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

Death's Opinion on Hunt: Showdown 1896: Post Malone Enters the Bayou "Murder Circus is a Different Kind of Collaboration" Dec 23, 2024 10 Mins by Death Hunt: Showdown 1896 (2018) has had a remarkable year, with 2024 standing out as one of the most pivotal in its history. Following the ambitious 2.0 relaunch this summer, the six-year-old live service game experienced its fair share of highs and lows. While persistent UI and technical issues dampened what was otherwise a well-received relaunch, Crytek continued to produce an impressive amount of new content for its flagship title. For Hunt's fourth and final event of the year, patch 2.2, the developers have delivered an update that lives up to its hype, both in scale and notoriety. If you haven’t been extract camping at Scupper Lake for the past year, then you are probably aware that this event is a collaboration between Crytek and music megastar Post Malone, aptly dubbed Post Malone’s Murder Circus . The event features a colorful turn-of-the-century traveling circus, complete with fortune-telling machines, and creepy clowns, inspired by Post’s interesting style. This collaboration marks only the second time that Crytek has partnered with an IP outside Hunt ’s homegrown universe, the first being the inclusion of Ghostface as a Hunter DLC in October of 2024. Ghostface's inclusion in Hunt sparked debate within the community about what does and does not “fit” within the game's universe, with some fans lamenting that Hunt had entered its “Fortnite arc,” claiming that Crytek's original hardcore, gritty vision was gone forever. The addition of Ghostface highlighted the risks of branding deals between video games and outside IPs. Cross-brand collaborations in gaming have a checkered history, often resulting in cringe-worthy partnerships that embarrass everyone involved. Difficulties most frequently occur when the celebrity’s enthusiasm for the game is oversold to the fan base. While Keanu Reeves gave a stellar performance as Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), CD Project Red compounded the game’s disastrous launch by insisting that Reeves loved playing the game, only for the star to come out later and deny the studio’s assertion. Will Smith’s endorsement of the zombie survival mobile game Undawn (2023) resulted in derision for him and the game’s developers. After the game’s release, it became apparent that he was only interested in a quick pay cheque, and his involvement was mostly due to his past films like I am Legend (2007). Celebrity collaborations with video games often leads to mixed results. Gamers are notorious for being extremely sophisticated consumers and are more likely to react negatively to marketing campaigns that rely on fluff rather than concrete details about a game’s features and innovations. It follows then that Hunt fans would have questions about how genuine Post Malone’s involvement is and what this adds to their experience. While most of the initial reception for the collaboration has been good, there are some that see Post as just another celebrity tourist looking for name recognition and promotional revenue. But, considering everything known about this collaboration, Post Malone’s Murder Circus may actually be more organic to Hunt than any previous event to date. The details of how this partnership was finalized will probably never be revealed, but its genesis definitely began months ago on Hunt ’s servers. Early in 2024, Post was spotted playing Hunt with Khalamity, a Crytek Partner and Twitch streamer who has been playing the game since early access. In a summary video [1] posted to Khalamity’s YouTube channel, he and Post play several matches together, with Khalamity lending his experience as Post learns the game. During the session, the duo secured several victories, with a few key clutch moments from Khalamity and some juicy headshots from Post himself. They would play again a few more times in the following weeks. While playing with a Twitch streamer is not evidence in itself of an authentic affection for the game, Post’s stated passion for Hunt is supported by the amount of time he has accumulated. In a recent interview with Hunt ’s Game Director, Scott Lussier, [2] Post states he was introduced to the game by his friend and revealed that he has over 400 hours in Hunt . Given the intensity of his touring schedule and other demands, 400 hours is a massive amount of time. Throughout the rest of the interview, Post adlibs responses to questions about the game, displaying an intimate knowledge of its mechanics that could only come from lived experience. When questioned about his skill level, Post states that he has never achieved a six-star ranking and then wisely dismisses K/D as a reliable statistic for assessing skill in Hunt . Post explains, “There’s two ways to play. You either play the game, or you can sit in a bush and have a high K/D.” The most undeniably relatable moment of the interview came when Scott asked, “What is the worst way to lose a hunter?” and Post quipped back without hesitation, “Disconnecting.” Crytek also released a video [3] of Post reacting to the contents of the battle pass for the Murder Circus event. Putting aside the incentives for Crytek to frame his reactions in the most positive way possible, Post’s feedback in this video is not a result of creative editing. His reactions display genuine wonder, the same that any gamer would display when seeing cool stuff in a video game they love, especially when it is inspired in their honor. The look on Post’s face is more akin to a kid opening a Super Nintendo on Christmas morning, than it is a celebrity cynically playing it up for the cameras. Post's reactions to the event's battle pass were that of a fan, not a compensated endorser. Post’s passion for Hunt isn’t surprising, given that he is a well-known gamer with myriad interests. He is a huge fan of Magic: the Gathering and in 2023, purchased the ‘One Ring’ card from Magic ’s Lord of the Rings set for a reported $2 Million. [4] He also has his own series of cards in MTG itself. [5] Post even credits gaming for influencing his music career. In a 2017 Rolling Stone interview, Post stated that he was inspired to play guitar because of the video game Guitar Hero (2005). [6] Gamers are right to call out collaborations that are nothing more than paper-thin attempts to capitalize on brands whose connections are tenuous at best and exploitative at worst. However, in the case of Post Malone and Hunt , anyone accusing him of being a tourist clearly has not been paying attention. As an event, Post Malone’s Murder Circus works to a surprising degree in terms of style and theme. Post, a fan of tattoos and body modification, visually belongs more in Hunt ’s 19th-century zombie apocalypse than here in the 21st Century. His music, which swings from light and hopeful to gritty and dark, has enough range that it does not feel too out of place in Hunt ’s aesthetic. (Maybe there’s a Hunt -inspired song coming in the future, who knows.) The choice of casting Post as the ringmaster of a circus is fitting, given his performance career. It also provides Crytek the opportunity to explore the themes of traveling circuses, which were a popular form of entertainment in rural areas of the U.S. during the era. The theme works so well that if Post’s name was taken off the event there are probably very few players who would think something was out of place. Crytek's transition of Post into the game did require much modification. Overall, Post Malone’s Murder Circus isn’t the typical Video Game/Insert Celibrity Name Here collaboration that gamers are so used to seeing. Like in his music career, Post possesses a unique talent