Dishonored 2, the ambitious sequel.
There are multiple high concept ideas explored throughout Dishonored 2. Many games would be content with only one.
There are the much talked about Clockwork and Stilton mansions. The formers level design is wonderfully confusing at first as it centres around altering the layout, it's up to the player how best to utilise the changing environment.
The latters timeshifting mechanic shines, letting the player jump between time periods and crucially having access to a window into the opposite. This sets the player up to exploit both enemies and the architecture.
In both instances it must have been a major development hurdle, not only functionally but to get it all working so seemlessly.
Level design generally is top notch.
Even more traditional levels throw curve balls like the Dust District which sets up two warring factions you will have to manouver between and potentially side with one or another.
Interweaving and multi-layered levels let you gradually build up a mental map and leave open multiple approaches. All wrapped up in the classic imsim tradition of internally consistent rulesets. The items on sale in the black market shops really are just sitting there and you instantly get the sense that there are ways behind the counter to literally steal them. Heavily context sensitive triggers exist but are largely shuned in favor of simply letting the player work within the playspace.
One moment that encapsulates this player driven problem solving was when I decided to try attaching a stun mine to a bloatfly and turned it into an effective drone.
Playstyles are enhanced by the games skill shop, by picking up runes scattered throughout levels you can spec into a variety of roles. It quickly became evident that I had no use for pistol upgrades (went for powers, stealth no kills playthrough) but it is clear there is a wealth of options if the player wants to mix things up and I look forward to trying a more combat focused approach. Even though I always aimed for no kills or detection I tried to not rely on save scumming too much and embraced "screw ups" as much as possible and this was rewarded with some dynamic events such as barging into a guard who discovered me, sending him tumbling over a railing as I snuck away from the scene of the crime.
Thankfully a "no power" run is contextually acknowledged by the game as you can pass up the Outsiders Mark. I can imagine this would be tough but satisfying as the player will have to rely more so on other elements like gadgets and distraction techniques, whether for stealth or offence. Just more playstyles on the table.
I was surprised how invested I got in the world of Dishonored 2. The art style is stunning and vividly, almost literally paints a harsh yet beautiful world. Details regarding power generation via wind and whale are very much felt but so are the more personal details like finding the workshop of the person who sculpted most of the statues you find throughout the Karnaca and of course one of the main antagonists (Jindosh) inventions are never very far away.
My only real issues being that of many guards operating in very small routes, a few more longer routes could really have put the player, especially those looking to go undetected under pressure to observe and learn their routes. Interrogation options are conspicuously absent which could have alleviated the need to find and read so many documents to find clues. Thankfully guards do seem to sometimes look for their strangely absent collegues but more often than not a perpetually knocked out guard will never be found. Non lethal options being practially identical to lethal is a bug bear with me and Dishonored 2 falls into this trap although at least there are options for longer activation time for sleep darts and you always have the option for attempting maximum avoidance anyway. Other than that there was a fairly frequent graphical glitch that caused green lights to flicker on screen.
In terms of the narrative, it really hinges on the machinations of the big players you are tasked with taking down one way or another and they do not dissappoint. Each has a unique personality and motivations, they are (mostly) mortal so operate under the same rules as any guard so taking them out can be done any which way. Narratively though there is always another approach beyond a kill which has far more steps, yet also provides more satisfying plot repercussions in my opinion. Still, a creative kill is just as valid.
I played as Corvo on this run. While he plays a fairly standard role of protector/saviour, he also has a more direct connection to Serkonos as he was born and brought up there. This sells the depth of the game world where it is clear how much exists outside the famous Dunwall. The fact that the plight of Karnaca which has been suffering under the new Duke is partly laid at the feet of Corvo and Emily was a nice touch. It adds an element of realism to the institutions and prevents Corvo and Emily coming off as squeky clean protagonists. I look forward to playing as Emily and seeing how things play out differently.
Overall I was thouroughly impressed by Dishonored 2. It combines rich level design and scenarios with sandbox player driven mechanics, all wrapped up in a compelling narrative and beautiful artsyle.

