"Books are, without exception, factually inaccurate"
"Please, MysteryMonkey49 is my online name. You can just call me MysteryMonkey"
"Oh so the normal explosive ingredients then"

This game is a gem. Long no more than an hour, it's a mine full of incredibly quotable jokes. Now that all three cases are on Xbox Game Pass you MUST play it!

Short Review: the fact that I abandoned this game for Dishonored 1 and had a blast, understanding what a real stealth game is supposed to be, should tell you everything about this game.

Long review: Man, this game... I really wanted to like the new Assassin's Creed. I stepped away from the series due to its lack of stealth, which was its core element (plus the incredibly poorly written plots). So, upon the announcement of Assassin's Creed: Mirage, a game focused on stealth rather than combat, I was genuinely excited. The lower price indicated an attempt to offer a smaller title to capture attention.

Unfortunately, yet again, I recalled why Ubisoft games often have some of the worst stories. Assassin's Creed: Mirage immerses you in a character's tale, and then... things happen. You end up killing people with no attachment, no real connection (neither hate nor compassion for them—they're the most two-dimensional cardboard villains ever). I'm tired of repeating this, but the FIRST GAME OF THE SERIES was superior in every aspect of story (and if you ask me, gameplay too).

Assassin's Creed made me intensely curious about its world, the unfolding in the second, the past, and more. However, this latest iteration is just dull. The first game made me recall the name of every person I assassinated, their backgrounds, and the reasons why they were either bad or good under certain circumstances. But not now. Nowadays, Assassin's Creed simply showcases evil guys doing evil things for the sheer pleasure of being dark and edgy. Basim lacks charisma, lacks interest. The city becomes tedious to traverse, especially through areas patrolled by guards that inexplicably block only you, making travel between zones annoying.

The combat is some of the worst I've witnessed in a game. It's worth noting that the creators didn't intend to design a fighting mechanic that you're supposed to excel at. However, in multiple segments of the game, it somewhat forces you into combat, making it incredibly difficult for the player to avoid. Also, it's clunky. Very clunky controls, something I'm surprised about in 2023.

It's apparent that the foundation resembles a game more inclined towards 'let's fight,' akin to Valhalla, yet used in a stealth-based game that should be as precise as a clock. Please, just revisit (or experience for the first time) Dishonored 1 and 2.

Ubisoft is nowadays often (and rightly) reviled for its empty openworlds, filled with millions of collectible items that, in the end, produce no real effect on the player.

Blood Dragon comes out in 2013 and, ALREADY aware of this bad turn Ubisoft games were taking, it jokes about it, creating the perfect version of these games: a parody. Not a parody that completely destroys and insults its source of inspiration, but a parody that takes what works and repeats it, joking about it.

In Blood Dragon, players find themselves in a fairly small map, easily walked around by the very fast protagonist. This makes collecting collectibles fast, fun, and assufacient. Not enough? Collectables FINALLY unlock something useful for the game: weapon modifications, EXCELLENT weapon modifications.

The plot is obviously a parody of 80s movies, and here again I find myself loving it: the protagonist kills avalanches of enemies without turning it into a massacre, but simply like anyone who crushes Goombas in Super Mario. They are there to be killed in fun ways. And this allows for an almost relaxing gameplay, a power fantasy where you can feel invincible without too much difficulty, something missing in some "git gud" games.

Played on Xbox Series S, very short loads, graphically perfect, a marvel that I highly recommend.

Confession moment: the Zelda games I have finished can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Their structure, at least when I was younger, sometimes confused me and, a mix of not reading where I had to go and inexperience, made me abandon them.

Tunic stands as a Zelda-like game but with a twist that everyone knows by now: the game starts very much like the very first Zelda, but gives the player no objective, no instructions. Instructions are provided to the player with pages from a game manual of the game itself, a meta idea that really made me smile and created that sense of 'let me check the instruction booklet' in me that I haven't had in a long time. The game is fluid, fun and a real pleasure to explore, precisely because it doesn't tell the player much about what to do. The story, despite not having ONE line of dialogue, is perfectly expressed with the environment and the short videos, which never cut through the action.

The game is a treat for those who like to find hidden secrets that require pen and paper to find. Without making spoilers, you'll reach the end of the game wanting to find every secret and, as mentioned, you'll have to take notes to do so, much like FEZ players did at the time.

Absolutely recommended game to generate in everyone that sense of passion for discovery that few games give us anymore!

