Picked the game up on a whim, and didn't really realize it was a sort of sequel to two other games To The Moon and Finding Paradise until a decent bit into the game.

I have played and finished To The Moon in the past, and it is very similar in style to that game. basically amounting to a RPG maker style looking fame with not that much actual gameplay, and the game itself serving as predominantly a vehicle to deliver their story.

The story itself is charming. There are some fun and personable characters you meet throughout the game, and the ultimate theme, finding meaning in one's life regardless of the looming death, is potent and heartfelt.

I'd say if you enjoyed this studios' previous games, then you will likely enjoy this one as well, and if you haven't played those, I'd recommend trying those first as there are multiple moments that would be greatly diminished if this was your first foray. Outside of that though, the games are pretty emotional games with pretty good music and a solid amount of whimsy. While I think the presentation can leave a bit to be desired at times, I think it's still worth experiencing if your in the mood for an emotional story.

Shin Megami Tensei V is, in some ways, some of the best the main line series has to offer. Some excellent animations add great individuality to the wide cast of demons while the combat system is about as fun as it's ever been. OST, while not quite as high as IV or IV: Apocalypse personally, still slaps and is generally pretty great. The switch to pseudo open area exploration vs the more condensed dungeon style is also interesting and something I hope they iterate on in future entries. That being said, the game also has a lot of warts.

Before moving forward, most of my issues with the game lie in the narrative. Many SMT fans I've discussed with have made claims like "The story/characters don't matter, it's all about dat gameplay." If you are like that, awesome, you'll likely like this game. The only other real issue I had was that some of the environments lack variety and feel kind of samey, but that's not a big deal and you can skip most of this review.

The story is, when boiled down to bullet points, actually pretty interesting. The conflict between warring divisions within the world as well as this seeming to be a pseudo sequel to an earlier SMT is very interesting. The issue comes in the execution. Pacing for the story is pretty atrocious with large periods of nothingness (for hours and hours) happening followed by a small bit of badly delivered story/exposition followed by again nothing but gameplay. The cast is, generally, incredibly unmemorable with little in the way of personality or intrigue. There is legitimately only one character that I can remember having any real development or character potrayal, yet even that is executed pretty poorly in a hamfisted and ultimately kind of uninteresting manner.

At no point was the plot driving me. I could not find myself to care about the main cast and found my main drive to go forward mostly to get new and fight bigger demons. That's about it. Which might be enough for some. Considering I finished it, I guess it was enough for me.

It's a fun time if you go in with the understanding that the game likely wont do much for you narratively and you're just in it for the gameplay. If you're expecting anything more (like anything on the level of some of Atlus' other games like P3/4/5, Devil Survivor, SMT 4/4A, etc), you might walk away a bit disappointed and not as connected to the game or the world as you were hoping.

Guardians of the Galaxy is an unabashedly goofy game. Lots of humor, a lot of it works and got a decent amount of very hearty, very audible laughs out of me. Sometimes it doesn't work as well, but even then, as our protagonist would say in one of his teambuilding hype up monologues, there's a lot of heart here in this cast of characters and the story they stumble their way through.

The cast is the real highlight here. The team dynamic in this game, as in the chemistry between the cast members and their growth over the course of the game, is portrayed wonderfully and really gives the impression of a, somewhat dysfunctional but ultimately loving, family battling the odds. It just works. Even in the more low key and downer moments, the characters and their VAs simply sell it spectacularly. It's easy to care about these characters and easy to see their perspectives throughout the story.

The gameplay is probably the most divisive aspect about the game from what I've seen myself. I personally like it. It's a light action rpg with an Uncharted approach to linear game design. I personally think the combat works quite well. It's not spectacular really, but chaining team commands is not only quite fun, but contributes to the selling of the team building aspect of the story. I think the gameplay and story actually come together quite well in a theming sense at this aspect. The base gameplay itself was always engaging for me, and I never really had an issue with it outside of a little too much repeated enemies and some uninspired designs such as enemies that look almost literally like just globs of jello.

All in all, I didn't have high expectations coming in, but I came out with one of the best games of the year, and arguably the best marvel game in recent memory. Eidos has convinced me, and I'll be here and ready if they ever make a sequel.