TheFinicalGoat's reviews on GOG.com

Created on 09 June, 2026 22:56

Solid Narrative Experience, Good Premise

I played this on Xbox Game Pass more than once. My review reflects those versions, so I cannot speak to the quality of the GOG port. Do your research. You play as an assistant AI set aboard a space station after some sort of unknown event, perhaps an attack of some sort, throws the systems into complete disarray, shutting you down and scattering the crew. You wake up sometime after and are trying to pick up the pieces of what happened while you help get things back up and running. It is a simple game. A "walking simulator" where you control probes and tap into the systems of the station to help get things working while you and your crew companion attempt to get a fix on what's happened. You'll solve various simple puzzles and you won't be given too much guidance on what to do or where to go, so you really have to be thorough in paying attention. That being said, as someone who's pretty bad at that kind of thing due to my lack of attention to detail, it's not nearly as bad as some of the other reviews here try to paint it to be. The premise is certainly unique, too. I like the idea of being a helpful AI. Being in a supportive role in general is quite a fun idea to me, although in practice the only real examples that come to mind as options are healers in MMOs like WoW... and we can all figure out who gets blamed first if the party dies in those cases, so I tend not to play those classes as a result. But here in a singleplayer experience, regardless of what happens, you can only fail yourself. It has been a while, but I think my only real criticism about the game was how dark it was sometimes. I had a lot of trouble seeing in one specific section, which compounded by not being sure where to go made it less enjoyable my first time 'round, but some tweaking of the settings and you can make it manageable. I think you'll enjoy it more than you won't, as long as you go into it with the right expectations. This is, for all intents and purpose, a purely story-driven narrative experience. You're not gunning down aliens and dodging explosions. It is slow-paced and it's all about the mystery. If you aren't interested in that kind of game, play something else. If you are? This is a 5-star experience and I'll accept no arguments.

Created on 02 January, 2025 18:42

Created on 25 December, 2024 02:04

Updated on 25 December, 2024 02:10

A Charming Little Classic from Sid Meier

I actually already owned this game before picking it up here on GOG, because a copy of it was given free with a CD Sampler disc from PCGamer back in the day. So I knew this game was right up my alley as far back as a decade ago, though I never played or heard of it before then. Of course I was familiar with some of the games in the Sid Meier's Civilization series (Revolution back on PS3, mainly), but I've had a steady disinterest in those games for a while now. Colonization, though, I don't know what it is about it but I always have to come back for more, so I picked up a GOG copy so I'd always have a digital version I could access without worrying about where I put that old magazine disc. I say I don't know what it is about the game that I love, but that isn't really true. I know exactly what I love about it. It's just so friggin' charming. I mean the sprite work is nice, and sprite art in general is something I honestly feel is timeless, and the music is fun to listen to on repeat and you really get a sense that you're conquering the new world. Colonization might be a dirty word, but I dare anyone to play this game and not love it a little bit.

Created on 01 October, 2023 05:27

Updated on 01 October, 2023 05:38

A Thought-Provoking Story Behind Horror

I have actually already watched the entirety of this game played through on YouTube once before, many years back. When I realized there was a "Safe" difficulty, I put aside my reservations and finally put in my own 8h30m to beat the game myself. The Safe difficulty certainly takes away a lot of the tension and (obviously) difficulty of the game, but I don't actually ever play horror games to be scared. I play them because they have interesting worlds, characters and concepts, which means I tend not to play many of them at all because they're designed around tension and extremely dangerous enemies that will instakill you the moment you get in their sights. But enough about that, my preferences for difficulty aren't that important because I'm here to talk about how well-written the story for this game is. Simon might come off a bit whiny, but I feel like he's a fairly likable person at his core. The game will, of course, test your own moral code at several places in the story. There are no right or wrong answers, philosophers would argue about which is the better option all day like it's the trolley problem, but you will have to make some hard calls. The game will also force you into a few right at the start because of Simon's ignorance about his situation and the requirements to progress. That is probably my least favorite part of the story, that you are given no choices in that regard, but it's very early on in the game and is set aside. The game will ask you to make decisions, though, that I would argue should be difficult (and if they aren't difficult for you, then I don't think I want to know you as a person because either you're incredibly boring and can't connect with a piece of fiction or you're a sociopath and neither is appealing). I know you're probably thinking "I don't want to", but I feel like if you want to engage with a good story a little mild discomfort shouldn't dissuade you. It's up to you, but I loved Soma. I have very VERY few complaints.

2 gamers found this review helpful

Created on 27 May, 2019 11:34

Updated on 30 May, 2026 10:19

Not perfect, but a good modern version.

I have difficulty writing short reviews, so I'm going to summarize what I just deleted in an attempt to be as clear and succinct as possible: 1. You get the original Diamond Edition version of the game with your GOG purchase of the Enhanced Edition. I do not own NWN:EE on GOG, only the original Diamond Edition release, but since it's included I can write a review. I DO own NWN:EE but it's over on Steam, so I am qualified to review it. 2. This version's only value is in its enhanced resolution options and online functionality. The original used GameSpy servers and I imagine you'd need to mod it to get any online and it's just easier to buy NWN:EE instead. It's not expensive. 3. Darkness Over Daggerford is the only module worth buying. All the others suck. The other ones that were based on Premium Modules from the original release (like Tyrants of the Moonsea) are GREAT... until they get to the halfway point where the new developers at Beamdog worked on them, then they're awful. Absolutely atrocious. Just... the worst in both game design and writing. DO NOT buy them. I'm trying to help you out here. I bought practically all of them and not one has been worth it that was extended by Beamdog. Since Darkness Over Daggerford is the only Premium Module that was completed despite the collapse of the Premium Module project, it is the only one that Beamdog didn't ruin by messing too much with the plot or gameplay. 4. If you hate the ugly "Keyholing" feature, you have to disable it by editing the .ini file in your Documents folder. Good games fade buildings out when they're in-between your character and the camera. Decent games push the camera in to put the building behind the camera and focus on the character. This "enhanced port" apparently thinks carving a tiny hole in the building and showing jack-all otherwise is a better idea. It is not. I won't say it's a bad game just for that, especially since you can disable it with a workaround, but it's not even in the in-game options menu and that irritates me to no end.

