Recent reviews by Mr. Sandman

I'm going to recommend this game, but there are definite issues that need to be addressed. Full disclaimer, I'm a casual player who played through the story mode on every character at launch- I'm not even close to competitive.

Positives first: The story mode is a delight! Each character has a story that vaguely intersects with others until the very end, putting certain encounters into perspective and sometimes radically changing the meaning of events. The final boss is a challenge (mostly) and I do hope they add them to the roster.

Most of the characters also feel great to play, with a cute playstyle and gimmick that makes them stand out. The artstyle is perfect for what the game is going for, very much reminding me of Malifaux and other steampunk properties, and the animations are a treat. Honestly, out of the cast only one of them is outright unappealing to me (Rotwang) and everyone else feels great to experience. Good job.

However, as a casual player story mode is very awkwardly balanced, with many fights being very much oppressive for newer players: Duo Guards, Duo Dieselmechs, and the final boss can require players to try and exploit the AI rather than engage with the challenge at hand- all of the story events where you're outnumbered can also easily lead to some frustration.

A few characters like Adrik and Rotwang (even Eleanora to a degree) have a much harder time going through story mode due to their lack of attacks that easily break hyper-armor or out-range the enemy. I had to resort to exploiting the AI and spam attacks in order to get any leg up on multiple story encounters. Adrik with his rapid dart throw to stun, Rotwang's jetpack to avoid most attacks, and Eleanora just crouching and light attacking to try and stun an AI to death.

Others, like Rory, Saga, Ruby, Dieselmech, Naya, and Daminika (and to a lesser extent Frisk) had a much easier time dealing with said story encounters. Rory, Saga, Dieselmech and Naya all felt like fun, combo heavy characters that were largely intuitive. Daminika and Ruby both had command grabs that the AI couldn't quite deal with, which made those story mode runs pleasant.

Again, I adored Story Mode, but there's an obvious subset of characters in this roster that casual players will fall off of due to them not being able to easily handle certain mechanics. Take that as you will.

I was also disappointed in Arcade mode, which largely just exists to get you a Skin for each fighter. I was hoping for some alternate stories or gag runs, especially when the main story has no branching paths. It would have been fun to see a part of the city and interactions that aren't explored in the main campaign.

Onto more minor nitpicks- there are a few.

First, Story Mode lacks multiple paths- many fail-states would have led to interesting outcomes and/or gag endings.

Second, there is an awkward amount of minor features included that show just a bit more of what the game could be: Nanya has some moments where she can choose dialogue (the only character with that mechanic) but which ultimately doesn't change anything. Ruby has a delivery minigame that feels oddly out of place considering nothing else like it exists within the game. Frisk has four button combinations (well, 3.5) that all throw flasks... At the same distance.

All these things add up. I'm excited to get back into the game if and when it gets DLC, but until then I'm happy with the 10 hours of story mode (1 hour per character) I got to experience. Good luck to the devs, I hope this game picks up!

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One of, if not the, best Telltale game.

Not much else needs to be said. This is a game that relies on the player either intuiting or looking up the routes, and I definitely would recommend everyone's first play-though to be as neutral and ignorant as possible. Have fun.

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A classic, with a great atmosphere and strangely engaging gameplay.

A beautiful experience, but please download a patch before you start.

I recommend this, but with the full asterisk that it's a 6/10. It's a good game, don't get me wrong, but the flaws within I simply can't ignore.

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