While i ended up finishing this one and one point was enjoying it fairly, it has a pretty bad story with bad writing.

Some of the set pieces are cool but it's impossible to not compare it to the Arkham Series, specially with the middle combat that is lacking a ton of the abilities that you get way too late into the campaign.

Only try if you have some friends to waste time with.

Cerebral, mind-bending, macabre, and thrilling are all words that describe Alan Wake 2 perfectly. A masterclass in survival-horror that doubles as the culmination of everything Remedy Entertainment has learned over its 20+ years in the games industry. Tensions are high throughout the entirety of the 20 hour runtime of Alan Wake 2, not only through combat, but through auditory cues, jump scares, changes in scenery, and striking shifts in color. Remedy utilizes all these tools to keep you on the edge of your seat while your heart pounds in your chest as you slightly turn your eyes from the screen in an attempt to reduce your anxiety. All of the best parts of Alan Wake 2 can be summed up in one word. Atmosphere.
Atmosphere is this games strongest aspect, and unlike other games of the same ilk that released this year such as Resident Evil 4 Remake and Dead Space, there is less combat here than you would expect. I found the majority of my playtime was spent piecing together the story, exploring the different locales and looking for collectibles, callbacks to other Remedy games, and hints at future events in the story or the greater Remedy Connected Universe rather than fighting Taken. That being said, combat is a delight in this game. Every encounter is important due to scarcity of ammo and other items, especially during boss fights, but I do wish there were more enemies to defeat. Graphically, this game astounded me at every cutscene and set-piece, and was enhanced by a robust and vivid color palette that truly nails the feeling of Autumn in a small rural town.
The story in Alan Wake 2 answers so many questions that players were left with after the first game’s ending, but tactfully introduces just as many (if not more) new questions and ideas into the fold. No spoilers, but I DO wish some of the new stuff that was introduced here was explained/explored more fully, as they really did a fantastic job of weaving new characters, plotlines, and genuinely intriguing concepts into the Remedy Connected Universe. If Alan Wake and Control are anything to go off of, I’m sure we can expect some DLC to tie up these loose ends before too long, and I am more than excited to return to this universe.

a medium defining epic, as paradigm shattering as the first non silent film

this isn't a "video game" as we've known them anymore, this is something else, and not something any other developer can replicate for the foreseeable future (they'd need 20+ years of IPs they could pull elements from to even get started)

a masterclass from sam lake and remedy, whom I hope are sleeping VERY WELL on beds made of money

Spiderman 2 is a game that if I'm being totally honest I wasn't super looking forward too. Let me explain, I've always held the thought that Insomniac made good games, but not great games. The OG spiderman was a fun game for sure, but at the end of the day the story was a little too inconsistent for me overall, and besides Doc Oc the bad guys didn't do much for me. I had avoided most trailers for this game thankfully, and I almost skipped buying the game day one.

However, I'm happy to report, not only did I really end up loving this game, I think it's pretty easily my favorite game Insomniac has made. This game is just more spiderman at it's core, something I see being hurled towards it as an insult a lot, but it's more than that to me. It's the best possible version of Spiderman one. The combat is more fun, the swinging and traversal is even better, and the biggest upgrade is in the story in my opinion. The opening few hours can be a little slower, but I was invested when Kraven made his first appearance and everything that followed in this game.

There's so many little easter eggs, and setup for possible future games/DLC in here, and it's clear Insomniac loves Spiderman with the love they've put into a lot of this game.

Also, the reports of bugs and crashes in this game is RAPANT, but funny enough, I had one bug the entire game, where the audio stopped working and a restart fixed. Not one crash otherwise. Perhaps I have a golden PS5, but nothing effected me here.

I think my biggest complaint with the game, is some of the pacing in the story seems almost a little TOO quick paced, and I will say I wished for a little more risk/consquence in the story especially with the ending. But overall, this was a fantastic game, one of the very best in a stacked year. Can't wait to see what they cook up next!

Spider-Man 2 is an absolute triumph and masterpiece for me in the world of gaming. It's a masterful amalgamation of various Spider-Man narratives, expertly woven together to create what I genuinely believe to be the quintessential Spider-Man story. This game is a finely tuned masterpiece, crafted with an abundance of love and soul. Even a week after completing it, I'm still captivated by its brilliance. Insomniac has gifted us a heartfelt love letter, and they've earned every ounce of our admiration. Spider-Man 1 was already a top-tier game for me, defying all expectations when I had lost hope in Spider-Man games. Spider-Man 2 takes that foundation and elevates it to unparalleled heights.

This game showcases my favorite portrayals of Peter and Miles. While the Spider-verse films deserve credit, these two characters shine brighter, move faster, and hit harder than any other medium. The abilities you acquire in this game are absolutely amazing. You can feel the impact of every punch and kick not only in your DualSense controller but coursing through your veins. Pinning enemies against walls and shattering their ribs with a flurry of kicks, hurling chains of lightning, or employing symbiote tendrils to lift a dozen foes into the air before slamming them down – it's addicting and seriously badass. The gameplay remains endlessly engaging, even when facing challenging foes. Not once did frustration overtake me despite dying more times than I can count. With each boss, I embraced the learning curve, meticulously dissecting their attacks and ultimately reveling in their defeat while hardly upgrading my health and damage.