to fit a variety of genres while still maintaining his authenticity. His love of the game itself, coupled with just how easily he fits into Hunt’s universe, makes this event less a collaboration than it is a homecoming, one that the community can fully embrace without feeling pandered to. Post Malone’s Murder Circus is a fun event that originated from the most Hunt place it could, a fellow hunter, who just happens to be Post Malone. Patch 2.2 is available now, and the event runs until February 10th, 2025. See you on the other side. References: [1] Khalamity, Apr 22, 2024, I was carried by Post Malone in Hunt: Showdown , https://youtu.be/kxr88ueBvGE?si=qx_uhmxIJ3ZT7-2M [2] Hunt: Showdown, 20 Nov 2024, Q&A with Post Malone , https://youtu.be/CywILj8E8rM?si=nrJvFL9dhrCApihX [3] Hunt: Showdown, 9 Dec 2024, Post Malone Reacts to Battle Pass , https://youtu.be/C8QtvOcVey8?si=yi8lbykZpc512YC9 [4] Kain, Erik, 3 Aug 2023, Post Malone Just Bought The Most Expensive ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Card Of All Time , https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2023/08/03/post-malone-bought-the-one-ring-magic-the-gathering-card-for-a-cool-2-million/ [5] Wizards of the Coast, Accessed 22 Dec 2024, Secret Lair x Post Malone: Backstage Pass , https://secretlair.wizards.com/us/en/product/772015/secret-lair-x-post-malone-backstage-pass [6] Weiner, Jonah, 17 Nov 2024, Post Malone: Confessions of a Hip-Hop Rock Star , https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/post-malone-confessions-of-a-hip-hop-rock-star-116218/ Hunt: Showdown 1896 2018 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! Post Malone Enters the Bayou Murder Circus is a Different Kind of Collaboration Opinion

Death's Feature on Cyberpunk 2077: Immersive Playthrough Details "All the Mods and Details for Death's Immersive CP2077 Run" Nov 29, 2024 2 Mins by Death If you are like most gamers, you have a lot of games you have purchased but have yet to play. I read somewhere recently that roughly 30% of purchased games are never played. (I may be making this up, so don’t quote me on it.) As I have revealed in other writings on this site, I have hundreds of games in my Steam library that remain untouched. (I am fully aware that Steam sales are a problem. I am working on it.) The one game that I constantly promise myself that I will play but never get around to is Cyberpunk 2077 (CP 2077) . I don’t intend to rehash the details of CP 2077 ’s abysmal launch here. We all collectively experienced the justified outrage together long ago, and this game's horrible launch is probably the largest factor in why I have been hesitant to really sink my teeth into it. However, for reasons that I don’t really need (or want) to explain, I found myself with a sudden urge to ignore one dystopia in favor of another. Over the last month, I have put more than 200 hours into CP 2077 , and I just can’t put it down. I plan on going into more detail on why this game is so compelling in some later articles and videos. I will probably do a full-on review of the game, but for now, I will give you the TLDR and say that CP 2077 is one of the greatest RPGs I have ever played. There is so much to this game in terms of themes, writing, gameplay, etc., that I still have a lot more I want to experience before I start writing. There’s a huge mod scene that I am continuing to explore, and there are ARGs and mysteries that are ongoing… there’s a lot. So, instead of doing all of this behind the scenes, I am going to stream a modded version of the game with the intention of making it as immersive as I can. Some examples of how CP2077 can be made to look: Here is a full list of all the mods (both visual and gameplay) and the relevant settings I will be using. All of these mods are available on Nexus mods, with the exception of Dreampunk, which is available from NextGen Dreams on Patreon: Dreampunk 2.0 – A visual tone mapping mod that delivers photorealistic visuals. Dreampunk does have some limitations and issues. It can make brighter scenes look incredibly washed out and darker scenes way too dark. I am going to try to mitigate these issues by controlling the weather and keeping it raining most of the time. The mod makes the game look very realistic, but if it causes crashes or other issues, I will have to remove it. Weathermancer – A mod that allows me to set the in-game weather. Using this in conjunction with Dreampunk 2.0 to deliver the visuals. Always First Equip – A mod that randomly performs weapon inspection animations. Disable W-S Keys to Select Dialog Options – A mod that does what it says. Environment Textures Overhaul – ETO 1.1 2K – A mod that increases the details of in-game textures. I switched to Surfaces mod for 4K textures. Surfaces - Various 4K Texture Packs. I play with a 1440p monitor, so the 4K textures may be overkill, but if any issues arise, I will go back to ETO 2K. Fast Travel to Any Fast Travel Point – A mod that allows me to fast travel to any fast travel point from anywhere on the map. Improved Environmental LODs – A mod that loads in more detail at a distance for better visuals. Limited HUD – A mod that limits the appearance of HUD elements. I am limiting the appearance of HUD elements as much as possible. They will only appear when I use ocular zoom or in combat. Smarter Scrapper – A mod that automates scrapping weapons and equipment since the vanilla implementation of the inventory system is tedious. Advanced Control Mod 1.2.3 – An advanced mod that allows for movement controls like lean, scroll wheel speed adjustment, and more. Smooth Movement 1.1 – Tweak-XL Version – A mod that makes movement less jittery and allows for smoother control. The vanilla version of CP 2077 doesn’t do movement well; this fixes that. Unlock Me the Mods 2.1 – A mod that allows weapon mods to be removable. Not being able to move mods from one weapon to another is just annoying. Walk by Default 2.0 – A mod that readjusts the walking and jogging speeds in the game. Zoomable Scopes 1.4 – A mod that makes scopes zoomable because they are not for some reason. Simple Flashlight – A mod that gives V a flashlight to use because I get scared in the dark. Enable_Advert_Animations – A mod that animates all the billboard ads. Ragdoll Physics Overhaul 2.0 BETA - A mod that improves the physics of ragdoll effects. Better Vehicle First Person - A mod that improves player perspective while driving in first-person. Other Settings – No enemy indicators or health bars. No crosshairs. Driving is in first-person only. AHK script that lets me swap the first two weapons only because Hunt has ruined me. Playstyle Details – Very Hard difficulty, Male V, Net Runner build, smart/tech weapons, first-person driving only, save scumming at a minimum, and any % or whenever I feel like stopping. I will be streaming the run on twitch.tv/GamewithDeath until it is finished. Enjoy, Chooms. Cyberpunk 2077 2020 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! Immersive Playthrough Details All the Mods and Details for Death's Immersive CP2077 Run Feature