The movement mechanics save this from being a complete disaster. Although it's over stated how much the melee system adds to the combat given the finishers are context sensitive and are often fiddly to initiate especially if the enemy is on the ground. Still there are moments when diving around guns blazing pays off.
This game is inundated with spectacle nonesense. Slow walking plus QTE's makes Leons campaign especially painful and even if you liked the game it takes about 30/45 mins to really get going. RE4 took what, a minute?
Yes the QTE's are pervasive but so are the ultra boring set pieces. Running away from canned explosions or bosses is not exciting and I can't believe the gaming industry still thinks it is, this game came out over a decade ago and it doesn't feel all that antiquated when it should!
The core gameplay doesn't fair a whole lot better given the level design is content with linear corridors or basic arenas, gone are the intricate looping arenas and general well thought out level design of 4 and 5.
Enemies also tend not to provoke interesting uses of the movement, shooting and melee, instead being at best useless and at worst irritating grab type enemies.
Chris, Jake and Ada's campaign also have hitscan enemies which suck at the best of times let alone in an action orientated Resident Evil game where enemy manipulation is meant to be engaging, this is hampered when being peppered with machine guns constantly, the only refuge being in a broken cover system that requires you to aim to get into it which can and does cause accidental cover use.
Didn't even bother to finish Ada's campaign

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is perhaps the definition of a vibes game.
Just about everything is designed to give you the impression of a world born out of early 2000's japanese street culture/skater futurism. And in that way it is very easy to appreciate.
In another more mechanical sense however it feels very limiting. Don't get me wrong, there is satisfaction in stringing together a long combo in a way that can sometimes feel effortless. The problem though is that there simply isn't enough depth to push the game, really a high score is about all there is to reach for. I just wanted a bit more room for player expression. Each trick is a simple button press away, you can only grind on very specific parts of the map and that goes for wall rides as well. It gives the feeling of being funneled into very specific routes through levels which to me goes against the spirit of the games presentation and story which is all about pushing boundaries.
I understand that an EA Skate physics anything goes structure would be too ambitious for a team this size and that kind of granular control over moves isn't even necessary but it's still hard not to see the avenues for opening up ways to interact with the level design if even a little.
This isn't to say there aren't relatively tough challenges or ways to vary up your combos but even with boost tricks, working in slides/hitting cops and racking up multipliers you feel within range of the skill ceiling pretty quick.
Over all I still had a lot of fun, even occasionally being totally lost in the combo high to a fitting soundtrack but the greater potential not met is difficult to ignore.

An immidiately engaging shooter. Each stage provides a host of tempting side objectives that you will attempt the better you get. Many dislike the visual style but the voxel destruction is something that personally appeals to me and provides satisfying feedback to wiping out groups of enemies. Dying makes power ups drop which creates a tense scramble to regain your tools yet isn't as punishing as starting from scratch.
Further mastery opens up more and more of the game. Currently reached a 1cc of experienced mode (got bodied by the last boss).
The soundtrack is appropriately addrenaline fueled.
My only real issue is how alternative weapons are made available, a quicker skill based way of choosing a weapon would be preferrable to potentially waiting for the "right" weapon to appear. Perhaps they could all appear in a wheel selection and you have to dash and or shoot the one you want. I understand level space is at a premium so this solution could be difficult to implement, i'm just spit balling.
That being said each weapon (even the sword which seems to be fairly lacking compared to the others) has it's own pros/cons so even if you mainly stick to one, trying out another will present a potentially different playstyle.
Already one of my all time favourites.

The meeting of combat and exploration from their respective inspirations (DMC/Metroid) is where Vernal Edge shines but sometimes falters.

The combat mechanics are very well considered. You get the sense that each component can feed off another. Broadly there are three elements at play.
Melee attacks influenced by movement and modified by memories (perks essentially)
Magic.
Pulse mechanic.
How you combine each of these will determine the flow of combat and how much you get out of the action. For instance tagging an enemy with the Pulse sword (an elegant "lock on" system that will remain relevant no matter how good you get at the game) opens them up for pulse attacks but also magic attacks like projectiles that hone in on the tagged enemy. When your magic guage is recharging there is a memory that will increase the amount of pulse gained during this period. Memories facilitate playstyles more generally like becoming a glass cannon.
Then there is the way all of this can be chained together via your melee and movement options as a way to engage and style on enemies.
Breaking an enemies poise puts them in the vulnerable state, when this happens they will be knocked in the direction of your attack, usually this will be a means to juggle however if they impact another enemy it will remove a pip of poise from that enemy which can result in chains of vulnerable opponents. It's details like this that constantly influence fights resulting in ever shifting priorities.
It's a great system that fosters enemy management in a very intentional way with the broad aim of getting as many as possible in a vulnerable state, deal maximum damage and look cool while doing so.

