7
Products
reviewed
241
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Recent reviews by JDO

Showing 1-7 of 7 entries
198 people found this review helpful
5 people found this review funny
5
21
5
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4
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14
28.2 hrs on record (22.1 hrs at review time)
I have a decently sized library of Triple-A games that I've acquired for the last 7 or so years. Yet, they almost all remain un-downloaded, untouched, and forgotten only to collect whatever the digital equivalent of dust is.


Superliminal is a very rare exception. I can't recall the last time I was this captivated and transfixed with a video game; I'd go so far as to say this is the best non VR PC game I've played in 5 years.

The one negative thing people keep echoing in their reviews of this game is "It's too short, not worth the money" or variants of that same basic message. All of their playtimes indicates that they likely only played through the game once at a casual pace.

My first playthrough at a moderate exploratory pace came in at just a hair longer than 4 hours total.

The souls reviewing this game and complaining about its short length can only be rationalized in my mind by the following scenario:

Imagine for a moment with me, someone walking into an out of the way relatively unknown gourmet restaurant and sitting down at a beautifully decorated table in an ambient high-class environment. They quickly order a 5-course meal and impatiently wait for it to be made. Once the meal is served in front of them, they eat one of the courses, all the appetizer bread, and gulp down the entire pitcher of water. They proceed to complain to the manager that they weren't satisfied with the palette complexity of their meal, and were left hungry... all while a confused manager observes there to be 4 untouched courses growing cold on their table.


As of writing this review, I earned all achievements in this game, played through and completed the Main Story, Developer Commentary & Challenge Mode.

After a second playthrough of the Story Mode, you'll find a lot of clever foreshadowing of all the events to unfold, as well as hints towards the ending.

The Developer Commentary explains a lot of concepts and mechanics that I would have otherwise eternally pondered, or have reached out and bugged the developers regarding. Hearing the devs talk about how they envisioned and imagined different things to be really fleshed out this game's unique universe. Listening to experiences they shared regarding where they drew inspirations from, as well as feelings they were trying (and succeeded!) to evoke in players was treat. They choreographed every feeling and emotion they expected to elicit in their players and did just that exactly when and as intended. Listening to the commentary from everyone was akin to hearing an artist humbly explain the pieces of their art they were most proud of, and what they were feeling when they crafted their work.

I've found several delightful Easter Eggs and hidden out of the way references that I've yet to see anyone mention or discuss even after scouring forums and reviews hoping to find another soul that's seen them.

Now that I've waxed poetic, let's get down to brass tacks. I'll save the spoilers till last and make sure they're appropriately covered for those that don't care to see them.

The sound design is second to none. Matt Christensen mentioned that when he was composing for this game, he got into a headspace of creating a subgenre of jazz, a unique set of rules to follow when composing the ethereal songs for this game. The music really does come across as its own uniquely identifiable strain of song. The main jingle from the intro is intricately woven into so many other songs present in the game; it lays roots that more elaborate pieces grow out from with each subsequent iteration matching the surrounding ambiance of the environments you're traversing. Curiosity, bewilderment, fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and finally peace.

I can't imagine the game any other way, 40% of its charm to me is the sound design and music; it's responsible for making the game uniquely it's own.

I purchased the album along with the game on a whim and I'm so glad I did. I find myself listening to the soundtrack and subsequent remixes again and again. The music makes the replayability of the game skyrocket.


The Force Perspective Mechanics of the game remain largely unchanged from the initial tech demos shown to the public as early as late 2013 and that's not a bad thing. They had a phenomenal core idea and polished it until it was mirror smooth and ready for everyone to enjoy. Almost every puzzle in the game left me with a feeling of bemusement and satisfaction upon completion. Every "Aha!" lightbulb moment was incredible. There are only a handful of puzzles I didn't enjoy very much, and they're in what is intentionally considered as "the boss" levels. There are usually multiple ways to solve any given puzzle with some exceptions. Some are straight forward, others are impractically ridiculous and that just adds to the fun! I'll be forthcoming in that I started my first playthrough with a mild headache and I regret that. This only amplified my already less than ideal wellness. Every play session thereafter I felt no illness or nausea while playing despite the 'out there' nature of the visuals.


