Bells
BACKER
2000
Despite its obtuse nature and rough edges, Lack of Love is a game that I think everyone should try at least once in their life.
Lack of Love is universal minimalist storytelling at its finest. Without any words, it conveys a beautiful story that captures the essence of life through its mechanics and striking imagery.
The world is frustrating, unforgiving and cruel. It never truly makes sense beyond its primitive, biological foundation. Despite it all, we grow and change through learning to understand said world and its inhabitants. Love is the key to this. The compassion we have for one another is what keeps it going. It's what keeps us all going.
The L.O.L. project demonstrates that without love, the world is an artificial paradise devoid of meaning and dignity. It's because of this that the project is a failure, and that the world as we knew it continues to live on.
After all, to live is to love.
Lack of Love is universal minimalist storytelling at its finest. Without any words, it conveys a beautiful story that captures the essence of life through its mechanics and striking imagery.
The world is frustrating, unforgiving and cruel. It never truly makes sense beyond its primitive, biological foundation. Despite it all, we grow and change through learning to understand said world and its inhabitants. Love is the key to this. The compassion we have for one another is what keeps it going. It's what keeps us all going.
The L.O.L. project demonstrates that without love, the world is an artificial paradise devoid of meaning and dignity. It's because of this that the project is a failure, and that the world as we knew it continues to live on.
After all, to live is to love.
Touhou 6: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil is the 1,000th game I've played.
And what could possibly be more fitting for this occasion than a game in a series I haven't played, in a genre I've almost never touched?
I don't really know what compelled me to give Touhou a shot. If I had to assume, it probably had something to do with the really cool box art and my friend pushing me to play it.
As for the game itself, I think it's really good actually. Dodging crazy bullet patterns while firing back with your own attacks is a very frenetic and intense gameplay loop that never fails to keep me invested.
This game is actually pretty damn hard too, which works perfectly since Touhou 6 has some pretty good replayability. There's two playable characters, and both of them have a bit of customization to add a bit of spice to them. Throw in some difficulties, a secret stage, and multiple endings, and you've got the complete package.
As for the visuals, I think they're super charming. They're definitely rough looking, but they have that same genuine, amateur vibe as Ryukishi07's work. The environments are really nice too, and they give the game this very dreamlike atmosphere.
When it comes to music, I mean, what do you want me to say? It's Touhou.
I genuinely had like no idea what was going on with this game's story. Not only was this because of the rough (albeit amusing) English translation, but this was my first Touhou game, so I was extra lost. I also didn't really know much about who the characters were, but the interactions they had between one another were pretty entertaining.
Overall, Touhou 6 is a pretty good ass game. You can play this on just about any PC to ever exist as well, so I totally recommend giving it a shot. You'll probably get mollywhopped, but it's a fun experience nonetheless.
"The moon tonight is red. You will know death."
And what could possibly be more fitting for this occasion than a game in a series I haven't played, in a genre I've almost never touched?
I don't really know what compelled me to give Touhou a shot. If I had to assume, it probably had something to do with the really cool box art and my friend pushing me to play it.
As for the game itself, I think it's really good actually. Dodging crazy bullet patterns while firing back with your own attacks is a very frenetic and intense gameplay loop that never fails to keep me invested.
This game is actually pretty damn hard too, which works perfectly since Touhou 6 has some pretty good replayability. There's two playable characters, and both of them have a bit of customization to add a bit of spice to them. Throw in some difficulties, a secret stage, and multiple endings, and you've got the complete package.
As for the visuals, I think they're super charming. They're definitely rough looking, but they have that same genuine, amateur vibe as Ryukishi07's work. The environments are really nice too, and they give the game this very dreamlike atmosphere.
When it comes to music, I mean, what do you want me to say? It's Touhou.
I genuinely had like no idea what was going on with this game's story. Not only was this because of the rough (albeit amusing) English translation, but this was my first Touhou game, so I was extra lost. I also didn't really know much about who the characters were, but the interactions they had between one another were pretty entertaining.
Overall, Touhou 6 is a pretty good ass game. You can play this on just about any PC to ever exist as well, so I totally recommend giving it a shot. You'll probably get mollywhopped, but it's a fun experience nonetheless.
"The moon tonight is red. You will know death."
This review contains spoilers
When I make reviews, I usually aim to talk about games I love rather than ones I hate. Today, however, is an exception.
F.E.A.R. 2 isn't just one of the worst sequels ever made, but it's one of the worst games ever made as well. It's honestly kind of comical how Monolith decided to pretty much abandon everything that made the first game good when making its sequel.
Those well designed levels that worked perfectly in conjunction with the AI? Gone.
The raw presentation of the first game with its closed, atmospheric, and industrial environments? How gunfights would rip rooms apart with their sheer amount of chaos? The incredible lighting? Gone.
Somehow they even made slow motion lame, something that I didn't even think was possible. Now it has an insane amount of VFX to the point where it honest to god just becomes nauseating.