Yet it's not just the gameplay that astounds; it's the story. In just under 20 hours, Spider-Man 2 delivers a rich, detailed narrative laden with lengthy, cinematic cutscenes. Each cutscene draws you in, akin to watching the perfect Spider-Man movie, evoking nostalgia and wonder. I never wanted this story to end. Without delving into spoilers, rest assured, the story caters to Spider-Man enthusiasts. If the first game left you less invested in the narrative, Spider-Man 2 won't drastically change that, as Insomniac tailored it to a specific audience. Peter, Miles, MJ, Harry, and other characters are faithfully and expertly written, making them arguably the best adaptations. Even a character like MJ, who was "okay" in the previous game, shines as a favorite adaptation in this installment. The overall narrative is exceptionally well-crafted, raising the bar for the MCU's portrayal of Spider-Man.

I also briefly need to discuss Venom without spoilers. I had high expectations, and this iteration did not disappoint. He is a formidable presence on screen, with a scale that dwarfs the Spider-Men, impressively bringing justice to the character. This version of Venom stands in stark contrast to the Tom Hardy version I've been familiarized with, making it difficult to appreciate the latter. The distinction in design, personality, and sheer raw power is remarkable. And with Venom in the picture, I absolutely must mention the symbiote in general. Avoiding spoilers, this game excels in portraying Peter Parker's gradual descent into aggression, jealousy, and hatred, outshining Maguire's version in Spider-Man 3 without any close contest. Yuri Lowenthal's performance as Peter's darker side is nothing short of exceptional, further solidifying him as my favorite voice actor.

Spider-Man 2 doesn't stop at fantastic gameplay and storytelling. It boasts an electrifying soundtrack, particularly the main theme, jaw-dropping setpieces, and an exceptional traversal system that outshines all previous Spider-Man games. The web wings in particular pleasantly surprised me, as I initially had low expectations for this mechanic and expected something half-baked. I found myself frequently using it while swinging through New York, more-so than I'd like to admit, and it definitely added a huge new layer of fun to the experience.

Insomniac Games has created what might be my favorite gameplay in any video game with Spider-Man 2's combat and web swinging. Playing Ultimate Spider-Man after this will be a tough act to follow, but my gaming appetite will have to adapt. Earth-1048 represents the quintessential Spider-Man experience, and I'm immensely grateful for this top-tier celebration of my favorite superhero. Thank you, Insomniac Games, for delivering one of the finest games I've ever played.

This is genuinely the first time I’ve been excited for Halo Infinite in a long time. Not only are we getting new cosmetics and modes, but we’re also getting even more new maps, a new playlist soon, and PVE! I am so happy with that last one in particular, as I believe Infinite has the strongest gameplay in the entire series, so I really can’t wait to put some lead in the heads of the Banished!

Of course, this season isn’t perfect. Having CE Mark V locked behind a paywall is pretty lame if you ask me, and shop prices have raised once again annoyingly. But otherwise, consider me impressed. I’m genuinely excited to play Halo again!

Coming from "Untold Stories" I didn't know what to expect from Observation, No Code was able to masterfully craft a perfect atmosphere to what was one of the most unique experiences I had with gaming, but that game was a lot more "static" than Observation, most of the gameplay was akin to an adventure game, clicking on stuff and typing on terminals.

Observation, has you controlling SAM, an A.I. controlling a space station that is misteriously teleported to the orbit of Saturn. While I found the story to be intrguing, i dont know if it pays off that well, the ending feels a bit non-sensical, but the journey is what matters, right?

Then in that case, the journey is a mix of more of that high quality atmosphere that we saw in Untold Stories, an intriguing mistery, high quality voice acting and unexpected ammounts of jank.
More than just a handfull of times character models glitched, clipped through walls, had their animation not match their location, teleport around a room and have overall unatural movements. For the most part they work fine but it happened enough times and agregiously enough that it took me out of the experience.
The gameplay, feels a lot more like busywork this time around too, instructions are not always clear, objectives are sometimes incoherent and feel a lot more like the game is just keeping you busy for the sake of it in order to extend gameplay time.

Don't get me wrong, I really like Observation, I love the atmosphere, I like the characters and impecable line delivery, I like the story beats that feel a lot like 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I mean A LOT.
but the GAME part of this game isnt as good as it could be, as Untold Stories was, so I find myself wanting to give this game a higher score but I can't because even if the positives outweight the negatives, there too much wrong for me to ignore it.

Observation is not a game for everyone, i think most people will be bored before its over or won't be interested enough to see it through.
But if you like Sci-fi or liked Stories Untold like me, definitivelly go for this, I bet it'll be worth your time.