Seditionis Crutarch Royale (PC) Review

 

Seditionis Crutarch Royale is a new F2P Shooter on Steam. The game 'stands out' by having a relatively large amount of different game modes for a one person indie game. Crutarch Royale however is being hold back by its simple design and lackluster gameplay.

In its core Crutarch Royale is a simple asset shooter, that uses the same visual engine likes games like Fractal Fury do (that one at least stood out more through its endoskeletons). Visuals and gunplay are therefore pretty simple.  

The biggest problem for me is the discouraging gameplay. Movement without sprinting feels ultra slow and jumps are simply not high enough in the game. Your character can seriously not jump higher than around 20 cms, which makes it pretty pointless. At least there is not stamina system, which means you can indefinitely run. That makes the movement at least okay. What is however less than average is the gunplay. Most weapons have small recoil, which I can live with. The TTK however is way too high in this game and makes every player into a bulletsponge. You have to pretty much always shoot a full clip into enemies, which just feels way too long. It is a little bit faster through headshots, but players can still take a couple before they go down. This TTK just feels wrong.

The playerbase for Crutarch Royale is nonexistent and since that very likely will not change, you will have to play against Bots. I do appreciate the inclusion of Bots, since it at least makes the game playable. The Bots in this game however are really terrible. They are completely braindead and will either just stand around and shoot at you, get stuck in the environment or running towards next objective without paying any attention whether they get attacked or kill themselves in the process. I am sure the game would be better by playing against real players, but that also wouldn't change the fundamental gameplay flaws.

What I really liked was the variety of game modes in Crutarch Royale. None of them are innovative in the slightest and we have all seen them done better in bigger games, but Crutarch has Conquest, Capture the Flag, Kill Confirmed, Rush, Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch and a Vehicle mode.

On paper these modes sound great, but in reality they all play pretty much the same. In Conquest for example you can only capture one of the five control points. Two are always located at the side of the other faction and if your players go there, they will get killed by the zone (which isn't going to stop the mass suicide by the Bots). So conquest here pretty much plays like TDM too. Rush, Kill Confirmed and Capture the Flag pretty much do what they are supposed to, however Rush is obviously a lot less exciting and spectacular in Crutarch than in a BF game (You could also say it is a lot more boring here).

The Vehicle mode sounded interesting, but is in reality also more of a buggy mess. The animation for sitting on the 'vehicles' (small children toy cars would be more accurate) is broken and lets the players stand through the ground. There are only 2,3 vehicles around the map, and they don't respawn with the players, which makes them useless... The vehicles also handle totally wanky and awful, plus the Bots are completely overstrained and you can get stuck in them with the vehicles. The vehicle mode is a nice idea, but the execution can't keep up with it.

There seem to only be 4 maps in Crutarch Royale. One is for the vehicle mode (nigh empty grey chessboard ground map), the other three for all the other modes. The first one is really terrible and frankly unacceptably empty, but the other three aren't anything to write home about either. They are located in a desert, a jungle and a winter area. In Rush mode the winter map is slightly differently designed, but otherwise the three maps have a pretty much identical average layout.  

Interestingly the game seems to have something like Loadouts for the players, which are pretty similar to the 4 Battlefield classes (conquest and rush game mode also certainly took inspiration from these games). You can select your class, which changes your skin and your ability (the jet pack of the sniper class was rather entertaining, but the others were pretty meh) and you can also freely customize an additional gadget (like more grenades, health pack or ammo pack).

Customizability in Crutarch Royale is actually pretty good. Controls can all be customized and there is a decent variety of audio and visuals settings as well.

The Dev of the game at least seems to be pretty motivated. In his YT videos and the patch notices he promised to continuously work on the game. That being said, I am not sure whether he is going to be able to improve general Gameplay and Bots, which are my biggest concerns.