The 2d nature of Vernal Edge also highlights an aspect in 3d counterparts that many familiar with the genre may recognise. That is, while playing 3d action games, sometimes you will find yourself manouvering the camera into a flat, 2d perspective anyway. This can also even be as a means to remove background enemies from view to disable them (off screen rule), at this point you could be forgiven for wondering what the point of the game being in 3d even is. Especially when combat is relegated to arenas which yes Vernal Edge also works in a similar way yet usually with much more relevant environments. 3d arenas are all too often empty and flat which has its reasons for being so but can also significantly add to the feeling that whatever exists outside of the player character and enemy is surplus to requirments.
This isn't to imply that a 3d action game is inherently bunk, of course there are tons of possibilities and decisions a player can or has to factor into play in a way which would be impossible in 2d, however it is also true that the perspective in games like Vernal Edge tend to lack this tension between framing and play which can feel like a burden has been lifted.

Exploration is the other side of the equation. The world is broken up into distinct levels (floating islands) and you are free to explore each one within the bounds of each phase of the story. The islands are not completely seperate however as some are connected via unreality portals, in fact some areas are only accessible through these portals. This provides an invisible web that is satisfying to piece together.
The sense of adventure and exploration benefits from this structure however the degree of freedom and limited guidance can come at a cost. If like me after exploring and platforming you were eager to engage in the action you may be left a little frustrated as the pacing grinds to a halt as you bounce back and forth from island to island looking for how to progress. To be clear I don't think this is as big an issue as others have made out given this structure is part of what gives Vernal Edge it's unique identity, it's just worth mentioning that it has downsides given how gripping the core combat is.

Actual traversal starts in a responsive manner and gradually opens up with more and more ways to alter movement, down to riding down slopes which brings with it a little bit of momentum and an exclusive attack. Getting around is a joy and there is a significant proportion of the game more or less dedicated to exploring through fairly challenging platforming and intricate puzzle solving, thankfully even sequence breaking can be felt on a first playthrough.
The way you get around can play a role in combat with the aforementioned slopes as well as wall running and platforms being tools to gain an edge in combat, no pun intended.

Most combat encounters happen in cordoned off arenas which is understandable. Many mix up encounters with differing elevations, platforms, slopes and occasional stage hazards.
However given how intricate the levels at large are it would have gone a long way if more combat encounters took place outside of a single screen, this could have let the traversal make a bigger impact during combat
Another by-product of this segmented approach to combat encounters is that going back through levels (something built into a metroidvania) is often uneventful. I found myself really missing combat in long stretches of empty exploration.
I will say it's a nice change of pace to have a game that doesn't over stay it's welcome in regards to its core gameplay, I take my hat off to the devs in this regard but I still wanted more, the greedy gamer that I am. Maybe some way to repeat previous encounters should have been an option, a memory perhaps. I'm at around 80% completion so maybe im missing something but at any rate i've played the game a lot and im running out of options to fight things on this save at least.
Regarding bosses, most are human sized and must be dealt with in a similar fashion to normal enemies. Of course they have their own quirks like teleporting etc to keep you on your toes. As much as I enjoyed fighting and experimenting with the bosses I also found that there was a pretty strong incentive to just charge attack them in order to break their poise as quick as possible. I'm glad that they can be juggled like any other enemy but perhaps if their poise gradually regenerated, (halted by non charge attacks) it would have pushed players away from playing it as simple and safe as they are at present.
Overall I found the difficulty for normal pretty much spot on, some challenging moments but I could always sense the fights end was within reach.

The plot is fairly straightforward but entirely appropriate for this type of game. You understand the motivation for Vernal to go on her quest, the important events in her past and the reasons that lead to the world being in the state that it is in, coincide with one another. Parts of the land have been thrust into the air in a chaotic manner, a traumitising event that leaves them drifting apart from the rest of the mainland. I found this lined up with Vernals life quite closely, she was left isolated after her mother died and her father left. This also understandably informs her personality.
Vernal is quite abbrassive yet this allows for her to change over the course of the game leading to a touching ending.
As I said the story works yet it was the presentation that left a stronger impression on me. Advanced technology/environments have a strange quality to them, to me a little reminicent of the designs of H.R. Gigir.
This contrasts with medieval towns and the psychadelic backdrops of Unreality. A throughline of calm yet distinctive music ties it altogether, broken only by combat that has suitably more upbeat music.