Death's Article on : Extraction Shooters are NOT Oversaturated "Media Claims about Extraction Shooter Market Saturation are Grossly Inaccurate" Nov 17, 2025 6 Mins by Death In the run-up to the release of ARC Raiders (2025) late last month, there were more than a few media outlets parroting the refrain that the extraction shooter sub-genre is somehow oversaturated; some even stating, “We don’t need more extraction shooters…If there's one genre that truly didn't need to become a trend, it's the extraction shooter." Others called the sub-genre “a crowded market,” even while reviewing the recent success of ARC Raiders (2025). This criticism even dates back to the sub-genre’s early days. In 2022, PC Gamer questioned the since-cancelled extraction shooter Hyenas ’ goal of “squeezing itself into an already oversaturated genre.” The sub-genre is effectively five years old at this point (if we mark Escape from Tarkov (2017) as the beginning), and there were eight (yes, eight!) games tagged as extraction shooters on Steam by the end of 2022. To anyone who plays extraction shooters—which up until ARC Raiders ’ release would mostly be those who played Escape from Tarkov and/or Hunt: Showdown 1896 (2018)—this oversaturation claim is incredibly perplexing and needs to be put to rest, if only due to the gross misuse of the term ‘oversaturated .’ Market saturation is an actual economic concept with an actual definition, which is seemingly not well understood. Overstauration of a market occurs when “no more of a product or service can be sold because there are no more possible customers.” Further , “Market saturation refers to the point at which a product or service has reached its maximum potential in a given market, resulting in little to no room for further growth or expansion.” At the time of writing, there are 19,355 games tagged as ‘shooters’ on Steam . Among the shooter sub-genres, extraction shooters are the smallest with a paltry 220; 5,029 are tagged as third-person shooters, 1,564 as ‘looter shooters,’ and 1,498 as ‘hero shooters.’ Extraction shooters are even outsized by the 1,062 games tagged as ‘boomer shooters.’ In all, extraction shooters only represent ~1% of shooters on Steam. If the market for extraction shooters is oversaturated compared to the overall shooter market, then the ratio of extraction shooter players to available games should be smaller than what we see for the overall shooter market. To find this, we need to first estimate just how big the shooter market is. Estimating the shooter market is difficult since most of this data is private and must be inferred using a combination of available Steam data, industry reports, and what publishers let the public see. To estimate the MAU for games we don’t actually have numbers for, we are going to use the monthly average concurrent player count multiplied by 25. This multiplier (let’s name it 25x) is extrapolated from available data on concurrent viewer averages and MAU on other shooters like Fortnite (2017), Apex Legends (2019), and more. Players’ behavior may vary from game to game depending on tastes and habits (e.g., it is possible extraction shooter players are more likely to be single-game players than battle royal fans who play every game in that sub-genre), but the 25x multiplier will more or less work for our purposes. To define the overall shooter market, let’s keep it simple and only include gamers who have shown an interest in playing first-person shooters, like Call of Duty (2003), and third-person shooters, like Fortnite ; we are also going to refer to these kinds of shooters as ‘traditional shooters’ to distinguish them from extraction shooters. We are going to ignore RPGs with FPS and third-person perspectives like Cyberpunk 2077 (2020) and Control (2019), as well as the shooter market for mobile devices. The mobile shooter market, despite its massive size (e.g., PUBG Mobile (2018) ~120M MAU and Call of Duty: Mobile (2019) ~80M MAU), has too many unknowns (e.g., mobile player barriers to entry for conversion to the PC/console market) for a meaningful comparative analysis. Okay, so how big is the traditional shooter market compared to the extraction shooter sub-genre? Since there are literally thousands of traditional shooters on the market, an exhaustive count would be time-prohibitive, so we are just going to use the top 7 games in the genre. The estimated MAU for these games ranges from 197M to 284M, with an average of ~240M MAU.[1] For extraction shooters on Steam with over 1K concurrent players, the estimated MAU is ~3.9M MAU.[2] Adding 1.47M for Escape from Tarkov brings the total MAU for extraction shooters to ~5.4M.[3] This means extraction shooters represent only ~2.2% of the overall shooter market (5.4/(5.4M + 240M) =2.2). If we used the most conservative estimates of the traditional shooter market, 197M as opposed to the 240M average, extraction shooters still only make up ~2.6% of the market. In total, extraction shooters make up an extremely small part of the larger shooter genre; but could they still be described as oversaturated, according to the definition above? If the ratio of games on offer in the sub-genre is higher compared to the overall genre, then this is still possible. For every extraction shooter on Steam, there are roughly ~24K MAU per game (~5.4M MAU/220). In the overall shooter market, this ratio is ~12K MAU (~240M/19,398), which means there are almost double the games per player in the overall shooter market than there is in the extraction shooter sub-genre; meaning the extraction shooter sub-genre is less saturated than the overall shooter market.[4] The reasons for the oversaturated misconception could be due to many factors; it could be the failure of gaming journalists in seeing extraction shooters as the separate and growing sub-genre they are, instead choosing to reflexively lump any shooter into a traditional shooter market which is oversaturated; or a subconscious bias against extraction shooters due to their punishing difficulty, something which traditional shooter players have difficulty adjusting to. Whatever the reason, as the sub-genre continues to grow, with upcoming titles like Hunger (2026), Marathon (2026), and more, this perception is likely to persist until extraction shooters see their own success independent of the traditional shooter market. Notes: [1] Call of Duty: Warzone (2020) 60-90M MAU, Fortnite (2017) 40-80 MAU, Counter-Strike 2 (2023) 24-30 MAU, Overwatch 2 (2022) 24M MAU, Valorant (2020) 19-28M MAU, APEX Legends (2019) 18-20M MAU, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (2015) 12M MAU. [2] ARC Raiders (2025) 8M MAU, Delta Force (2024) 1.6M MAU, Escape from Duckov (2025) 800K MAU, Arena Breakout: Infinite (2025) 800K MAU, Hunt: Showdown 1896 (2018) 425K MAU, Off The Grid (2025) 170K MAU, Dark and Darker (2024) 120K, and Gray Zone Warfare (2024) 30K. [3] Estimating the MAU for Escape from Tarkov , the game which created the sub-genre, is difficult since Battle State Games does not release data on the game’s player base. Steam DB numbers for Escape from Tarkov are not helpful, since the game has only been out for mere hours, at the time of writing, and the majority of the player base is likely using Battlestate Games’ legacy proprietary launcher. For this analysis, we will use the IconEra estimate of ~1.47M MAU, since it is a consistently updated number based on data which is available and is further supported by community tracking. https://icon-era.com/blog/escape-from-tarkov-live-player-count-and-statistics.136/ [4] There are definitely more traditional shooter players than the numerator accounts for in this equation, which would make the traditional shooter market look less saturated. However, without the resources and connections of a dedicated research firm, accurate numbers are unavailable, which means painting with broad strokes is, unfortunately, necessary. Remember to always view any analysis based on incomplete data with the skepticism it deserves, especially this one. Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 05:51 Link Copied! Extraction Shooters are NOT Oversaturated Media Claims about Extraction Shooter Market Saturation are Grossly Inaccurate Article

