Airbear
2001
I love the mansion's atmosphere and the tone of this game, it's the perfect blend of spooky and cute. The gameplay did get repetitive, no thanks to the excessive amount of backtracking, which is why I'm glad the game was kept short. Neat ghost encounters kept it just varied enough that I did have fun. I especially liked the creative uses of lighting in the mirror and projection rooms.
Its pacing isn't as good as Uncharted 2 and the issues of Uncharted 1 appear more often. The story is messy and ends poorly but I like how it focused on Sully and Nate's relationship a lot. The set pieces in this game are the best yet which made it very memorable and pretty fun.
2017
This was a well written game with great characters. The gameplay was pretty weak but the story is the focus and it is definitely one that only works in this medium. You get to really live in and enjoy the small town setting while make many choices for the narrative. I just wish the ending didn't feel rushed.
One of the best paced games I've ever played. Everything is so much better than the first Uncharted here, and without changing its fundamentals. It constantly puts you in different circumstances that change up how you fight and navigate, making it so fun and memorable. Sometimes it does slip into the habits of the game before it, but not very often.
The exploration in this was great! The non-linear nature removed the challenge and hurt the dungeons though. The renting system is ruined by the difficulty a bit, and the dungeons, while still quite good, could have been top tier with more than one item used in them.
I really wanted to like this game. It had some great moments, but most of the time it was frustrating and repetitive. Gunplay took most of the gameplay time, which I might have been okay with if the enemies weren't bullet sponges, each encounter didn't feel almost the same, and they were broken up more often with other tasks. I know gameplay isn't what Uncharted is remembered for, and the other aspects of this game were good. I don't mind a game with uninteresting gameplay if those other aspects make up for it, but gameplay that's so frequently frustrating sours the whole experience.
2008
Mirror's Edge isn't a perfect game, but it's an incredibly thrilling and memorable one. The story will take you through all kinds of unique areas in the city containing awesome set pieces. Most areas are linear, and some are significantly slower paced than others, but there's often small shortcuts to find in them. These shortcuts are very important in the Time Trials mode, which is a great thing to keep you busy after completing the pretty short story. The storytelling in this game isn't great, but being a platformer I could enjoy the game just fine without caring about it.
I love how beautiful the game looks and how immersive it is. The only game I've played that has this level of immersion for me is Metroid Prime. Despite the occasion moment when you think something like "Why didn't she grab on to that ledge?", everything controls great and behaves as it should.
My biggest problem with Mirror's Edge is how the game design discourages you from stopping for enemy fights, but the level design frequently pushes you into segments hellbent on getting you to stop and fight like an FPS. But this doesn't stop me from loving the game, nor does the trial and error in Mirror's Edge. If you can look beyond the flaws, there's so much fun to be had. Give the game a try!
I love how beautiful the game looks and how immersive it is. The only game I've played that has this level of immersion for me is Metroid Prime. Despite the occasion moment when you think something like "Why didn't she grab on to that ledge?", everything controls great and behaves as it should.
My biggest problem with Mirror's Edge is how the game design discourages you from stopping for enemy fights, but the level design frequently pushes you into segments hellbent on getting you to stop and fight like an FPS. But this doesn't stop me from loving the game, nor does the trial and error in Mirror's Edge. If you can look beyond the flaws, there's so much fun to be had. Give the game a try!
2009
It can get a little repetitive but this is my favorite tower defense game. The difficulty curve was the biggest problem with it. Levels were either too easy or too hard, never something in-between and never lasted long enough.
2012
The art, animation, and music came together wonderfully to convey so many different emotions during this game's short run time, and the feeling of companionship through it all with a nameless stranger was so strong. The gameplay wasn't amazing, but the flight and sliding physics were fun so I didn't mind.
2016
I only played the campaign for this one, but it's one of the very best shooters I've ever played. It's masterfully paced and never gets dull with everything new it throws into the mix.
2019
Exceptional level design and awesome music! The story is interesting, though some of the big reveals fall flat. The dialogue choice system is in my mind the golden standard for such a thing, all choices feel equally viable for the character, feel impactful in the moment, and the interrupting mechanic is genius.
2022
This game had a lot of attention to detail which I liked. The world was very cool but I wanted more dense areas to explore. The story and lore was mostly standard Cyberpunk fare, but with some interesting ideas that were unfortunately not elaborated on enough and left me with questions. The ending was disappointing, it should have given more closure. I would love an epilogue DLC!
2018
Where this lacks interesting gameplay it absolutely makes up for with its story and characters. They are tremendous! The three main characters are some of my favorite fictional characters now, and the plot takes you for a ride.
2019
I liked how this game had a lot of lock and key progression and environment recontextualizing without relying too much on new items to do so. The mech idea was perfect for a metroidvania, especially of this length which ended before changing between modes could get repetitive.
2023
Feels like it was created by artists and not game designers. Excellent art style and sound design, uninteresting surface-level gameplay throughout with a hint of technical issues making it frustrating (could be from me playing on launch day though).