The narration feels warming when it needs to, and distantly frightening when it wants to be. Both main voices set their own moods perfectly. The upbeat and soothing delivery of Max Howarth's lines as Dr. Pierce was phenomenal. Dr. Pierce sounds like he's touring you through a world he built and crafted just for you. You can almost hear the pride he takes in what he's made in his tone alone.

Dr. Pierce's assistant is never intentionally cruel or unfeeling. They're just programmed to be succinct and clinical, never willfully malicious, unlike another rogue AI that runs a testing facility in the name of science.



In order adequately to express why I don't think this is a short game in thorough detail, I have to get into spoilers.

Finding and pulling every fire alarm, emptying every extinguisher, gazing at all the constellations, discovering every blueprint, and scavenging every well-hidden chess piece was the absolute best part of the game to me, especially the puzzle pieces and subsequent area they unlocked. The literal Easter Eggs you can find, and all the hidden references to life long fans and inspirational material were so charming. You can go through your first playthrough not realizing any of these things are around you, but were always just out of sight. There are so many neat tidbits and discoverable's beneath the surface. You just have to have enough patience to dig for them, the payout is beyond worth it.


I've caught myself imagining so many what if's. I've been so engrossed by this game I can't help but think up what might happen next, or what happened leading up to our characters' involvement in the game. I've been scribbling out on paper interesting new puzzle designs iterating on existing mechanics. I've never had my imagination so wholly captivated by anything before.

You aren't playing as the stubborn daughter of a scientist, or employee number 427, you're playing as yourself, the game is an experience just for you, you're the main exhibit in this art museum. You're unfolding your own story and that's something special.

I sincerely hope you give this game a try, if nothing else, it just might change your perspective.
Posted 15 November, 2020.
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2 people found this review helpful
1 person found this review funny
3.4 hrs on record (3.3 hrs at review time)
I feel like this game is what VR will be in the years to come, but I get incredibly ill playing it. I'm unable to play for longer than an hour at a time without feeling extremely nauseated.

I would think that I'd be a "VR Expert" after roughly 2,000 hours accumulated in various VR games, but games with smooth motion have always been too much for me. I'm glad I bought the game to support the dev, even if I can't enjoy it for very long before trying not to vom.

The only thing aside from extreme motion sickness that I found unacceptable was getting halfway through "Streets" , only to suddenly clip between two objects and fall through the world, killing me.

I'll likely use a save editor to unlock arena and sandbox because I don't know if I can beat the game without making myself ill, and honestly that just isn't enjoyable.

The design is cool, there are neat Easter eggs, the physics are buttery smooth, and the massive amount of love the devs put into the game make it worth at least trying.

Although I doubt I'll ever be able to fully enjoy the game without something like a VR treadmill, or a different motion system, I'm pleased to see the direction VR games as a whole are heading, and I'm hopeful for the future.

Thank you stress level zero for pushing the industry in the right direction.
Posted 14 December, 2019.
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No one has rated this review as helpful yet
338.4 hrs on record (221.8 hrs at review time)
I bought it for cool wallpapers, and decided to browse popular Overwatch wallpapers. Boy was that a shocker... if you don't like high quality animated blender porn featuring any female character from almost any modern game franchise, make sure to turn on the adult filter and save yourself some awkwardness. Otherwise a nice app despite some minor bugs. Worth the money overall. 8/10.