The difficulty balancing is also a huge issue. With normal mode being too easy, and hard mode being too hard. This became insanely apparent to me in the mech section, where said mech jumps from being Death Megatron 9,000 to a fucking paperweight.
The horror aspect of this game is also just like hilariously bad. The game just turns orange and like every single post processing effect is turned to fifty million with absolutely no build up.
When playing this game, I really can't help but think that Monolith tried to make the most boring and homogenized game to ever exist. It's almost as if they realized that they had a winning formula in the first game and shot themselves in the foot with a SPAS-12 by going completely backwards.
I really could keep going on about stuff I hate in this game, but there's one last thing I wanted to talk about. If you've played the game, you probably already know what it is. If you haven't, don't worry, because I saved the worst for last.
In order to keep their game from being completely forgettable, Monolith decided to include a scene where the player gets sexually assaulted for nothing other than sheer shock value. Not only that, but they had the gall to include what is one of the worst lines I've ever heard in reference to it.
"You're like free pizza at an anime convention. She can smell you. And she wants to consume you."
F.E.A.R. 2 isn't just one of the worst sequels ever made, but it's one of the worst games ever made as well. It's honestly kind of comical how Monolith decided to pretty much abandon everything that made the first game good when making its sequel.
Those well designed levels that worked perfectly in conjunction with the AI? Gone.
The raw presentation of the first game with its closed, atmospheric, and industrial environments? How gunfights would rip rooms apart with their sheer amount of chaos? The incredible lighting? Gone.
Somehow they even made slow motion lame, something that I didn't even think was possible. Now it has an insane amount of VFX to the point where it honest to god just becomes nauseating.
The difficulty balancing is also a huge issue. With normal mode being too easy, and hard mode being too hard. This became insanely apparent to me in the mech section, where said mech jumps from being Death Megatron 9,000 to a fucking paperweight.
The horror aspect of this game is also just like hilariously bad. The game just turns orange and like every single post processing effect is turned to fifty million with absolutely no build up.
When playing this game, I really can't help but think that Monolith tried to make the most boring and homogenized game to ever exist. It's almost as if they realized that they had a winning formula in the first game and shot themselves in the foot with a SPAS-12 by going completely backwards.
I really could keep going on about stuff I hate in this game, but there's one last thing I wanted to talk about. If you've played the game, you probably already know what it is. If you haven't, don't worry, because I saved the worst for last.
In order to keep their game from being completely forgettable, Monolith decided to include a scene where the player gets sexually assaulted for nothing other than sheer shock value. Not only that, but they had the gall to include what is one of the worst lines I've ever heard in reference to it.
"You're like free pizza at an anime convention. She can smell you. And she wants to consume you."
You know, I honestly kind of hate the term "flawed masterpiece". It's extremely overused, and often times people don't even really use it correctly.
Truth be told, there's only one game I can confidently hand this fabled accolade to. Trails in the Sky SC.
Sky SC has an extremely strong foundation, beginning right after FC's devastating cliffhanger. And while the prologue to this game is extremely good, what ensuses after well... isn't. See, Sky SC might have one of the most repetitive and mind numbing first halves I've seen in a videogame. It almost entirely consists of investigating odd occurrences throughout Liberl, and finding out who's behind them. It's pretty cool the first like, two times, but it gets old really fucking fast. It's not without its pros though, as there's some really good sequences and character moments interspersed throughout the tedium. On top of that, you have consitent qualities such as the stellar world building, dialogue, combat, and music.
However, when you board The Glorious near the mid point of this game, EVERYTHING changes. Sky SC goes from being pretty okay, to literally being one of the best games ever made. The game kicks into high gear, and pays off everything both it and the previous game set up. At a certain beach scene I thought to myself "Yeah this might be one of the best scenes I've ever seen in a videogame." and then I went on to see this moment get trumped MULTIPLE TIMES during the final act of the game. All of this concludes with an ending that's just like... what the hell do you even want me to say? The back half of this game is legendary, and it blew me away in every aspect.
It's so easy for me to downtalk this game by talking about its first half, which admittedly isn't even as bad as I painted it out to be. However, I can just as easily prop this up as being one of the greatest games ever made by talking about its masterful back half. While I can't just ignore this game's issues, in the end I choose to love and embrace this game for everything it is and what it stands for.
"That's love and peace, baby."
Truth be told, there's only one game I can confidently hand this fabled accolade to. Trails in the Sky SC.
Sky SC has an extremely strong foundation, beginning right after FC's devastating cliffhanger. And while the prologue to this game is extremely good, what ensuses after well... isn't. See, Sky SC might have one of the most repetitive and mind numbing first halves I've seen in a videogame. It almost entirely consists of investigating odd occurrences throughout Liberl, and finding out who's behind them. It's pretty cool the first like, two times, but it gets old really fucking fast. It's not without its pros though, as there's some really good sequences and character moments interspersed throughout the tedium. On top of that, you have consitent qualities such as the stellar world building, dialogue, combat, and music.