 

Pro:

+ Variety of different game modes

+ Movement is okay

+ Class loadouts and gadgets

+ Customizability (Sound, Visuals, Controls) is decent

 

Contra:

- TTK is way too high (bulletsponges)

- Bots are terrible (stupid + clunky)

- Execution of most modes is rather boring

- Vehicle mode is particularly bad (buggy mess)

- Maps all have nearly identical design

- Game built with simple assets

- No playerbase

 

Result:

Crutarch Royale's variety of game modes can't hide the fact, that it's gameplay is less than mediocre. The TTK is way too high, Bots are terrible and gameplay generally is just too boring. Maps all have a nearly identical layout and the visuals are simple. There is no real reason to play Crutarch Royale, there are much better alternatives out there.

 

3.5/10

Code Zero (PC) Review

 

If Code Zero is your new Counter Strike, than you must have arrived in hell and playing this game is your eternal punishment.

Most assets and gameplay inspirations are indeed taken straight out of CS, but Code Zero has anime characters as Terrorists and Counter Terrorists instead. There is only one gamemode (the classic bomb mode from CS) and one map in this game. Another 'twist' of Code Zero is, that you can respawn multiple times during a round before it ends.

These 'innovations' however don't really matter since Code Zero is just an awful Counter Strike Copy, that fails in practically all regards. There is nothing wrong with trying to take inspiration from popular games, but Code Zero simply doesn't function at all. The movement in the game is super slow and stiff. It is no fun to move around, but that is nothing in comparison to the gunplay.  I have never experienced a game with a more horrible recoil pattern than in Code Zero. The weapons are completely uncontrollable and after every shot the gun will aim at least half a meter higher than the previous shot. The gunplay in this game is simply abysmal.

This already sounds horrible enough, but Code Zero is far more broken. The technical status of the game is a disaster. If you open the settings, the game already tells you  that the main menu is broken. Opening the settings during a match however (to change the mouse sensitivity for example) is even worse, since you can't use the mouse anymore and are forced to alt F4 to play again. Hosting/Joining matches is also mostly broken and will take forever to get into a game, even if you find another player. There are far more things broken in this game than functioning, which is unacceptable even for amateur developers.

The map is probably the best part of the game and it is a really weird and badly designed map. There are no death animations, characters just disappear after being shot at. The weird anime character models also don't fit into the CS graphics engine at all. I have no idea what the dev has been thinking while 'developing' this abomination.

Since there is only one mode and one map, there is also no replay value at all. Therefore barely anybody plays it, which is very understandable. Oh and by the way, the Tutorial of the game is a Youtube video of the Dev talking about the game...

 

Pro:

+ Map is not a disaster (but rather badly designed)

+ Occasionaly (but rarely) the game isn't broken

 

Contra:

- Movement is slow and stiff

- Gunplay is abysmal (horrible recoil)

- No Death animations (players just disappear)

- Weird anime characters don't fit in CS setting

- Game is broken if you open settings during a match

- Main Menu is broken (according to Settings)

- Hosting/Joining matches often broken

- Only 1 map and mode...

- Tutorial is a link to a Youtube Video

- Barely anybody plays it (very understandable!)

 

Result:

Code Zero is another reminder, that games can always get worse. Mediocre games seem like masterpieces after having experienced games like Code Zero. Making a Counter Strike copy with anime characters isn't a failed concept in itself (even though it is certainly a weird one), but the execution kills Code Zero. Movement is bad, gunplay is absolutely terrible and all of the broken elements make the game practically unplayable. There are only few parts of the game, which aren't broken and those are truly terrible.

 

1/10

Deepest Sword (PC) Review

 

Deepest Sword is a short Physics based Platformer game. It has an 8 Bit Graphics Style, which I found quite charming (admittedly I am a big 8 Bit fan).

The aim of the game is straight forward. You are a brave knight, who has to slay a menacing dragon. The knight however only has a short sword to do so. Each run the sword will get longer and the path towards the dragon more challenging. It takes 5 total runs to ultimately defeat the dragon.

The theme is pretty simple, but the gameplay got an interesting twist. Deepest Sword is a Platformer game, but you can't jump yourself and instead have to use your sword to traverse through the levels. The sword can be used as a sort of jump bar, a lifter or as a bridge like tool. Occasionally the sword can feel a bit clunky and make the player stuck on the ground or a wall. Nonetheless, the sword and the dexterity based platforming are certainly the highlights of Deepest Sword. 

There is a lot wiggling and trying around involved in the game. On the first playthrough the game can feel quite frustrating, but after understanding the possibilities of the sword and the Physics, there is a lot of fun to be had. Beating the game will become a breeze and the new challenge will be to do it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately the game is actually pretty short and while my first playthrough took around 40 minutes, it will now only take me 5-10 mins to experience everything in the game. The speedrunning gives it a bit of replayability, but the game remains too short overall.  

The humour of the game is also pretty funny and takes hits at the sword of the player and its growing size throughout the adventure.

The rather simple 8 Bit visual style might not be appealing to everybody, but I certainly liked it. The soundtrack was also pretty decent and fit the adventure well, even though a bit more variety wouldn't have hurt it either. Controls are simple, but work well. The real challenge is indeed mastering the Physics.

 

Pro:

+ Sword and Physics based platforming

+ Replay Value through Speedrunning

+ Great Humour

+ Charming 8 Bit Visuals and fitting soundtrack

 

Contra:

- Very Short Game

- Sword Gameplay can be frustrating in the beginning and a bit clunky

(- Visual Style is not appealing to everybody)

 

Result:

Deepest Sword is a very interesting experience. I didn't imagine the Physics based platforming with the Sword to turn out as entertaining as it was. At first I was frustrated, but it soon turned into enjoyment. I am just disappointed the game is so short (and occasionally a bit clunky). Deepest Sword stimulates your appetite, but can't fully saturate.   

 

7.5/10

Battlefield 2042 Beta (PS4) Review

 

The Beta of Battlefield 2042 left a rather disappointing impression on me. On my second day of playing I had more fun than on the first, but most changes of 2042 in comparison to its predecessors are not understandable and the overall performance of the game has been a huge letdown.

Performance is a good keypoint, since it was poor on PS4. The Last Gen version cuts the player count of the New Gen Versions in half (64 instead of 128) and also cuts half of the maps off. This may be understandable, but what's is not understandable, are the constant frame drops on PS4 (a friend of mine on a PS4 Pro experienced the same). There are a lot of moments with FPS below 30 and sometimes it will even be nearly unplayable. I really hope they fix this till the full release.

This performance problems would be explainable if the visuals had been significantly improved, but that isn't the case with 2042 (at least on the PS4 version). Objects and environmental elements (grass especially) were often looking really poor and in comparison to the great looking BF1 and BF5, 2042 feels like a noticeable downgrade. On PCs and maybe even PS5 that may not be the case, but it is still too difficult to explain how 2042 can both run worse and look worse than most of the other PS4 Battlefield games. Sacrificing on for the other would be explainable, but lacking in both departments is a huge issue and there is only one month left till full release (I personally don't buy into the 'The Beta Build is months old, we have improved everything...' excuse).

The movement in 2042 is decent and doesn't really feel much different than in the other games. Gunplay however leaves to be desired. The weapons lack satisfaction and an acceptable weapon feedback. It just feels very shallow to shoot on people. They should definitely tweak this and adjust the gunplay to that of the other recent Battlefield games. They clearly tried to copy some element of the Call of Duty gameplay (especially with the operators), but the gunplay currently neither feels like true BF gameplay nor like COD. It is a little in between, neither fish nor fowl. It is a not complete disaster, but definitely disappointing.

The new Operator system is another letdown. These Operators replace the former Class System and can all be individualized. Every Operator has a personal gadget (like the new grappling hook) and they can all either equip Ammo Boxes or Med Packs or other stuff. Players now don't have identifiable roles anymore within their Squads and their Factions. You can not see, whether other players outside of your Squad for example require ammo or health. There is little Teamplay left within the game, which is very underwhelming.  

A consequence of this Operator system is also, that there aren't really any factions anymore. Both sides use the same 4 Operators and the story of No-Pats, USA and Russia doesn't matter at all. Both sides look exactly the same (50-60% of players with the grappling hook character, other 30-40% with the default character). Battlefield 2042 therefore turns into a huge clone war without any story sense or reason (especially disappointing for a game without campaign...). It is therefore also more difficult to identity friend from foe, because all players look the same and the coloured backgrounds (Blue = Friend; Red = Enemy) are often glitching around.