It doesn't make much sense to give this game a date, as I played it last year and it won me back again this year. Just perfect because of the way it's structured:

-easy to remember EVERY SINGLE card, so you never have that "wait, what happened?" moment. If you lose, you know why.
-always nice that you get more cards by improving your cards (Heartstone should learn...).
-perfect for any moment. In the bathroom? Snap! At work (on break or even while pretending to work)? Snap! While you have to wait for the bus? SNAP!

Simply THE phone game at the moment for me!

Calling this game gorgeous, charming, emotional and funny is not enough. People I know did not like the fact that gaming site called this "Mother-like", but what they don't understand that this game is not trying to be Mother: is made by people that loved the series (and Mother 3 especially), but also other games, and tried to make their own game from the passion that they had for this title. Inspiration is way different from copying guys, and if you play the game you feel it.

Some people I know also told me that it is boring, slow to set in motion. I can promise you, if you think it is boring at the beginning, it will always be boring for you. This game takes it time, wants to tell a story, wants you to read its dialogues. AND THEN also do really cool dungeons and fight bosses like I have not see for a long time in games like Zelda.

Finally, the art. EVERY character, every character is charming, with a little animation made only for him. There are people you don't even need to talk with that will be more interesting to look and talk to than the average "Nintendo seal of Quality" game. I'm serious, I can remember more characters from this game than from the last Zelda (and I loved the last Zelda).

So, yeah, try it. The only problem I had were with SOME fights in which it was hard to not smash the buttons in order to try to survive. But overall a great game!

I loved the game...until I got tired. Do you know the feeling? When things work and you are having fun in an open world doing side quests, but then you have to finish the main campaign and... you get bored? Unepic ending? Yeah, that. The world and lore behind is very nice, but you always feel like what you are seeing is "paper backgrounds", the idea that the world is beautiful until you don't get too close and notice that it's flat. Despite many people criticizing the combat I liked it, it's fast, funny and responsive if you are not a FPS-dude. The problem is the way too short main story. The side quest? The one that are interesting on a story prospective are too fast, and there waaaay too many side quests where you just have to do... stuff. Incredible that this is made by the same people of Witcher 3.
So yeah, cool game, very funny and fast paced if you rush it but little bit empty if you want to get really deep into it

Wow. Okay. It's hard for me to put into written words what this game has been for me. I clearly see a before and after for this game in my life, as for many Zelda BOTW or other titles have been.

RDR2 wasn't just a game for me: it was almost a life experience. Many gamers play competitive games online with their friends, accumulating hundreds of hours in a short time. It's always been different for me: I've always preferred singleplayer games and smaller, more completable objectives. I rarely completely complete an open-world game, and even more rarely play it that much.

I played RDR2 for 280 hours in plus or minus 7 months. Started prompted by a girl I was dating after years of procrastination, I decided to start it and quickly got into a fistfight with the character control system, stiff as a piece of leather left out in the sun. But when you take control of it, it becomes a bit like when you see an anime where they pilot a mecha and you wonder how they make it do so many things with only two controllers. RDR2 is the same: When you learn how to control walking, shooting, riding, everything becomes intuitive.

I've always hated side quests and collectible collections in the GTA series games. With RDR2 Rockstar once again didn't create much incentive in completing these challenges for players who want to get cool power-ups or things like that. On the contrary, it continues to tease you as usual with almost ridiculous rewards. But I didn't care: I caught every legendary fish, killed every legendary animal, found every fossil, every dreamcatcher, every cigarette sticker. Why? Why not? These activities would never have appealed to me normally, but in this game they become part of the world, a world that you feel part of, that you want to participate in, solve the problems, understand how it works. That doesn't happen often for me. It definitely didn't happen with GTA V (absolutely overrated game).

The story, without spoilers, is one of the most engaging things I've played. While predictable, Arthur Morgan's character has perhaps become one of my all-time favorites. Big, angry, but also kind and ready to help (in his own way). I know he can be played in more violent ways, but they don't make sense to me. The personal journey Arthur goes through is that of a character from books, from movies. It evolves before our eyes, especially if you take the time to play the game slowly.

The game world, with the fact that the quick journey is not immediately unlocked, pushes you to enjoy the scenery, relax, ride mindlessly. What I was saying before about forever changing how I see games is here: when I played Zelda BOTW years ago I liked it, but I didn't spend too much time exploring the world, I got bored. A few weeks ago I tried it again, preparing for the sequel, and the game looked completely different with my new eyes. I was no longer running toward objectives, no longer using only the bare minimum of weapons and items to survive. Within a couple of hours I was already a different player, observing what was around me, calculating how to kill enemies more efficiently, LIVING in that game world. Completely absurd and beautiful. Thank you Red Dead Redemption 2 for opening my eyes. I will remember you forever.