Death's Review on Signalis: A Classic Survival Horror Fix "Signalis is a Memorable Indie Gem with Plenty of Nostalgia for '90s Survival Horror" Jan 24, 2024 5 Mins by Death [THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS] The survival horror genre has changed incredibly since its birth in the late 80s and early 90s. Game design that used to make players afraid and helpless has given way to COD-like mechanics and action movie sequences. When playing the latest entry into this relatively still-popular genre, players feel more like Captain Price than Jill Valentine. Signalis , released in October of 2022 by rose-engine , tries to recapture survival horror's origins by blending anime, cyberpunk, and classic game design. The result is a haunting story of suffering, devotion, and existential terror. In Signalis , you play as Elster, an LSTR Replika unit. Replikas are reproducible automatons created for military use by an unnamed Orwellian nation. Elster wakes up after a disaster on her crashed ship and finds that her crewmates are either missing or dead. The only clue she has about her crew's fate is a faded photograph of her missing partner, Ariane, who is also a Replika unit, and some documents scattered around the ship. Armed with nothing else, Elster sets out to find Ariane, no matter the cost. Signalis' story is presented in a disjointed manner and is very open to interpretation. The game conveys the narrative through documents and characters that Elster encounters. Players unfamiliar with text-based storytelling, which is very common in indie games, should understand there's a lot of reading to do in Signalis . Players may be tempted to skip reading most of what they find, but the lore plays an essential role in the gameplay; more on this later. The game contains plenty of cut scenes and first-person segments to break up the isometric view and long stretches of text. These scenes are welcome respites and nicely move the overall story of Signalis along. Familiarity with German and Japanese will also help players make more sense of what they see. Even with these various mediums, Signalis' story is very disjointed, and there is very little that the player can rest on to make sense of what is happening. This is not to say that this method of storytelling is detrimental to the experience; quite the contrary. For a survival horror game aiming to make the player feel uncomfortable and not in control, the story's confusion adds to the experience rather than detracting from it. Players experience Elster's struggle, fear, and doubt alongside her. They do not just watch Elster; they inhabit her. The story is supported by the atmosphere created by the game's graphics, art direction, sound design, and gameplay. Signalis' graphics are gruesome and visceral. Despite being a so-called 2.5D game, the small, low-resolution three-dimensional sprites still illicit fear and repulsion. This speaks to the expertise of the game’s development team that Signalis can do so much with so little. For those looking to get the whole retro experience, a CRT mode is available, replicating the look of a 90s-era monitor. Signalis boasts an impressive musical score that heightens the tension in enemy encounters and creates an oppressive atmosphere overall. The masterfully composed score perfectly accompanies the game's themes of futility, terror, and struggle, with its tempo and tone never feeling out of place. There are also some beautiful ambient post-rock moments at the sparsely distributed save points, reminiscent of those similar moments of comfort in past Resident Evil games. Of all the factors contributing to the Signalis' impact, none does so more than the gameplay. A bit of history about the survival horror genre will serve to understand why this is so. The inventory is painfully small, as is survival horror tradition. Courtesy of Humble Games and Playism. Survival Horror became popular in the late 80s and into the 90s, pioneered by games like Sweet Home (1989), Resident Evil (1996), and Parasite Eve (1998), with Resident Evil being the big breakout hit. The original game sold over 2.75 million copies alone. The genre continues to be highly influential today with ongoing franchises like Resi dent Evil , Outlast (1999), The Evil Within (2014), The Last of Us (2013) , and Silent Hill (1999) (which has no less than three sequels currently in the works). The hallmark of the early survival horror genre was giving players a limited supply of weapons and ammo and pitting them against terrifying and powerful enemies. When these early games were released, hardware and game development were still in their infancy compared to what gamers would expect today. The lack of graphical fidelity, responsive game engines, and design capabilities made for a rough gaming experience, to say the least. Current-day survival horror games, such as Resident Evil 8: Village (2021), still feature tense gameplay interspersed with puzzles and limited ammo; however, they differ significantly in the player's controls. While a game like The Last of Us has tight and intuitive controls, early survival horror games had some of the worst controls that have ever been seen in gaming. But these inadequate controls were central to the experience. During tense moments of combat, players would not only be fighting against the enemy but frantically struggling to aim their weapons and manage their inventory, often failing in the attempt. Only once these controls were mastered did the game begin to feel conquerable and rewarding, and only to those willing to suffer through the brutal learning curves. In Signalis , rose-engine leans heavily into this classic control approach. The art design of Signalis conveys a tense and desolate atmosphere. Courtesy of Humble Games and Playism. Combat is challenging to master. Clunky controls often make it hard to shoot precisely or reload quickly. Elster's aiming/turning can be painfully slow, evident when multiple enemies are approaching from different directions. Even if the player manages to point a loaded weapon at an enemy, the shot may or may not kill the target. Combat is always a risky affair in Signalis . The inventory is limited to only six slots for equipment, weapons, ammo, and crucial quest items. This system forces players to make choices based on their desired objectives. Since there's no way to drop and retrieve items later, except in their stash, players may need to use or destroy less essential items to make room for important quest items. This requires conscious foresight to avoid clogging the inventory at crucial moments. The save system is a classic point-save file system, with only a few save rooms per area. To avoid losing valuable progress, players must save frequently and often. Forgetting to do so could mean the loss of twenty to thirty minutes worth of work. The result of all these factors is a combat system that feels unreliable, cumbersome, and even feeble... as it should be in a classic survival horror game. In Signalis ' later stages, muscle memory kicks in, and players become more comfortable controlling Elster. Accordingly, ammo counts rise, and the game's rewarding enemy encounters become more frequent. The only shortcoming in the game is the need for more indicators of what to do next. There is a lot of backtracking in Signalis . Since some enemies can regenerate after being defeated, players are forced into a playstyle that aims to avoid enemies instead of fighting them. It can be a little difficult to find your way in Signalis. Courtesy of Humble Games and Playism. The game boasts puzzles of varying degrees of difficulty, ranging from evident to 'Am I smart enough to do this?' The puzzles are cleverly intertwined with the game's fragmented story, so players should pay close attention to the information available in the surrounding environment if they want to progress. Signalis has some replay value. There are multiple endings, which depend on the number of enemies killed and the time taken to complete the game. A basic playthrough on the default difficulty will take around ten to fifteen hours, and this reviewer spent twelve and a half hours completing one ending. Signalis captures the tension and fear of facing one's ineptitude while holding off an onslaught of powerful enemies, a feeling classic survival horror games did uniquely well. All aspects of the game come together to tell a story of fear, despair, and defiance. Signalis is a throwback to an era of games when the genre was more interested in providing a genuine and terrifying gaming challenge than appealing to broader market trends. It is highly recommended for survival horror fans, especially those nostalgic about the genre's past. Note: A previous version of this review appeared on slayawaywithus.com on 19 Jan 2023. Signalis 2022 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! A Classic Survival Horror Fix Signalis is a Memorable Indie Gem with Plenty of Nostalgia for '90s Survival Horror Review

