That’s cool, were you at Double Fine or EA? Was there a reason why they weren’t so open about the RTS? StarCraft 2 was just around the corner so I don’t think it was an issue with the genre.

I got used to Raiden during my MGS2 playthrough, since he still plays similarly to Snake. Brütal Legend was more drastic with a complete change in genre.

The story definitely felt like it was aiming to cover all the hot-button political issues in the U.S. at the time, such as immigration, racism, police violence, drug counterculture, and religious extremism. But I feel the developers’ French background limited them to a more surface-level treatment of these themes. The cult subplot, in particular, comes across as how a more secular European perspective might view the American evangelical movement as a sinister threat in the same category as the other societal ills the game covers.

Yes, Portal and The Stanley Parable are definitely high bars, but I feel Superliminal actively invites those comparisons through its similarities in structure, tone, and presentation. When a game so closely follows in the footsteps of its influences, I think it’s fair to examine where it succeeds and where it falls short in comparison.

That said, I get that my review may come across as a bit harsh, which is why my final score still places it toward the upper end of my 4-7 range for mid games—I do think it’s a worthwhile experience for fans of puzzlers despite its flaws.

I would strongly recommend Disco Elysium, which is a very unique RPG with excellent writing.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/632470/Disco_Elysium__The_Final_Cut/

I enjoy playing mid games, and while I don’t regret the time I spent playing, they are less enjoyable on a moment to moment basis than truly good games.

I thought the sequel was a logical progression with how Alice would still have PTSD from the trauma she went through and how Victorian era London was not the best environment for someone with such mental issues.

I appreciate the feedback, and I can definitely see how a lot of the games I consider “mid” would still be a lot of fun for other. Ultimately there will be a lot personal preference involved with any kind of review, so what you’re reading here is just me as an amateur writer trying to articulate my personal views.

I use a scoring system because I find it a useful shorthand to summarise my overall thoughts on a game. The limited scale is because there are 8-10/10 games which are a class above the games I intend to cover in this series (e.g. Doom, System Shock, Elden Ring) while 1-3/10 would be those which I don’t enjoy, are completely broken or are morally reprehensible (e.g. visual novels, predatory monetisation, NFT games). I personally find it more interesting trying to explain my views of these “mid” games than those at either end of the scale.

The Force Engine seems like a good alternative for experiencing the game on a modern platform. It’s an open source engine that adds a few new features, like mid level saving https://theforceengine.github.io/