13 gamers found this review helpful

Created on 23 January, 2019 13:51

Updated on 23 January, 2019 13:58

Good, but definitely not great. Short.

Nothing amazing. I didn't really make the D&D connection until I saw Githyanki in the story (I only know of them from Neverwinter Nights 2, the second game in a series I hold dear from my childhood). Like I said, it's not exactly what I'd give out awards for. It was relatively short, but the gameplay wasn't bad at all. The story didn't stun me, but it kept me engaged at least, so that's sort of a plus. Truth is, I barely remember the story. I bought the game dirt cheap, at a used games store, for PS2 and all I could think while playing it was "this feels like an inferior version of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" mainly because it lacked co-op. The game probably could have handled it, but the developers just decided this three-character game should be a single-player experience, I suppose. I don't mean to crap on the game and if you can pick it up for like $5 you will most likely enjoy the experience, but unless you really love D&D worlds, it's not going to stick in your mind long after you played it. It cannot compare to Neverwinter Nights' story, Lord of the Rings: RotK's co-op gameplay or stun you with its now-dated graphics. The world itself is nice, but pretty standard fare generic fantasy and I honestly don't remember much more than a cave/ruins, a forest area where I think elves lived and a wizard's tower crumbling under an assault. That all sounds much more interesting that I considered it to be, I think.

7 gamers found this review helpful

Created on 17 December, 2017 00:54

Multiple scenarios, not a campaign.

I thought this game would play out more like XCOM in that you follow a linear narrative and recruit/improve characters as you went along. That would have been fun, to have an XCOM-style game with the aesthetics of the Wild West, but instead what the game turned out to be was a segmented storyline similar to what an RTS would do. If you've ever played Warcraft 3 or Age of Mythology (or presumably the Starcraft series), you probably know what I'm talking about. While the missions (scenarios) are longer than those of an RTS game, they are still relatively short and all progress with your characters (gear, money and wounds-turned-useful-scars) is lost when you start another scenario to continue the story. It's not a deal-breaker, the game is still fun and I haven't even finished it yet (three scenarios done with about five or so hours of continuous gameplay), but instead of forcing the character to play pre-determined characters with names and backstories, it would have been even better to follow a narrative that let you build up your own story as well. The story's interesting, though, and would have still been worth keeping even if it had been changed more towards my personal preference, but having more text-based story content would have increased the length of the game while still being a lot of fun, much like what the Shadowrun series does. As for gameplay, like other reviews have noted, overwatch doesn't exist in this game. Even Shadowrun has overwatch, but enemies in this game are the only ones who get it and if you get within the red circle around them (it'll show up if you hover over a tile close enough) they'll take a free shot at your character. Fights sometimes drag on because the equipment you're carrying doesn't do much damage and some enemies have higher health (doing 1 damage per turn gets old when accuracy is so low). Anyway, while it isn't perfect, it's fun. I feel like I won't play it again for a while until I want to relive the story.

4 gamers found this review helpful

Created on 16 December, 2017 08:19

It's not perfect, but it's a fun RPG.

I would easily rate this game five stars. In fact, I did. Does it have flaws? Of course. It's an older game, you'll probably experience some sort of compatibility issue (although I say that just in general because it's an older game, I've literally never had a crash or error or compatibility issue occur with this game, not even when I first played it as a teenager). I adore this game. It's a great RPG with mediocre voice-acting, excellent crafting (any item can be converted into a blueprint and have its materials swapped for another of the same type, i.e. - heavy iron armor converted to heavy steel armor or something along those lines) and interesting gameplay. Now, I can't lie to you, I've never beaten this game without cheating. It's hard. Enemies are 9 times out of 10 more powerful than you are and will smash Zak into tiny little pieces, no matter how good you get at the game. Save often and don't feel bad if you die. Unless you forget to save, because you should not have done that. The game is just plain charming, though, flaws and all. The world isn't overly-complex like most RPGs, but it's interesting and you'll find a few surprises along the way. If you think an enemy might be around the corner or you want to test yourself against a giant enemy you just KNOW is going to annihilate you, save first and have at it. The game is meant for you to take your time and experiment, explore, etc. In that sense, it's a true RPG experience. It presents a story, gives you your ultimate goal and slowly lets you head towards that goal as you gain power with extra objectives along the way. I highly recommend, if you choose not to cheat, that you work hard to gain as much experience as possible by completing every objective before moving on. It's probably not a game for everyone, but if you can love the original Resident Evil for its B-movie voice acting, ever enjoyed Two Worlds or just don't care that much about perfection and can enjoy the goofs, give Evil Islands a shot.

5 gamers found this review helpful

Created on 29 November, 2017 04:14

Created on 05 July, 2017 21:40

Discover CD PROJEKT RED games

Highlights

Featured

Close, but not an exact hit

We couldn't find this game on GOG. Vote to bring it to our platform and check what others say about it on GOG Dreamlist:

Recommended games from our store: