cherishes human connection in an endearingly immature way. very quaint but also overbearingly self-conscious in its approach to standard conventions, sometimes to a fault? “design by subtraction” sounds genius on paper, though to me it can lend itself to one of two mentalities in execution. it pushes the player towards experimentation; resulting in immense satisfaction when success occurs due to intuitive forward-thinking, or the absence of any emotion at all in triumph as the logic of the solution may have never transpired within the player. thankfully i think ico manages to lean more towards the former overall with only a few moments that underwhelmed my train of thought. the inquisition of the existence of swinging on chains was that of satisfaction. i noticed when jumping on chains that they’d naturally swing back and forth a little, so i figured there was a way to voluntarily execute that on my own and voilà! the action button had answered my prayers. in opposition to this, much later into the game you’re required to blow up the base of a water tower to progress, as for some reason when its blown up part of the tower conveniently falls to form a bridge leading to the next part of the area. this seemed odd to me because there’s… no indication this would happen and i dont think the average person would assume it’d either. you just throw a bomb at the tower because in the scenario there’s no other options of what to do. this was a time where i was met with dissatisfaction in puzzle solving. even if it is kinda minor it still racked my brain a bit.

anyway i believe this “subtraction” psychology applies to more than just the diminishing of useless aspects that dont add to the artist’s vision. namely it contributes to the progression. frequently we’re paraded with the great expanse of the castle utilizing overhead views and wide shots. in continuing our journey we inherently subtract the unknown of that expanse, and perhaps any fears of it that had construed our view of it. i suppose any action in the (or any) game can be interpreted as a subtraction. subtracting enemies, problems, etc etc…

some further things i had noted…
i was heavily reminded of love-de-lic and cing’s work while invested, i think mainly because of the childlike innocence on display in both of our protagonists alongside the organic vibes of the atmosphere respectively. ico’s selflessness struck me in a similar way to moon’s main character and yorda that of another code’s ashley.
the deprivation of any music aside from minor points is an oddly fitting choice that i appreciate a lot. im a sucker for nature ambience and this is no exception. in a way it kept me grounded throughout the entire experience.
the first time i was met with the blissful save theme it had sounded awfully familiar, within seconds my mind uttered “Based God sampled this!” precisely in Flowers Rise on batshit insane mixtape GODS FATHER. i fucking love that tape man i’ll take any chance i can get to shill it.

this was a really resonant experience for me and i’m glad i finally got to this one. i definitely see where people like taro and miyazaki were influenced here. in the industry nowadays you can still feel tremors that this game insinuated way back when (for better or for worse). brilliant display of the importance of environmental attention to detail.

I see why people keep saying Kojima didn't want to make any more MGS games. You can see some elements of the series getting a little bit too repetitive here. And he pushed the perception of this series with a bold statement in MGS2. I keep wondering how I'd feel about this game If I didn't play the first two MGSs.But that doesn't take away from the revolutionary gameplay of this game. It sets a bar that even recently released stealth games miss. Although the main themes of the story were basically shared by the last 2 games. Kojima manages to make it hit even harder in this one. With a more personal journey for this game's Snake.

Holy shit that was so fucking good!

I bought Sekiro on release almost 5 years ago, and tried to play it; keyword here being 'tried', because I fucking sucked. I genuinely did not understand how the game works or what exactly it expected me to do. I tried playing it countless times and each time I got stuck at either Lady Butterfly or Gyoubu. I thought the game was just too hard for me, and that my skill level simply was not adequate for this game. Then, I decided to give it another try a couple of weeks ago, and for some reason the combat finally 'clicked' for me, probably because this time I went in not caring much whether or not I manage to finish it this time, which made me play without panicking or worrying much. That was the key. Once I understood the combat and stopped panicking -and got rid of the muscle memory I had carried over from other FromSoftware games- every encounter became a breeze. Some bosses were very difficult initially but again once you understand how a certain boss works you can pretty much just finish it hitless.

That's really the beauty of Sekiro. At the core of its combat is an intricate dance, and once you learn the choreography of that dance, it becomes one of the most cathartic gameplay experiences you could possibly have. No game has done combat like this, and no game has done sword fighting like this.

If it wasn't for the Dragon Rot being an extremely underwhelming mechanic, and the game trying to push crowd control with a combat system that is simply not designed for it, I would not have hesitated to rate it at a perfect 10.

There is no game like Sekiro, and if you are stuck with frustration like I was, do yourself a favor and just keep trying. It is really worth it once you get the hang of things.

Hesitation is defeat.

Remember when Naughty Dog used to make games like Jak & Daxter and Uncharted while not being held hostage by a egotistical Zionist who believes he can do no wrong and a bigger company who so desperately wants the same 7 franchises they've relied on heavily since 2017 to be cinematic video game showcases so they can easily translate them into movies and TV shows because said-company's previously existing movie/TV IPs have either underperformed or is forced to have shared custody with the Mouse™?

On a completely unrelated note the Last of Us Part II is a very nothing remaster and they're now announcing the new cast for season 2 of the show.

Finally played the most popular FF game and it certainly deserves all the praise.
I was hooked from start to finish with only some frictions here and there.

I was kinda disappointed with the gameplay after FFVI. While each character in VI had a unique fighting style, like the Blitz with its combo-like attacks and the Bushido techniques, the gameplay here is just more or less standard Final Fantasy.
The Materia system is certainly more flexible than the Magicite, and it allowed for ease of swapping out party members without the loss of your most used magic (although I was always spending 10 minutes trying to optimize what Materia to equip to each character)

I also liked the many minigames they added and the gameplay sections that differed from JRPG gameplay, like the motorcycle chase and the Snowboard. While some parts of those lacked polish (which is understandable for an early PS title) it added to the charm of the game.

The story was amazing and had some nice twists and turns, though I was spoiled a couple of plot points (you know which), those moments didn't lose their impact.

The dungeons were kinda disappointing, being mostly going from point A to point B, with branching paths every once in a while. There was a couple of dungeons that were pretty cool actually, like the Temple of the Ancients and the last dungeon, but other than those two, the rest are just forgettable.

The boss fights were all great and I didn't have much issue with any of them, and they all had pretty cool designs, especially nearing the end of Part 2.
The final boss has to be the most stressed I've ever been while playing a video game.

Definitely glad I've played this game and it is certainly a must-play.

I'm glad I took the time to pick it up, as I really enjoyed its enemy oriented platforming.

Klonoa's gimmick is simple, you pick up enemies to use them in platforming and combat problems. You don't jump on heads, you don't dash, all you've got is a jump button with a slim hover and a grab button. It isn't a long game but manipulating enemies never got felt boring or creatively bankrupt in creating challenges.

The titular Klonoa's design is alright, it's cool for 97' but like most things of that year it's a bit extra although not bad by any means. Environment design and art is cool, both gameplay and art wise. Antagonist and his sidekick are hella cool though, and their narrative helps build them a lot, especially Ghadius with his sick cape.
Some scenes like the attack on the village and the farewell were shockingly heavy, it got no right to draw a tear from me.

I don't know why didn't I hear about Klonoa earlier. Boy I surely hope that this loveable mascot didn't get milked to death.

This is my 2nd Play-through. I had a great memory with VH and wanted to try it again.

The presentation is nice. The game isn't technically complex or anything yet the art style is well done. Music gets the job done with a few standout pieces. The textures are a bit low res and that shows at close-up shots but I can't call it as a detractor.

For the most part it's a sidescrolling puzzler. Puzzles are run-of-the-mill and could get slightly repetitive and serve as mere downtime. The main focus is on the interlaced stories of our 4 characters and the presentation of how grueling WWI was and how it is a stain in humanity's collective rap-sheet.

While there's 4 playable characters (Not counting walther the good dog), but honestly Karl and Emile are the protagonists, while Freddie and Anna are more side characters with a spotlight.
The setting and character motivations are well presented, and while there are some leaps in the plot it is well-rounded by the end, especially That speech.

In all fairness, this title is geared towards a younger audience, however if you're interested it is a good title that doesn't take long to finish. Also works as a good palate cleanser.

Has some of the best set pieces I have ever seen in a JRPG, or in an FF game. The opera house segment was really unexpected, and Zozo is one of the most memorable areas ever.
I felt the game lose a bit of steam near the end of the first half, especially since I got my ass beat up badly in the Flying Continent, but the second half is where the game really shines.
Having a plethora of side quests and extra playable characters that you can get in any order (mostly) is a breath of fresh air from previous FF titles.
The gameplay was top-notch and a significant step-up from FFV.
My only gripe is that I had to grind a lot for some characters before I attempted the final area, but I guess that just comes with the territory.
The final area is bonkers all the way through, although I spent a solid 10 minutes fighting one of the bosses because of a poorly balanced party.
The final boss was really challenging and I died a couple of times, and I placed the party in the wrong way and had to fight the final final boss with a joke of a party, although they got through just fine.
A JRPG for the ages.