Death's Impressions on ARC Raiders: It Just ****in’ Works "ARC Raiders carries the hopes of a stunted and underestimated genre" May 26, 2025 7 Mins by Death Like most who played the recent Tech Test 2 for ARC Raiders (2025) in late April of this year, the weeks without raiding the surface of the Rust Belt have been painful. ARC Raiders was truly some of the most fun I have had playing a multiplayer shooter in years. Thankfully, Mrs. Death was away during the Tech Test. In all, the Tech Test lasted about 120 hours, and I managed to play just over half of that time, with roughly 62 hours in total. On my third day of streaming ARC Raiders (on twitch.tv/GameswithDeath , by the way. Feel free to drop a follow, appreciate it.) and after praising the game for the hundredth time, a viewer asked, “What do you like about this game so much?” I read the question and sat silent for no short amount of time; I was eventually forced to confess that I didn’t know how to answer their question. While I could blame a lack of sleep for my non-answer, I still had a hard time formulating a response, days later. ARC Raiders is an extremely fun game—it may be the most fun I have had playing a video game this decade, definitely this year—but why? What was it about this game that was hitting so right? After watching the now infamous IGN ARC Raiders Preview video , I’ve found my answer. For the unaware, a few weeks ago IGN released a preview of ARC Raiders that was, let’s say, not well received. Some commenters described it as a ‘hit piece’ paid for by Bungie, who has stumbled out of the gate with their new extraction shooter, Marathon (2025). Leaving aside conspiracy theories, the preview didn't fawn over ARC Raiders as the rest of the community had, calling it, “the most ‘it’s fine’ game we’ve played in a while.” While I disagree with the unnecessarily sarcastic tone used by Jared Petty, the author of the preview, he is correct; ARC Raiders is “…unabashedly tied to its progenitors” and isn’t doing anything new. Many of ARC Raiders' mechanics are similar to mechanics that have been utilized in extraction shooters and battle royales for years: complex inventory systems, progressive missions, and resource-generating hideouts are drawn straight from Escape from Tarkov (2017); the third-person gunplay harkens back to Fortnite (2018); the shield system and some of the movement mechanics are identical to Apex Legends (2019); and even the passive skill tree has some abilities that are the same in Hunt: Showdown (2018). Every location was incredibly beautiful and fully optimized. While it is valid to point out what ARC Raiders has in common with its influences, it's wrong to suggest that these similarities are simply unimaginative imitation. ARC Raiders doesn't shine because it is copying the best of what came before; it shines because it is doing all of these things well, all at once. Despite being around for almost a full decade now, the extraction shooter genre has yet to see its ‘killer app.’ Escape from Tarkov , Hunt: Showdown , and Dark and Darker (2024) are the genre’s most successful examples, but none of these have seen widespread adoption beyond a core fanbase. All of these games have also been plagued by problems ranging from shoddy development, rampant cheating, unreliable servers, poor quality-of-life, questionable UI design, IP disputes, horrible sound design, dubious marketing practices, and any number of bugs that have not been fixed in years. Like most things, ARC Raiders is better with friends. In contrast, my experience with ARC Raiders was nearly flawless. Forming a group was painless. I never had to worry about servers or ping, and loading into a match was nearly instant. In-game, the gunplay was gritty and intense; hit registration felt great; the sound design was incredible; directional audio was accurate; and the AI was unique and terrifying. The maps are massive and detailed, with elevations I have never seen in a multiplayer game before. My computer never dropped below 180 fps on maximum settings, even on the game’s largest map, Spaceport, which is larger than any Hunt map and Streets of Tarkov combined. ARC Raiders tweaks the mechanics it has borrowed to fit its own flow: Energy shields cut incoming damage, but are not an extra health bar. They lengthen the time-to-kill without turning foes into indestructible bullet sponges; portable zip lines let you create flanking paths up to the game's skyscraper-sized structures, so the level design can go far more vertical than most shooters. The visuals add to the satisfying combat. Not everything was perfect, of course; a selection wheel for equipment is cumbersome and unnecessary for PC, the inventory management needs more refinement, and there are balancing issues with weapons like the Torrente and Anvil. Yet, in my sixty hours of playtime, the game only crashed once, and I got stuck in some geometry for a minute or two. There will be issues as the game evolves, but overall, ARC Raiders was as technically perfect as any game I have ever played, and this was during a so-called ‘Tech Test.’ Until now, being involved in extraction shooters has meant putting aside reasonable demands for baseline quality and, I'll say it, your self-respect as a consumer. For nearly a decade, being a fan of this genre has felt like ordering the best cut of steak in a restaurant, only to be told that you have to eat it in the back alley, in the rain, next to a dumpster. Finally, there's a place that not only wants us to eat inside, but in the VIP section with some first-class service. I made friends with the first two players I encountered... the dude on the right didn't make it. Unlike those of us willing to debase ourselves, there is more than just the user experience hurdles one must overcome to get that sweet extraction shooter adrenaline rush. The casual shooter fan has innate dislike of the genre's format because it abandons the traditional power-fantasy formula, typical of franchises like Call of Duty and Halo . Instead of making the player feel like an unstoppable hero, they start them weak, make them work for every upgrade, and punish mistakes by taking those hard-earned rewards away. That constant fear of losing gear feels brutal—especially to players used to the instant gratification provided by traditional shooters. This is the reason why no extraction shooter has crossed into the mainstream, in spite of the compelling experiences they deliver. Even as more studios invest in the genre, it remains to be seen if a mainstream breakout will ever happen, but if it is ever going to, we need a flagship game that finally respects its players and has the polish to make it appealing. Performance issues on low-end hardware could kill the experience for