DNF

I picked it up because of my interest in trying a diablo game, 2 was the most recommended and resurrected is almost unanimously agreed on as the definitive way to play 2.

Yeah they remade the graphics to 3D models, but it feels uncanny due to multiple reasons.
One of them is that the new textures combined with 3D lighting decreases readability, not by much but dropped loot is the most affected by this. There's also performance hiccups that seem unjustified tbh, my rig is a bit dated but not enough to stutter in this game, but honestly this issue with other clues like the bloated game size gives off the impression that D2R isn't optimized or compressed well enough to justify this performance.

I recapped 1's plot to try and get invested in 2, but 2's plot seems more inconsequential, meaning no narrative incentive to keep going.

The game's loop was entertaining for the first few hours but exceeding double-digit hours it starts to strain, there's odd difficulty spikes, and some classes are affected way more by it. Side note: Blizzard killed off the capability to set up private servers because of a shitty excuse, so screw them.

It might be ok if you're playing on the switch, but dedicating free time to burn through it is not an attractive idea at all unless you already know what awaits you.

I didn't need anything out of Ori but to be a good palate cleanser, but I ended up enjoying one of the best games I've played this year.

Controlling Ori is a pleasant experience aside from a few blemishes. He's small and nimble and the sense of speed is an important aspect while playing a Metroid-esqe map like this one. My sole problem with controls is that Ori's analog movement is very sensitive by default and there's no adjustment option.

Map design is good overall with a variety of obstacles being thrown at you, with some hurdles requiring you to gain a specific ability before trying to tackle it; standard metroid stuff like I said.

The artistic aspects like sound, visuals, and narrative deserve to be praised. They could've done by with some cutesy Mario type story fluff, but then we wouldn't have the mood Ori excels at.
The narrative has dichotomies of Hope and despair, story beats like earned trust and empathy, and tropes of found family and sacrifice. It is so delicately inserted into the writing that I was moved to tears whenever a specific character's backstory was presented.

In short Ori is a great metroid-like platformer with fantastic art direction.

Jazzpunk isn't exactly played, you just go through it taking in everything.

Considering how it's literally jumping from one joke to another the entire playtime - and considering it's from 2014 - it does a pretty good job keeping things relatively fresh. Some of the gags are going to haunt me.

Some levels are better than others, but otherwise a solid experience overall.

I'll sound bitter and snobby talking about Eliza and its thought-provoking-&-ethics-exploring plot but jeez you guys sound like you never wondered why things are so or even read the news at all.

It doesn't serve any topic that hasn't been argued or highlighted to death in media. Data collection and selling, legally sanctioned invasion of privacy (with long contrived TOS cooked up by lawyers), the itemization of humans and their feelings and properties, reckless AI or consciousness manipulation research, and a few other things. This would've been commendable a decade or so ago, but this is just yesterday's news unless you're completely oblivious.

Art direction was mostly safe in character designs, their writing tries to add depth by casually hinting that a character is asexual/lesbian or a womanizer or an addict, but that doesn't do much to help. Story progression was too slow of a burn for me but that's slightly subjective.
UI design was pretty well done even in a diegetic sense honestly. There's no more praises I can recount.

TL;DR it could be a nice narrative if you have no idea about the dark side of the tech industry, but if you know the shtick there's nothing remarkable.

It's almost as if every time sleeping dogs is mentioned everyone recalls the setting and setup with nostalgia yet forget about everything that holds it down.

The story kicks off well, reaches some intermediate climaxes, and then it's a dry spell until the penultimate plot point. Characters are flat, almost every single one except for the MC, that doesn't mean Wei gets a nuanced development himself. You can think of him as a mishmash of a few police and detective tropes. You've got a dead family member, you've got a slowly failing moral code, a betrayal, a struggle with superiors and more. These come off as tropes picked from a carousel catered by IMDB tags.

Melee combat is that old AC or Arkham ordeal of "hit hit hit parry" rinsed for a dozen hours or so, gun play is mostly just a shooting gallery with wildly inaccurate weapons to try and prolong firefights.
Driving is abysmally stiff, I've pushed shopping carts that felt smoother than SD driving, I have to point it since they're so proud of it that they litter races all over the city.

Speaking of littering, you can estimate that a good 30% or more of playing time (if playing 100%) is just padding. Whether repeating missions or doing longer races or doing "cop jobs" that straight-up screws with the game's narrative. Discounting the water weight, this is simply a single digit campaign that's being stretched.

Also this definitive edition still has some very visible bugs, popping/disappearing NPCs, audio cutoff, clipping/catapulting.

Generally SD was an undercooked project, they had an amazing setting with a novel plot for its time that aged badly due to all the tacked on element that serve mostly to stretch it closer into being a GTA-clone.

Chulip is one of those peculiar titles that make you wonder how did they ever see the light of day, and this sentence has many sentiments behind it. If I'm trying to pitch it to someone I say "It's a game about kissing and poverty" just to throw them off

First, time has not been kind to Chulip. PCSX2 is your best bet to try this, and its localization is very rough. There are mistranslations, missing lines, and mangled contexts. This ends up making you lean more on the game manual which is just a guide that spoils many puzzles that are inherently unfair because of the translation issues. I wish there was a proper fan translation or restoration project.