However, when you board The Glorious near the mid point of this game, EVERYTHING changes. Sky SC goes from being pretty okay, to literally being one of the best games ever made. The game kicks into high gear, and pays off everything both it and the previous game set up. At a certain beach scene I thought to myself "Yeah this might be one of the best scenes I've ever seen in a videogame." and then I went on to see this moment get trumped MULTIPLE TIMES during the final act of the game. All of this concludes with an ending that's just like... what the hell do you even want me to say? The back half of this game is legendary, and it blew me away in every aspect.
It's so easy for me to downtalk this game by talking about its first half, which admittedly isn't even as bad as I painted it out to be. However, I can just as easily prop this up as being one of the greatest games ever made by talking about its masterful back half. While I can't just ignore this game's issues, in the end I choose to love and embrace this game for everything it is and what it stands for.
"That's love and peace, baby."
2004
On a random cold and stormy night, I on a whim decided to play Yume Nikki.
What ensued was one of the most unique and engrossing experiences I've had with a videogame in a long, long time.
There's no real apparent goal or meaning of Yume Nikki. It just tells you the basic mechanics of the game and lets you roam free. All you can really do is just... explore. There's no clear story, and as mentioned before the game is utterly aimless. It sounds boring, and at times it really can be.
But in a way, that's really special. To be able to just explore this nebulous dreamscape and feel it is what well, makes it "really special".
Yume Nikki is a game not meant to be understood by conventional means. Rather, its one that needs to be felt and experienced.
I ended that play session at 4 AM, and I definitely didn't see everything this game had offer. I knew I'd come back to Yume Nikki the next day, but until then I'd be whisked off into a sweet reverie of my own.
Edit: It's been a few months, this is one of my favorite games ever I think. I'll probably think about it for a really long time.
What ensued was one of the most unique and engrossing experiences I've had with a videogame in a long, long time.
There's no real apparent goal or meaning of Yume Nikki. It just tells you the basic mechanics of the game and lets you roam free. All you can really do is just... explore. There's no clear story, and as mentioned before the game is utterly aimless. It sounds boring, and at times it really can be.
But in a way, that's really special. To be able to just explore this nebulous dreamscape and feel it is what well, makes it "really special".
Yume Nikki is a game not meant to be understood by conventional means. Rather, its one that needs to be felt and experienced.
I ended that play session at 4 AM, and I definitely didn't see everything this game had offer. I knew I'd come back to Yume Nikki the next day, but until then I'd be whisked off into a sweet reverie of my own.
Edit: It's been a few months, this is one of my favorite games ever I think. I'll probably think about it for a really long time.
2022
The premise of ANNO: Mutationem was so cool that I simply couldn't pass up on playing it. I mean the prospect of anime cyberpunk crossing over with the SCP project is something just so... awesome, you know? That and the gorgeous HD 2D art style alone pretty much had me convinced I would end up loving this game. So how do I feel about it after beating it?
ANNO: Mutationem isn't without its shortcomings, not by a long shot. The story goes all over the place towards the end, the combat is janky as hell, and its a pretty buggy game sometimes.
Some of you who have played the game are probably surprised that I didn't mention how a pretty good amount of the game takes place underground. See, ANNO is a gorgeous game and that's no secret, but many people think that it shoots itself in the foot by having the game take place underground for a good amount of the runtime. This complaint really confuses me because well... I think that the game still looks REALLY good during those segments. There's so many interesting facilities and you also have that one mutant village and I'm honestly left wondering if me and those other people even played the same game.
If ANNO has one thing to trump it all though, it's heart. The characters are charming (and surprisingly well voice acted too), the world is oozing with style, the music is amazing, there's a Jill Stingray cameo, and the story is just so... cool.
ANNO: Mutationem is hyperactive stylized Shonen nonsense in its purest form, and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way.
ANNO: Mutationem isn't without its shortcomings, not by a long shot. The story goes all over the place towards the end, the combat is janky as hell, and its a pretty buggy game sometimes.
Some of you who have played the game are probably surprised that I didn't mention how a pretty good amount of the game takes place underground. See, ANNO is a gorgeous game and that's no secret, but many people think that it shoots itself in the foot by having the game take place underground for a good amount of the runtime. This complaint really confuses me because well... I think that the game still looks REALLY good during those segments. There's so many interesting facilities and you also have that one mutant village and I'm honestly left wondering if me and those other people even played the same game.
If ANNO has one thing to trump it all though, it's heart. The characters are charming (and surprisingly well voice acted too), the world is oozing with style, the music is amazing, there's a Jill Stingray cameo, and the story is just so... cool.
ANNO: Mutationem is hyperactive stylized Shonen nonsense in its purest form, and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way.
1988
Guys really live in apartments like this and don't see any issue