many players. (Source: IGN ARC Raiders Preview, "ARC Raiders Is the Most ‘It’s Fine’ Game We’ve Played in a While") In fairness to Mr. Petty, his preview is useful, even important. It is clear that he doesn't play these types of games regularly. His gameplay experience on a rig struggling with Unreal 5, reflects what many casual players will face. Unlike cel-shaded, low-spec titles such as Overwatch (2016), Fortnite , and Marvel Rivals (2024), ARC Raiders demands real horsepower; seeing it through his hardware bottleneck and inexperience is a valuable reality check, not just for the developers, but for those of us who want to promote the genre beyond its current boundaries. I already know what genre die-hards, like myself, think; what matters is how the uninitiated casual audience, like Mr. Petty, will react once the game is fully released. Embark is targeting this audience, backing the game with full PS5 and Xbox support. The casual experience is something that the developers will need to get right if they want ARC Raiders, and the extraction shooter genre at large, to be fully realized. To finally answer the question about why this game is so good, I'll just say that ARC Raiders is an extraction shooter that may not be doing much new, except for the most fundamental thing any game should—it just works as fucking intended! It is the first game that finally has a real chance of realizing the genre’s promise, something I've been hoping for, for nearly a decade. I patiently await its release.💀 ARC Raiders 2025 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! It Just ****in’ Works ARC Raiders carries the hopes of a stunted and underestimated genre Impressions

Death's Opinion on Warhammer: This is Dumb... "The Real Allure of Warhammer" Sep 26, 2024 15 Mins by Death The fourth season of The Boys (2019- ) introduced a new character named Sage ( Susan Heyward ). Sage's superpower is being the most intelligent person on earth. While her power sounds fantastic, it has a dark side. As the most brilliant person ever to exist, Sage has no equal. While she can outthink anyone and dominate those around her, she is also very much alone. The first appearance of Sage in Season 4 of The Boys. Source: amazon.com. Being the only person this intelligent also means no one else can understand her. Sage has no one she can talk to as an equal or help her carry the burden of her realizations. Sage's world is also a very dull place. Nothing is new or exciting because she has most likely thought of everything before. Sage is a prisoner of her mind, destined to yell into the void of stupidity around her unless she finds a way out. Ever had that kind of day? Source: amazon.com To create this escape, Sage regularly lobotomizes herself and engages in some recreational debauchery. Sage is like many of us. Who hasn't just needed something that allows them not to think, if only for a few hours? Luckily, as sci-fi/fantasy fans, we don't need to resort to the extreme of self-lobotomizing... ...not when we have Warhammer. This is fine. (in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II) Source: focus-entmt.com. Now, some of you may think you know where I am going with this. But I want to be clear: I am about to argue that being into Warhammer is the same as getting a lobotomy. Before you flame me in the comments, I also want to say Warhammer is the dumbest fucking thing I have ever seen. Its design is uninspired; its art style is weird and scatterbrained; its world is depressing and absurd; and its fans are incomprehensible. Yet, I'm fucking obsessed with it. Like a lot of you, my first encounter with Warhammer was walking by a Games Workshop store at my local mall. I vividly recall the hideous yellow and red signage assaulting my eyes. I was curious about what was inside, but I never made it through the door. I was always freaked out by the awkward attempt at human contact from the proto-incel standing out front would make. Early Space Marines look like something out of Toy Story (1995). Source: warhammer.com Despite being aware of Games Workshop for years, I had never looked at a physical Warhammer figurine until my nephew showed me a Space Marine he was painting. At first, I couldn’t take it seriously. I have always been a sci-fi/fantasy fan, but I really didn’t know what I was looking at. It seemed like a plastic green army guy from way back in the day or a G.I. Joe action figure, but it looked like someone joined it with a toaster and some football shoulder pads. “Is this a tank, or is this a person?” I thought. “How is this guy supposed to move in this armor?” Who designed this, GWAR? GWAR is to Metal, as Warhammer is to little painted figurines. Source: IMDB. The look of Warhammer is somewhere between He-Man (1981), Alien (1979), Lord of the Rings (1954), and the local high-school Dungeons & Dragons club, which holds its meetings in an abandoned gothic cathedral . Warhammer could be described as baroque, futuristic, steampunk, cyberpunk, militaristic, or dark fantasy; there really isn’t a look or style that couldn’t fit into its universe in some way. The only rule I can find for how things should look is that everything should be ‘grimdark.’ For the uninitiated, ‘grimdark’ is a unique Warhammer word that comes from the tagline for almost everything associated with the universe, “... for in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.”[1] The grimdarkness of Warhammer is not your happy place. (Unless, you're like me and it is.) Source: warhammer-community.com The grimdark look is, well, grim and dark. It situates Warhammer firmly in the horror genre despite its childish appeal to young males. At a distance, space marines could be mistaken for a multi-colored collection of Buzz Lightyear toys from Toy Story (1995). But move closer, and you will notice that dark overtones and more sinister details emerge to offset the bright primary colors that first drew you in. Aesthetically, Grimdark is similar to the nightmarish contradictions of a game like Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014), with similar themes of lost innocence and the dark consequences of reaching adulthood. In pulp fiction literature, grimdark is a subgenre of sci-fi/fantasy that is characterized as dystopian, amoral, and violent.[2] This is accurate, as the Warhammer universe is a dark, dangerous, and depressing place. There is no optimism, peaceful coexistence, or hope like in Star Trek . It is a place of cynicism, despair, oppression, superstition, dogma, injustice, and horror. There’s no morality in Warhammer—no deep philosophical questions to ponder. It is a universe free of gray areas since everyone, in some way, is in the black. The first time that someone tried to explain this universe to me, I almost immediately tuned out; I lost track after they attempted to explain a fourth faction they deemed essential for me to know about. There are many entry points to get hooked on in Warhammer, but its massive scale is also intimidating to newcomers. It’s not that there isn’t anything to like in Warhammer; quite the opposite. There’s almost too much. The Warhammer universe is too vast for a single person to comprehend. Source: warhammer40k.fandom.com. Warhammer is an amalgamation of ideas that are, let’s be nice and say, ‘borrowed’ from virtually every other sci-fi/fantasy IP in existence. The Tyranids are clearly the aliens from Alien (1979). The Space Marines were initially inspired by Judge Dredd (1977), with their look evolving into something similar to Master Chief from Halo (2001) and Doomguy from Doom (1993). Warhammer’s theme of a militaristic galactic empire fighting against an invasion of bug-like aliens is straight out of Starship Troopers (1959), not to mention the other empire