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Nick Herber

Chalgyr
Chalgyr
Chalgyr
Chalgyr

Favorite Games:

316 games reviewed
75.1 average score
75 median score
62.0% of games recommended

Nick Herber's Reviews

I've been playing games for some time now (my first console was a TI 99/4a). I have been reading and writing about video games, swords and sorcery fantasy and more for years and try to bring an open mind to my reviews and the discussions taking place in our industry.
7 / 10.0 - Verdun
Sep 9, 2016

Verdun is a port of the PC game that released about a year and a half ago, and it does a nice job of bringing some strategy elements to a traditionally action-oriented genre. Verdun is not going to be for everyone, but it is an interesting take on trench warfare and provides something unique when compared to other war themed shooters.

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Sep 16, 2016

Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet is an interesting mashup between two genres I had never really considered mixing before - bullet hell and fighters. The idea is certainly interesting, and some of the concepts work well while some other mechanics are less effective.

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6.5 / 10.0 - Nebulous
Sep 23, 2016

Quirky. Entertaining. Challenging. These are all words I would use to describe Namazu Studios' release Nebulous. It is a lightweight game that reminds me of the mobile hit Cut the Rope, but with more sophistication. The end result is a decent game that will chew up a few hours of your time here and there, but is never what I would consider a great or memorable experience either.

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8.5 / 10.0 - The Witness
Sep 26, 2016

I found The Witness to be a fascinating idea that shows an incredible sense of scope. Solving the game's myriad puzzles almost always delivers an incredible sense of satisfaction - an impressive feat when you consider just how many there are to tackle. The island is a truly interesting place to explore and the vast majority of the puzzles work incredibly well with one another and the environment to create a unique if methodical experience that I can easily recommend to fans of puzzle and exploration video games.

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Sep 27, 2016

Visual novels have rallied hard over the last few years, not only showing up in North America but also having moved from PC exclusives to showing up on consoles more readily. Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is the latest such visual novel from NIS America and 5pb and it delivers exactly what you would hope for from the genre: stylish visuals, excellent voice acting and most importantly an engaging story.

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Sep 28, 2016

If you played the game originally, there might not be much reason to come back to Dear Esther, though the most loyal of fans may get enough mileage out of the Director's commentary I mentioned earlier. In this case, you play through the game with the narrator being swapped out with those of the artist, composer and writer as they discuss various decisions that went into the design. It is a nice touch for a game that has a lot of artistic value and it is interesting to see some of the thought that went into some of the game's more memorable moments and scenes. All in all Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is still an interesting experience, though its release around four years later does show the game's age a little. There are better examples of the genre out there now (including The Chinese Room's own later release Everybody's Gone to the Rapture), but Dear Esther still deserves a look if you haven't seen it yet.

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What really stands out to me after these first two episodes is how Telltale has managed to take such a popular, well-established character and world and yet manages to make the experience feel both fresh and interesting. That is a tall order, as a narrative heavy game like this could have easily gotten off of the rails when trying to deviate from such familiar source material, but kudos to the team for stringing together two really solid episodes to open this series up.

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8 / 10.0 - Damaged Core
Oct 10, 2016

Damaged Core supplies an outstanding overall FPS experience that provides fast and furious combat, excellent visuals and a clever movement scheme that helps prevent the kind of VR sickness an action game might otherwise be prone to causing.

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There really is no other way around it, so I'll be blunt: King's Quest Chapter 4: Snow Place Like Home is the weakest entry in the series to date. More numerous puzzles replace the previously clever ones, substituting quantity for quality and while the narrative itself continues to remain charming, overall my decisions felt as though they lacked some of the punch found in earlier entries.

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6.8 / 10.0 - Dreadhalls (VR)
Oct 10, 2016

Dreadhalls is an example of just how immersive Virtual Reality gaming has the potential to be, and with its bevy of jump scares and combination of atmospheric visuals and sound effects, there is a lot to like, especially at first. However, at its heart Dreadhalls is actually a shallow experience that likely will fail to encourage gamers to come back after besting its challenges once.

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Oct 11, 2016

Neither good nor inherently bad, Worlds of Magic: Planar Conquest occupies a comfortable place as an average game among the 4x strategy genre. There are some things to like about the title, but there is a noticeable lack of polish that holds the game back in the end.

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7.5 / 10.0 - Kittypocalypse (VR)
Oct 12, 2016

Tower defense fans should enjoy Kittypocalypse, as it has plenty of weapons, upgrades and interesting paths for the little evil kitten army to march through. However, the VR works even better than I expected here, and the game's visuals are a hoot, helping to create a better-than-average overall experience that I really enjoyed.

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8.5 / 10.0 - Redout
Oct 13, 2016

Redout has been one of the best VR experiences I have had to date. The virtual reality helps to create a genuine sense of speed, the racing is fun and unique, there are plenty of things to do to progress the career mode and the overall presentation helps to sell the futuristic setting. Racing fans will find a lot to like here.

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6.5 / 10.0 - Mount Wingsuit (VR)
Oct 14, 2016

Mount Wingsuit is one of those games that is fun in short spurts, but feels more like a tech demo for what VR can do than a full fledged game. I enjoyed it, and the price is budget and matches the content pretty well. With the proper expectations set, I found this to be a positive experience more often than not.

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6 / 10.0 - Audio Arena (VR)
Oct 14, 2016

Audio Arena is a fairly simple game offered at a budget price that makes it fair value for what you are getting. It is a nice little rhythm game that does feel a little gimmicky, but still delivers on what it sets out to do in creating a somewhat casual yet still challenging action experience.

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It really is kind of amazing to see how far the Netpunia games have come over the years, from niche RPG titles that saw releases every now and then, to not only having regular releases in the main franchise, but a series of interesting spinoffs as well. MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies is the latest such example, and it works really well - when it is working.

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Chase: Cold Case Investigations - Distant Memories has nice visuals and sound to compliment a good mystery tale. However, the puzzles are pretty dull and the game is light on content with a short playtime and an ending that did its job - leaving me wanting more - but without knowing if more will ever actually be forthcoming.

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5.5 / 10.0 - Syndrome
Oct 28, 2016

Syndrome looks the part, with quality visuals and an outstanding sound design. Unfortunately this is a case where the presentation belies a game that has loads of potential, but in the end winds up an average-at-best series of missed opportunities.

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6.3 / 10.0 - Euclidean
Oct 31, 2016

Euclidean is an interesting idea, but one that relies heavily on the Oculus Rift to make it more engaging than it would otherwise be. Cool concepts and unique visuals help to prop up what is otherwise a somewhat simple, shallow experience.

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Nov 2, 2016

Look, by no means is Loading Human: Chapter 1 a great game. There is some potential there, and the use of VR elevates an otherwise very average adventure title. I enjoyed the premise and it reminded me of one of the reasons I was interested in virtual reality in the first place - because VR can help to make more personal, relatable stories. However, that being said, Loading Human: Chapter 1 has too many rough edges to completely overlook.

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