If you're a hentai addicted weeb, 10/10
Posted 30 June, 2019.
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No one has rated this review as helpful yet
35.5 hrs on record (30.3 hrs at review time)
Bought the game for my wife and I, played roughly 14 hours until I hit a game breaking bug. Teleporter won't connect, sturges is bugged, and somehow the game unbound my wasd keys and won't allow me to walk anymore, even after resetting the controls and turning no clip on. I was so excited to find Shaun, I dumped an entire weekend into playing this game. Not to mention I have a decent gaming pc, and my FPS is garbage; nothing in the game is optimized. Captivating story, unplayable game. $60 dollars and a weekend wasted; thanks bethesda.
Posted 6 December, 2015.
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7 people found this review helpful
6,959.7 hrs on record (2,192.3 hrs at review time)
As of writing this, it has been one year to the day that I started playing tf2, I thought it appropriate to finally write a review on this wonderful game, as a mile stone of sorts. In one years time, I've accumulated a little more than 3,000 hours. More time than I have sunk into any other game so far. The re-playability of this game is something you rarely see in an average First Person Shooter, and its charm is something that has kept its fanbase happy since the games release in 2007.

Some of the things that set this game apart from its rivals is its unique brand of humor, and its beautiful art style. In interviews with the games creators, it was explained that in development, they drew heavily from the art style of beloved American illustrator, Norman Rockwell. In this well thought out game, there are 9 classes to choose from, each with their own unique weapon arsenal, strengths and weaknesses, and personality. Scout, soldier, pyro, demo, heavy, engineer, medic, sniper, and spy.

Scout being a very frail, fast class with burst damage output at close range, he can also capture control 2 times as fast as the other classes. Soldier having balanced health and mobility, comfortably played in all situations. pyro being of lesser health, and balanced speed, allowing him to flank enemies and ambush them. Demo man with overwhelming damage output, lesser speed, and a fair amount of health. Heavy being the bullet sponge of the game, massive health, slow movement speed, and decent damage output. Engineer with the ability to construct buildings that will help allies, and hinder enemies with area denial. Medic being able to heal team mates back up to full health, sending them back into a fight. Sniper having the devastating ability to pick off enemies from a distance, but having the disadvantage of low health, and normal speed. And lastly the spy, able to become invisible, disguise as enemies, and one hit kill anyone, with the major disadvantage of low health, and close range combat.

When it comes to gameplay, this game is about as balanced as it gets. You start out the game already owning all the best weapons, and you slowly earn, or randomly receive items with different stats, better in one area, worse in another. The fact that everyone is given the most balanced weapons from the start, make this a game heavily based around skill. The hilarity of slapping someone with a fish, a ham, or a frying pan make the game enjoyable for more casual players, where as the mix of good art style, balanced weapons, and numerous tournament modes make it enjoyable for more serious players.

On the topic of serious game play, there are competitive gaming leagues from all over the world hosting tf2 tournaments and events. All with special objectives, rule sets, and banned item lists, making the outcome of each game different.
There are several divisions of skill, so even the best have something to work toward.

The economy of the game is something that has a controversy surrounding it. Although this games target audience is mature, young adults, several children find there way in. With so many children actively participating in a global scale open economy, it can lead to unbalances, unfortunate, and sometimes hilarious circumstances. Hats are what make the TF2 economy go around, everyone wants to find a hat that showcases exactly what they want their character to represent. Finding just the right hat, with just the right color, and possibly a special particle effect, can be rather expensive, making most people pour more money into pixelated headwear than is reasonable.

In the end, this is the most interesting, quirky, an beautiful game I have ever had the pleasure of playing. I recommend it to any gamer, and will continue to enjoy its charm for years to come.
Posted 30 September, 2014.
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No one has rated this review as helpful yet
41.4 hrs on record (21.8 hrs at review time)
This game redefines what you think of fps games, Not only is it the most visually stunning and beautiful game I have ever owned, but its art style and story telling is something that is rarely done these days. It is worth every penny. It took me roughly 15 hours to beat, and that is quite a long time, considering it takes about 3 hours to beat left 4 dead 2. I am unable to say much more without spoiling it, if you're on the fence about buying it, don't even hesitate, it is the best game I have ever purchased.
Posted 9 May, 2014.
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No one has rated this review as helpful yet
15.2 hrs on record (13.5 hrs at review time)
Very decent game, im used to FPS style games so this was a nice change of pace. All ill say is its worth the money, saying anything else would spoil this amazing game.
Posted 12 January, 2014.
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Showing 1-7 of 7 entries