with a near-immortal god-king, Dune (1965). The Aliens... I mean, Tyranids look awesome. Source: warhammer-community.com. The Warhammer universe exists as a cacophony of lore, games, media, and art styles so massive in scope that no one person can claim to be an expert on everything. Over 600 books outline Warhammer’s official lore, with the literature divided between Warhammer 40,000 , the dystopian science fiction universe set in the 41st millennium, and the Age of Sigmar , a high-fantasy universe featuring gods, magic, and mythical creatures. Movies, literature, magazines, comic books, and webcomics, both fan-made and official, expand the universe even more. There’s even a Disney+-style streaming service called Warhammer+ that features high-quality short films produced in-house by Games Workshop. Of course, there are video games and board games covering several different genres. I am honestly shocked that no Warhammer full-length feature film or television series has been made yet, but if the rumors are true, this is about to change. All of this revolves around a tabletop strategy game, of all things, and forms the basis for a fantasy universe that, by all rights (even copyrights), shouldn’t work. Games Workshop’s shotgun, anything-goes approach to world-building should be falling apart at the seams, considering the difficulties involved in keeping such a vast universe consistent. But, somehow, it does work, and it resonates loudly with those who matter most in any community: its fans. Warhammer fans are noble and pure. Source: www.belloflostsouls.net. I don’t know what to think of Warhammer fans. Until recently, I was not aware I knew anyone who was into Warhammer. Now that I am looking into the universe, I have found that I actually know quite a few. I know my recent awareness is mostly the Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon at work (i.e., the tendency to notice something more often once you become aware of it, even though it was always there to begin with). Still, Warhammer fandom is not as talked about as others; Star Trek fans never shut the fuck up about how good and pure their universe is; you can’t swing a lightsaber in a McDonald’s without hitting a Star Wars fan, and everyone knows that one Harry Potter fan who can’t keep their Voldemort-was-the-good-guy-all-along theory to themselves, “No one gives a shit, Susan.” Warhammer fans don’t seem to care about their fandom's obscurity; they may even appreciate it. They seem content to exist on the periphery of popular culture, where they can still credibly claim that their fandom is a part of sub-culture, at least for the time being. Before George Lucas publically murdered his legacy by releasing the prequels (still a fucking stupid word, if you ask me) and its subsequent Disneyfication, Star Wars was actually considered part of sub-culture. Sure, it was popular with 'geeks' and kids, people who would go on to make it a permanent part of mainstream culture decades later, but in the early days, Star Wars , the real Star Wars, was known only to insiders. With no internet access, fans had to go further to expand the universe. Source: Creative Commons. These insiders were fans of the movies, like anyone else; the only difference was that they wanted to know more once the credits had rolled. To satiate this desire, they hunted down books, comics, or any other media that the companies, who were profiting off the Star Wars fervor, clamored to sell them. These insiders were few, but you could find them if you knew where to look and if the conditions were right. They could be found in dark basement playrooms, at the back of classrooms, or on the hoods of cars, relaxing with friends. Once they were sure they were among the like-minded, they would trade obscure details about topics like Boba Fett and AT-STs. This was usually done in secret because, while Star Wars was widely considered a fun movie, going further was still not accepted by the mainstream. Going too hard into the dark corners of the universe meant the risk of being labeled as a social outcast. While being a sci-fi/fantasy fan, in general, no longer risks complete social isolation, Warhammer still retains something of this on-the-outside-looking-in feeling that the other franchises lost long ago. You barely know Warhammer is there unless you go looking for it. It’s like a secret society where only members know how to identify other members. It’s the Hydra of popular culture, a sub-culture that exists on the fringes of other universes, whose adherents quietly bide their time painting models, reading the expansive lore, and posting their fan fiction and animations to the internet, all in anticipation of… something. I may not understand Warhammer fans, but I can respect them. This hobby requires time, patience, and even an endurance for derision coming outsiders. I have heard more than a few jokes linking Warhammer to terminal virginity. Of course, this has no basis in actual evidence; there’s even some unignorable evidence to the contrary. The real Emporer of All Mankind, according to Warhammer fans. Source: gamingbible.com. Still, this mockery recalls a time when all of nerd culture was subject to similar scorn before becoming mainstream. Warhammer retains an aura as a subset of nerd culture reserved for only the most hardcore, those willing to forego... other things in pursuit of the hobby. The time and attention Warhammer demands is one of the mechanisms that has kept it out of the mainstream for so long. Metaphorically, Warhammer has remained pure, true... and virgin. Warhammer fans spend countless hours painting their models away from the sun, as the Emperor wills it. Source: warhammer.com Warhammer fans also endure a very unique torture particular to their universe. These fans spend thousands of hours painting overpriced plastic models sold to them by a multinational company with thousands of stores worldwide. Games Workshop does its best to imprison its fans in a system of endless addiction designed to exploit them for as much as possible. The irony that the universe’s lore revolves around the so-called Emporer of all Mankind, who is only kept alive by sacrificing the souls of 1,000 of his followers every day, who in turn are supplied by a ruthless imperial system that demands ceaseless devotion, shouldn’t be lost on anyone. The Emperor of all Mankind. He doesn't look a day over 30,000. Source: Games Workshop. If you ask any dedicated Warhammer fan what they think of Games Workshop, you are bound to hear a long rant about how greedy the company is and how the people who run it are evil incarnate. Immediately after, they will proudly show you their army of Blood Angel Space Marines that they spent countless hours painting and cost them over $2,000; all the while maintaining a straight face, completely aware of the dissonance, and blissfully reconciled to it. Warhammer is the kind of universe that will draw you in like an Aeldari brothel, drain you of all your dignity and money, and then leave you burning on the side of the road with a smile on your face, screaming, “For the Emperor!” Warhammer is ridiculous, weird, borrowed, and absurd. It demands everything of its fans: body, soul, and credit card. Yet, despite this, it proudly blows through the constraints that other universes are too pussy to approach. It doesn’t care what anyone thinks, especially me, and does its thing without apologies… which is why I love it. Warhammer is dumb, absurd, and impossible not to love. Source: ordo-hydra.fandom.com The only way to fully enjoy Warhammer is to accept your lobotomy and submit to its absurdity. If you abandon any preconceived notions about what a sci-fi/fantasy universe should look like or profess, you will find an escapist’s paradise that will leave you happily drooling into your empty wallet. There’s a full-throttle universe here that is full of such sights to show you, if you can get past its atypical exterior, overwhelming scale, and its time commitment. Warhammer is one of the last bastions of true escapism in sci-fi/fantasy that, for now, remains largely untouched by the forces that have destroyed so many other beloved franchises. Make sure you enjoy it while you can. See you on the other side.💀 [1] McNeill, Graham, Nightbringer: 20th Anniversary Edition (The Chronicles of Uriel Ventris: Warhammer 40,000 Book 1) , Kindle Edition, pg. 5. [2] Grimdark , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimdark , accessed 25 Sep 24. Warhammer N/A Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 01:04 Link Copied! This is Dumb... The Real Allure of Warhammer Opinion