In summary I was very impressed by Vernal Edge. I can easily say i've enjoyed it more than recent action titles like HI FI Rush and Bayonetta 3. A few teething issues aside this is a confidently designed action, exploration title with it's own identity im eager to play more of.

Upon yet another replay of Ratchet & Clank i've come to realise that I've probably been a little too forgiving to R&C1. Don't get me wrong, this game still holds a special place in my heart and provides a lot of enjoyment through planet hopping in this hilariously cynical galaxy.
Given that, I have to be honest and say that, especially in the earlier parts of the game, combat encounters can veer too far towards simplicity. Even for a game aimed at a younger audience there was room for more engaging encounters.
As things stand the simple effective story, densly detailed worlds, banging soundtrack, interesting side objectives and gameplay appropriate satire all combine to create a great experience.
Also R&C1 continues to benefit greatly from what it lacks compared to the sequels. Limited to no strafing keeps gameplay varied.
Maybe not the full package I once thought but still a bombasticly paced title and still the best in the series.

While God of War benefits greatly from its level design eschewing segmented levels for a largely connected space, a camera that overwhelming frames the action clearly and some well designed puzzles for this type of game im afraid the actual combat isn't up to the task of being the bulk of play. Frankly there were no enemies I enjoyed fighting and there's plenty of mechanical decisions that prevented me from getting into any kind of flow. You are routinely forced to bait out multiple attacks in order to block/parry since there is no way to cancel out of a finisher. Dodging will tend to leave you far away from the fight with a long recovery which makes it largely pointless outside of enemy attacks that can't be blocked.
Enemies range from inofensive mobs that can be fun to inflict aoe/crowd control moves on, to frustrating excersizes in repeating a basic strategy against a bloated health bar with some boring QTEs thrown in for good measure. Most also have moves that can't be interrupted unlike your own finishers so there's a good chance that you will get hit if you do one. It's this strange mix of being a relatively fast action game with some oddly committed attacks, a combination that i'm sure can work but here it doesn't and maybe that's due to the possibility space being so small.
All this would be bad enough if the game didn't also present some segments where the gameplay possibilities are stripped back like rope and climbing segments, this wouldn't be so bad but they last too long and don't offer much engagement since once you learn the basics there's no curve balls to keep you on your toes.
Again there are some positives but the core action just isn't at the level it needs to be.

Why is this game a shooter?
I know Remedy, thats what they do (no reason you can't shake things up) and I admit im only a few hours in, could end up enjoying the game a lot more but at this point im not sure im willing to make that bet. The core game play feels self defeating and tired.
Sure im playing on PS4 so with a mouse and keyboard or controller gyro aim im sure I would be having a better experience but even in that case the game would still scream 'missed opportunity'. Aiming is so stiff I had to turn on increased bullet magnetism and while this does improve the flow of combat it's clear that this is going to be a slog of a game to get through, at least if Alan Wake is anything to go by. Although Alan Wake wasn't plagued by enemies armed with hit scan weapons. Also input lag and frame drops with larger enemy counts certainly doesn't help.
The presentation so far has been absolutely brilliant. The tone is effectively unnerving as you are dropped into this strange, dystopian office building in such a matter of fact way. You get to experience this nightmare of a facility first hand and even connect the information you read from documents with in game events in an effective manner.
There are some really stylish means of marrying some of the exposition with what the character is seeing and it's clear im starting to gush which makes it all the more disheartening when the game seems to bend over backwards to force you into playing an unremarkable third person shooter.
The gun I just picked up appears as some amalgamation of blocks held together by the sheer will of the developers to have you shoot things. I just accessed the levitation powers to pick up and throw objects which has some potential for out of the box combat yet it doesn't appear particularly noteworthy when compared to what I was doing over a decade ago in Half Life 2, Bioshock or probably a bunch of other games that took inspirartion from the Gravity Gun. Given the heavy lock on when using the ability I am doubtful for how creative you can even get with it.
This is the first time i've written extensively about a game I've only played a few hours but when I see potential in games held back by misguided ideas of what will keep a player engaged I get a little annoyed.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with shooters but i'd rather a game have a strong reason for being one. I'm not arguing for every game to have perfect harmony between gameplay and setting etc but with Control, combat simply feels arbitrary and sub par anyway, an own goal.
Spit balling now but make it first person, have you look around for clues, make the main game play revolve around puzzles and exploration and if you need enemies, make dealing with them in-direct or avoidance based.
I want to explore this setting and figure out what is going on, I don't want to play an ill fitting mediocre shooter in the mean time.
Perhaps i'll just turn on god mode and bypass all the pew pew.