Talking about Chulip is exhausting becase finishing it was, the game starts with a set pace and a very strong introduction but the more you dig in the drier it gets. Characters and events follow schedules similar to Shenmue as an example, so time burning is something to expect, and you'll find it in spades. I almost spent the last two hours of play on double speed and it still felt laborious.

But yet I was prepared for something like this. If you're looking for a fun time this is not your cuppa, but if you're willing to try a unique game with good artistic direction then by all means go ahead.

Maybe it was novel for its time, but it's a pixel indie game that speaks about mental illness and the shebang.

The basic gameplay loop is very repetitive and any added variety like the boss-ish enemies is honestly bad and arduous.

One major issue that negatively affects the subject matter is the art and scripting. Looking horribly silly at significant moments, an example is a huge monster appearing right next to the MC but between the appearance and the verbal response there's an odd two-second pause when the MC sprite just idles. Not to forget that the Pixel art clashes with the grounded visuals of the game, the game has very subpar readability.

Dialogue reads like it's written by a stoned dudebro who just logged off a COD lobby, the way that gameplay actions affects narrative is very esoteric, and honestly it's preposterous to ask someone to replay this mess 2-3 times to get multiple endings and a fuller picture when some endings tell way less than others.

Sound design was miles ahead of any other aspect, which makes sense since the dev made music before.

I understand that this is only one man's effort but there's simply too many fumbles for it to be even considered a decent experience.

The dude obviously likes silent hill, but this is a derivative and obsolete experience. Go play Signalis if you want a competent silent hill homage with a proper story.

There's a lot to say about it. A proper review would be a full blown essay IMO, so this will be a bit long yet only a brief overview.

I had taken issues with the game's pacing, I personally roamed a lot and a lot in earlier chapters and extending beyond what the game's narrative recognizes. I reach Rhodes or Saint Denis then only later does the story introduce each town implying that it's my first visit. This ludo-narrative dissonance occurred frequently in other elements like mission resulting bounties that I easily pay off, but the story still states that I ought to avoid that town etc...
This compounds with some filler missions that prolong some chapters way too long for its own good, which affected me with a degree of fatigue. Although if there was only one thing that made me soldier on through it, it would be the story.

Now this narrative easily walks and picks a prime pedestal in the hall of fame, a best of all time in media overall. The struggle against the misfortune carried by time and agents of chaos, how it gives at times a matter-of-fact and unceremonious resolutions, and all too human motives and actions. I binged some westerns to hype myself for the game beforehand but RDR easily beats most of them without a sweat.
The characters, some polar opposites and some similar, and with our beloved Arthur Morgan make a fantastic cast. It is not to be told but to be seen.

Sequences whether in missions or in free roam are some of Rockstar's best strengths, from early on to the very end.

Music is a blend of the best western music I've ever heard and then more.

What bothered me might not bother you, and even though I'm far from a completionist I went up and beyond to enjoy the minutiae that only a few studios can partake in the effort let alone pull off. RDR2 is a monument of gaming and that can't be disputed.

To be a good person under the threat of punishment.
Not the noblest of teachings.

A micro game about getting the last good boy points before your deadline, you do chores and reflect on wrongdoings you witnessed that will determine whether Krampus will spare you or not.
Felt like a missed opportunity not to have your own misdeed to think of and judge. The audio was pretty nice despite the generic ambient horror jingle, and the post-processing glitching was over baked.
It feels rushed because this was a game marathon submission, so there's that. Even though it'd be much better with a bit more work.

History repeats itself, and so does Ace Combat. I knew a generational leap was gonna be somewhat rough, but we emerged with some net positives despite being poorer than previous games.

It feels like an ace combat game with some changes. The first thing that felt off turned out to be the aircraft roll, planes with high mobility roll too quickly compared to its pitching which throws you off and required fiddling with the sensitivities and deadzones to balance out. Buying plans is back like AC2 but now you can also buy secondary weapons which brings a welcome variety to your standard gun and missiles.
A positive change is that the crosshairs are now clearer and with higher fidelity makes your Vulcan gun more effective and usable.
Better graphics came with strings attached, higher resolution helps dogfights as you can discern enemy positioning more quickly, but has the opposite effect on ground targets because it's a 2000s modern war game with muted colors.
Mission design is nothing new, on the contrary it regressed to being mostly get X points in Y time which gives credits to buy new planes and weapons. Special objectives are usually the 2nd half of missions after the point scoring.
Narrative took a strong hit compared to the jap AC3, now you just follow the narration of a young boy in some town that sometimes react to your missions instead of being a driving plot for your sorties.

To conclude, it is a jagged transition for the series, but it can definitely serve as a building block for later entries.

P.S. There are some issues with emulating it, if your CPU is strong enough use software acceleration for a smoother experience.