. The sensation was odd at first, and I was worried about fatigue during extended play sessions, but the fact that you can feel every round leave your bolter makes any fatigue disappear into my white-knuckle cries of vengeance as I yell at the screen. Vibration feedback isn’t new, but here it works to make the gameplay that much more immersive; I definitely missed it when playing on mouse and keyboard. For your loadouts, SMII keeps things simple and gives you up to three weapons: a primary, a secondary, and a melee weapon. Most primary weapons have their personalities, and only a few, like the Bolt Rifle and the Auto Bolt Rifle, lack distinction from one another. Ranged combat is very satisfying. The weapons function as you would expect, with no attempt to innovate away from good traditional gunplay. Everything is generally fun to fire, and dumping a mag into an oncoming wall of Tyranids releases a generous amount of dopamine. However, since we are talking about the early 2000s, I do wish they had brought back the active reload system from Gears of War . That was a fun mechanic that could have worked here, but alas, maybe someday. The health system could also use a rework. Despite being a heavily armored space marine, your character is surprisingly vulnerable: enemy hits inflict significant damage even on lower difficulties, and it's often unclear which one is attacking you; getting swarmed means losing a lot of health quickly if you are not careful. Executions proved the best way to sustain my fragile health pool; executing weakened enemies restores health and shields through an i-framed animation. This is similar to Doom Eternal 's (2020) "enemies-as-resources" system, which encourages continuous engagement rather than searching for resources out of combat. Yet, due to how fragile the space marines apparently are, I eventually had to accept that my main health bar was always going to be low. Execution farming became the only effective way to stay alive. I even became complacent about picking up health stims to replenish my base health bar. If I didn’t have shields, I would lose health so fast that I was dead anyway, so shields were my only priority. SMII also borrows the on-the-edge-of-death mechanic from Doom . This occurs when the player can take additional damage at 0 HP that would otherwise be fatal. It’s a fun trick that is designed to create moments of disbelief when players are desperate to survive a no-win situation. Unfortunately, it happens too often in this game to retain its mystery. I felt like I could count on it as an ability at times, which made me care even less about managing my base health bar. The health system doesn’t detract from the overall experience; the game is entirely fun to play. Still, the squishyness of my space marine, whom I am led to believe is a 12-foot tall tank-like super soldier in adamantium-reinforced power armor, feels out of place. I would have much preferred a system where my health was more durable, and enemies would chip away at it over time. Health packs could be less common, making finding them more thrilling. I would be forced to manage the overall health bar rather than relying on shields and executions to do most of the heavy lifting. The executions will continue until morale improves. Despite these minor criticisms, SMII ’s combat is great. It hits hard enough to create some really unforgettable moments, in addition to the narrative delivered in the campaign. Before I go in-depth on the campaign, a quick note about difficulty scaling: you can play the main campaign solo. However, I recommend playing with friends if you want to take on difficulties higher than normal. The campaign is intended to be played with three players. If you go in solo, you will be playing with the AI companions, who are mostly useless, on a good day. So, do yourself a favor and find a couple of friends to play with. As with all things related to the Warhammer universe, SMII ’s campaign is epic and ridiculous. But this is why it works as well as it does. The campaign is like going to a museum, but instead of looking at some diorama of a wooly mammoth, it is a colossal battle scene inviting you in. The game frames its vistas in a way that highlights the grandness of this world. When you arrive in an area, it gives you a moment to take it all in before rushing off. This pause provides context for your actions and makes you feel like you are more than just an observer. This isn’t easy to do outside of a cut scene without feeling intrusive and annoying, but SMII is one of the few games that get this right. SMII is a master class in scene framing. The world itself is incredibly beautiful. Running SMII on a 4090, I had no problem rendering the game with all settings on max. There’s more I could say here, but I think it is just best if I let the game speak for itself. Have a look. As visually stunning as the campaign is, it is relatively short, at around twelve hours on normal difficulty. Saber Interactive has opted for a quality-over-quantity approach with SMII , so what you get in this short frame of time is well worth a playthrough, even two. The combat sequences are exceptionally well-staged due to the outstanding level design. I never had to wonder what I needed to do when I walked into an area. Most of the time, this involved killing enemies who were climbing a wall or chewing on cables as part of a larger objective. These encounters were always imbued with enough purpose to keep me engaged and interested. The campaign doesn’t overstay its welcome and leaves you wanting more, as any good campaign should. The only thing that stood out during my playthrough was that I noticed that I rode a lot of elevators. I know they are loading screens and everything, but you really do ride a lot of elevators in SMII . Unlike these elevators, the game’s narrative doesn’t waste your time by being overly complex, at least not on its surface. The story can be as complicated or as simplistic as the player needs it to be. The universe of Warhammer 40K is deep, and there are hundreds of rabbit holes you can gleefully dive down if you want, but none are essential to understanding the story unfolding before you. If all you know about the story is that the bug-looking things need to die, you are still going to have a great time. The Warhammer universe is satire incarnate in a suit of power armor, even if some of the more questionable fans