To mention a few positive points: The new grappling hook ability is quite fun and parachutes also work decently. Being able to switch weapon sights during gameplay can be useful, if you have to switch between long range engagements and close combat. The weather elements are also pretty nice, even if we have already seen a lot of them in previous games (BF4 for example).

Animations on the other hand are sometimes really rough and don't look polished enough for a AAA game. I am at least optimistic, that these can be improved till launch. Another controversial addition to the game is the auto heal feature. In other BF games you could also automatically heal for a little bit (but not full health) or use an individual health pack (BF5), but in 2042 you can auto heal a few seconds after having received damage. Your life will completely replenish over time and you can repeat this process indefinitely. I don't think this is a good idea for a Battlefield game. The previously mentioned attachment system can also be a big annoyance, if you have to not only switch sides, but also ammunition sorts and other attachments, like gripes etc. The ammo has been significantly reduced and split into 3 different ammo sorts in BF 2042, which seems like a very bad decision, that no one appreciates.

We are however not done with the diminishing of core Battlefield features in 2042. Grenades can no longer be thrown by the press of a button, but instead have to first be equipped and than thrown with the fire button, which is much more time-consuming. The overview map has also been completely removed. You can only see the map and the checkpoints outside of your current area, when you respawn. This change is just idiotic and makes players run around like headless chicken. Score Boards are also gone. You can only see the Kills and Assists of your squad mates and how your Squad is performing overall. You can no longer see your own deaths, K/Ds are completely removed from the game and you can also not see other players stats. Therefore you don't ever have any information whether you are actually playing a good match or a bad one. This was apparently done to make really bad players feel better, but it isn't honestly explainable. Dice should really get their shit together.

There are also many Bugs and Glitches in the game. A lot of times when I was downed i saw weird colours fleshing over the screen, making it hard to see what was going on and one time I got infinitely stuck on a death animation and couldn't respawn anymore. There were also many animation glitches, like players clipping through a wall or the ground. At least I am hopeful they can eventually fix these Glitches, but it will probably take a lot more time than one month, because there were so many Glitches in the Beta.

Controls in choppers or planes were also totally terrible and very different than in previous BF games (at least with a controller). I never really got the hang of the during the Beta and I also saw many people crashing, who weren't trying to kamikaze into enemies. They should just revert the controls back to the old format.

There are now Bots in Battlefield, who will fill up places for players. I am not sure what to think about that. It would be good, if you could use these Bots for offline matches, like in Battlefield 1942, but I am not sure, if it is a good idea to mix real players and Bots. In Battle Royale games I have less of an issue with them, but in a real Multiplayer Match they can be pretty unbalancing. Especially when they behave as stupid as the Bots in BF2042 do. They often have movement and orientation problems and are just noticeably worse than real players. Maybe it won't be too much of an issue on the 64 Players Last Gen Version, but I could see them being annoying in the 128 Player matches (which generally just seem to be too many).

The last thing I wasn't a fan of was the Orbital map. The rockets locked nice and the island environment isn't terrible in itself, but the map has way too much open space. Orbital can easily turn into a sniper fest and walking between the B and C control points is just endless ground without cover. I hope the other maps are much better designed than this. Oh, and control points are now always split up into two and you must control both in order to control a zone.

 

Result:

I have only experienced the Last Gen PS4 Version, but I hear similar complaints about the game from PC-Players. The Battlefield 2042 Beta gave a really mediocre impression of the game and one can only hope, that they will improve the game in nearly all areas till the full release. It would honestly be best to just postpone the game for a couple of months, but that is probably not going to happen. I believe that performance, visuals, glitches and animations can be improved along the way, but the new operator system and gunplay changes seem more critical and much more difficult to fix. The map and scoreboards need to be brought back, there can be no excuses for excluding them. I got the initial impression after the release trailer, that Battlefield 2042 got overhyped, but I did not expect it to be this bad. If they don't significantly improve some of the most glaring issues, than BF2042 could be the worst Battlefield in the last 10 years.