_YALP

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Video game knower /// If you find my rating scale kind of whack, see if my Power Ranking makes more sense to you /// I have a series of Best In Class lists as well as some Less Serious ones too /// The YALPLOG is my homebase /// Like my Tunic Review its all I want in this world.

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Favorite Games

Outer Wilds

Mega Man 8: Anniversary Edition

Age of Time

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Armored Core 2

631

Total Games Played

023

Played in 2024

470

Games Backloggd

Recently Played See More

Going Under

May 01

Hi-Fi Rush

Apr 30

Dragon's Dogma II

Apr 17

Content Warning

Apr 05

Unicorn Overlord

Mar 23

Recently Reviewed See More

Borderlands 2

Completed

Borderlands 2: The Video Gaming Experience is a slightly acquired taste - but there is an undeniable flow here once you figure it out. With the Diablo influence finally finding its feet, the game walks the line between Zany and Serious in both its combat and narrative in a way thats riveting and compelling. The sad truth is: Gearbox will probably never write a character as good as Handsome Jack (or most of the cast) ever again.

In fact (hot take) it was probably essential that Borderlands 2 was written with a largely comedic lean, because the unserious attitude helps you feel less seriously about the games cheap feeling gameplay. The games looter-churn means youll be obligated to use guns that suck in a game where the shooting already kind of sucks, the artstyle is pretty but also very poorly assembled and buggy - it all feels less irritating (key word being “less”) when the world is already absurd and illogical.

26 Likes

Open review

Borderlands

Completed

While Im charitable to the fact that this game has First Draft Syndrome, its impossible to ignore how the ugly Brown Aesthetic of late 2000s video games merged with this austere desert looter shooter to form the most rancid vibes known to man. It is so mind-numbingly bare that it almost feels like a surrealist project, some David Lynch psyop where theres just an uncomfortable amount of dead air.

And in some ways thats interesting, its like Borderlands 1 is a peek into an alternate reality. Its a much more dismal, less successful reality to be clear, and this is something that can only be appreciated retrospectively; its difficult to regard Borderlands as the “starting point” of the series when its such a distant relative to what the series is at this point (and really its estranged relationship with the series is the only worthwhile thing about it worth talking about)

20 Likes

Open review

Hi-Fi Rush

Completed

The Devil May Cry format, set up as a rhythm game - and while its not uncommon for the game to fail you for QTEs, the real magic lies in how Hi Fi ties every aspect of the game to the beat. Encouraging (instead of strictly requiring) rhythm promotes a groove within players, a sense that with every action they take they are jamming along with the game - achieving a potent and unbelievably addictive sense of flow when synchronized.

Frankly, I think Hi Fi’s aesthetic would otherwise be a liability for me. Garish color palettes, generic and undiverse enemy design, even the music selection is not my favorite. The supreme, engrossing nature of the combat puts me on a wavelength that elevates every other aspect of the game, I can forgive significant holes in the character writing because I am actually, literally vibing. Any mission thats mostly a gauntlet of enemies is a great time - the opposite of how I usually feel about the genre.

38 Likes

Open review