Death's Article on ARC Raiders: No, High-End Weapons Do NOT Need to be Buffed "There's a lot Going on with the Weapons in ARC Raiders" Dec 1, 2025 6 Mins by Death PC Gamer released an interesting feature this week titled, “Arc Raiders' basic weapons are way too strong, and it's starting to overshadow even its legendary guns”. In it, the author argues the gear chase is just not satisfying enough and high-tier legendary weapons like the Aphelion are not worth the effort. He concludes, “epics [should] get a slight buff to their overall lethality and durability to give them a tangible edge over their lower-rarity counterparts.” This would be true, if ARC Raiders (2025) were a traditional looter shooter. In other games, weapons generally fall on a curve where higher rarity means more power; but this is not the case in ARC Raiders, especially in PVP. Low-end weapons like the Stitcher, Venator, and Renegade are easy to acquire while legendary weapons like the Equalizer and Jupiter are overly expensive for the relative power they provide. Epic weapons, like the Bettina, seem to lack a real application outside of being every other blueprint found in game. ARC Raiders' weapons are certainly unique. So what is going on here and should Embark just buff the higher-tier weapons as many are suggesting? The current weapon power curve makes little sense, until you realize there’s are actually two power curves at play—one for PVE and another for PVP—which, by design or happy accident, make ARC Raiders a social experiment masquerading as an extraction shooter. Some things only make sense in isolation. The PVE weapon power curve makes sense because ARC Raiders was initially developed as a looter shooter/survival game, PVP was layered on later. Weapon effectiveness against ARC generally follows what is found in the game’s tooltips; Low-end light ammo weapons are less effective against ARC compared to high-end energy ammo weapons, which are highly-effective against ARC; this is a relic from the earlier versions of the game. Makes sense, until you try shoot another raider with energy ammo. The PVP weapon power curve is much different; it peaks sooner, with weapons like the Venator and Renegade, then quickly drops off as you get into the higher-end weapons. Even common weapons like the Stitcher, are extremely effective, with the right upgrades and attachments. These dueling power curves mean players must choose loadouts based on what they find more threatening, ARC or other Raiders. Given ARC Raiders ’ post-apocalyptic trust-no-one narrative is more like The Walking Dead (2010) than it is anything else, this is what one would expect. ARC Raiders has established a gameplay framework where AI enemies, ARC, are almost a dangerous as the other human players; but, this delicate balance has some real vulnerabilities, which are slowly becoming apparent. The tension between these curves is why ARC Raiders is so engaging. One month after launch, players have mostly overcome the ARC learning curve. At launch, ARC were a real threat, because no one knew how to defeat these massive and scary robots. This meant players were more likely to work together, and it wasn’t uncommon for raider to aid one another and cooperate to bring down larger enemies. Now, one month after launch, the ARC problem has mostly been solved. Player cooperation has become extremely rare, with players, choosing to seek out PVP instead. ARC are quickly being been relegated to being an annoyance at most, for players who have put more than 100 hours in the game. The Matriarch still inspires fear, but less so than this first meeting. The lack of ARC threat is why most Queens and Matriarchs go undefeated in duos and trios; the rewards are just not worth it. No one wants to bring 100K worth of gear into the game just to lose it to a free-loadout Andy waiting in the shadows to pounce. Players are demanding PVP buffs to PVE weapons like the Bettina and Equalizer, because the threat they are intended to address is not really a threat anymore. Their demands are a signaling, the only part of the game holding their attention is the PVP. Applying buffs or nerfs so the power curve for all weapons scale is the same no matter the situation, would destroy the delicate interplay between PVP and PVE, which is what makes ARC Raiders so engaging and unpredictable. No, the real solution to keeping high-end gear relevant in ARC Raiders , is to give it a reason to exist. Embark needs buff ARC—and buff them soon. That said, increasing AI power carries unique and consequential risks. Improving AI in ways which feel cheap and transparent, like just adding more damage, a higher rate of fire, or a larger health pool, risk alienating players, as much as an unfulfilling gear chase. Fighting ARC needs to be as compelling and engaging as fighting other players; not easy to accomplish. Thankfully, Embark's use of machine learning technology may be uniquely positioned to address this problem. Spend any decent amount of time in ARC Raiders and players may develop a sense ARC are actually holding back. ARC have been restrained in several key ways: ARC's awareness range is actually very short and can be easily avoided, if careful; ARC will deaggro relatively quickly if you break LOS long enough; and their weak points are generally obvious, giving players a fighting chance when cornered. Loosening some of these restraints may part of the solution, but ARC have displayed much more potential for engagement in how they reason, even if reasoning is not really happening. (It’s not really happening… right?). ARC do things which AI in other games just don’t do; Bombardiers will move to angle shots through narrow passages; Rocketeers will search areas they think you are in, not just stop at the last place the saw you; Leapers will… well they’re just terror personified, if you know, you know. It is this kind of unique behavior Embark should lean into to keep the ARC threat as engaging as fighting other players. The possibilities for creatively using this technology are endless; ARC could stalk players like animals stalking prey, waiting to strike at the perfect time; ARC disguised as a teammate could mimic their voices and lure Raiders away into an ambush; ARC could even develop vendettas against specific players, reappearing to finish a previous engagement, from another raid. Overall, the game doesn’t need better PVP weapons, there are plenty already. Embark needs to give players a reason to use these weapons by building on the creative ways ARC already behave; this would maintain the incredible balance between PVE and PVP, which the studio has landed on. Here’s the link to the original PC Gamer article. See you on the other side, Raiders. ARC Raiders 2025 Share Send Send Send Send Track Name 00:00 / 05:57 Link Copied! No, High-End Weapons Do NOT Need to be Buffed There's a lot Going on with the Weapons in ARC Raiders Article