don’t even realize this. Still, SMII really doesn’t care to wander into that territory. There is no overarching socially consequential message or profound meaning to ponder, making the game a nice piece of escapism, which is sadly rare these days. I respect this approach. Not every piece of media needs to enlighten or die on the altar of political correctness. Sometimes, all I want is a game to make me feel like a kid playing with action figures on the living room carpet; this video game does precisely that. Overall, the campaign is well-executed and provides some memorable, larger-than-life moments. Even better, thanks to the cooperative missions, there’s still more of the story to see after the campaign. The coop missions are structured similarly to the primary campaign, except that you can team up with random teammates via matchmaking. These missions are actually the other side of the main story missions but feature different characters besides Titus and his squad. These missions are more challenging than the regular campaign, and to take on the highest difficulties, you have to level your character’s class. There's much more challenge to be had in the higher difficulties of the coop missions. There are six classes to play in both coop missions and PvP: Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Bulwark, Sniper, and Heavy. Each class features a unique ability to give them an edge in combat: Tactical can expose enemies and highlight their weak points; Bulwark uses a shield to provide cover during advancements and plants a banner that regenerates shields; Sniper uses a cloak to get closer to or escape enemies; and Heavy has an energy shield to block incoming damage. In coop missions, you can customize your class with perks and weapon augments and adapt your build to your play style. Higher-level classes receive perks like faster recharges on special abilities or increased damage against specific enemies. You can also level up your weapons in coop missions, giving you bonuses like more headshot damage and greater magazine capacity. There are no class or weapon perks in PvP, but team composition becomes an important consideration since class abilities can counter other class strengths. For example, Tactical can reveal the Sniper through their cloak with their scan ability; Assault can dive behind the Bulwark’s shield to break up the enemy front line; and Vanguard can grapple through the Heavy’s shield (which is also super annoying). Outside of the fun of mastering all the classes, it will be the extensive cosmetic customization that will keep players coming back. SMII leans heavily into the Warhammer source material here and pulls directly from the extensive Space Marine lore. The best customization options have to be earned and are only available to those who are good enough and are willing to put in the grind. I am the target audience for these customization features. There is no skill-based matchmaking in PvP, so you will get lobbies that are completely unbalanced. Most matches were blowouts to one side or the other, and my teammates were either gods or bots. Some matches did feature some genuine back-and-forth drama, but this was mostly the exception. Thankfully, there are no PvP rankings or leaderboards, so you don’t have to care much if you lose. I only have two minor criticisms for SMII ’s multiplayer: The quality of the servers is horrible at times. The lag spikes during fights really ruin the fun. I have died multiple times to enemies that weren’t even on my screen, some even coming around corners almost a full second after they had killed me. Big red nameplates also appear above your enemy’s head when you ADS at them. This isn’t bad in general practice; it is nice to know if you have been stomping on the same person over and over, but the nameplates last so long that I get a surprising amount of information on their movements, even when they break line of sight. I have been killed by snipers firing at my nameplate in defilade, using bullet drop to get hits even though they haven’t physically seen me for the last few seconds. The nameplates should just be disabled. This multiplayer format is a throwback to games like Gears of War and Halo , and I couldn’t be happier to engage with it. SMII’s PvP is approachable and slow-paced enough that it doesn’t feel overwhelming. It also recalls a time when activities like this were not careers, be that creating content or trying to make Dad proud in the pro leagues. Outside of the game itself, SMII is also another data point in a trend that has arisen in the gaming industry. I hesitate to address this, as I don’t want to jinx it, but it seems like the industry as a whole is moving away from some less-than-honest pricing models. In the last few years, we have seen significant titles like Elden Ring (2022), Baldur’s Gate III (2023), Black Myth: Wukong (2024), and Helldivers 2 (2024), all released as complete games with a one-time box price, largely free of microtransactions or features hidden behind paywalls. This deserves a much larger discussion than I am willing to go into in this review, but it is heartening to see SMII continue this trend. To this point, Saber Interactive’s CEO, Matthew Karch, recently commented on a video by YouTuber and homeless person movie extra Asmongold, stating, “I hope that games like Space Marine 2 and Wukong are the start of a reversion to a time when games were simply about fun and immersion.” [1] This image contains a spoiler You've been warned. Someone likes to make an entrance. For its part, SMII delivers a fun and immersive campaign with multiplayer that is a refreshing throwback to simpler times. It reconfirms what is fun and fundamental to video games while remaining mostly free of the negative trends that plague releases today. SMII doesn’t break ground in any new areas outside of its stellar graphical presentation and is an incredible introduction to the Warhammer universe; still, it serves as an important reminder about what a blockbuster game can be and deserves consideration for Game of the Year. [1] Space Marine 2 is a reminder of what we lost | Asmongold Reacts , @AsmonTV, youtu.be/hBUqCUZ0swE?si=ALOcniYHwjs8C602 , accessed on 8 Oct 24. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II 2024 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! A Throwback to Simpler Times Space Marine II Reminds an Industry What it is Supposed to Be Review