Edit - I finished the game and my suspicions were mostly realised. Combat never became an outright negative but I became increasingly less interested in encounters as things went on. Shielded enemies promote a cycle of throwing debris till you're out of juice, shoot till the 'gun' overheats or whatever then repeat. They are also kind of docile and it's pretty evident how little they actually push you, that's mostly reserved for mini bosses.
Given you can always pick something up to throw there's a feeling that the mechanic had more room to expand upon other than holding R1 then release (explosives are the only place where you have to put any intentionality into the process). For example at one point in the game you come across a junk yard, and if the game was designed slightly differently this could feel like a unique situation, a power trip maybe but it's just the same as anywhere else.
Some new abilities and set pieces helped (Yes the ashtray maze is cathartic fun, not a revolution in level design as some make out given it's mostly style over substance, the music doing a lot of heavy lifting but it's still impressive and a great way to close out the game).
The standout again is the setting, backstory and creativity in presentation. The atmosphere built up is something i've never experienced elsewhere, it's extremely confident in how understated and there for unnerving it is. I particularly like the simple yet effective technique of overlaying real footage within the game, the effect never got old. I always wanted to read what was lying around and for me that's pretty rare for a game.
Control just like Alan Wake doesn't live up to it's potential.

There's a line in Alan Wake regarding how a story has to be paced just right. That events have to flow properly. I wish the actual design of the game reflected this idea.

There is a lot to like in Alan Wake. Namely the lighting and how it is put to use. There is effectively no HUD as the flashlight functions as a crosshair in a way that fits within the context of the game seemlessly. Checkpoints can come in the form of well lit areas and waypoints are represented as lights in the distance. These factors combine to give a strong sense of believability within the game world. As an aside this immersive quality is only strengthened by the connected geography of Bright Falls, I was under the impression this game was designed with completely seperate levels but this isn't strictly true as there are times where you can travel between areas that facilitate some of the games set pieces.

It's a shame that much of this good work can be undone when the game yanks the perspective from the player to show them an enemy or point of interest. This seems to happen consistently if enemies appear behind you but often it will happen when the camera already has them in frame. Sure getting hit out of nowhere from an off screen enemy is something the developers understandably want to avoid however there are better ways to set up encounters that give the player a multitude of ways to respond while retaining a semblence of scares and immersion. It just feels like a huge missed opportunity to have a game set in unnerving locations that has almost no tension during enemy encounters.
There does seem to be a missed opportunity in that all gameplay at night is accompanied by a lot of moonlight, it would have added some much needed variety and paranoia for a level to be in near pitch darkness.

The Taken are Alan Wakes main enemy type and you will get to know them far too well. There is a strategic element to gameplay where managing enemies that attempt to circle or rush you can be done through a variety of methods, all involving the use of light to slow, stun and eventually expose enemies for damage. I particularly found it enjoyable to block off enemies approaching from behind using a flare in order to focus on those in front or to try and funnel enemies into an area to use one of the more effective weapons like a flashbang or flare gun. Weapons have satisfying feedback, especially the revolver which has a distinctive crack when fired.
The problem being that there isn't enough depth in the mechanics or enemy variety to support the amount of combat thrown at you. There are no melee options, shotguns limited spread coupled with the high chance more than one enemy won't be susceptible to damage makes the rifle almost analogous to them. Location based hits dont seem to matter, shooting non exposed Taken is very rarely beneficial. The fact you have to wear down the enemies also seems like a mechanic suited to a shorter game, simply holding your light on an enemy hundreds of times is clearly going to be prone to becoming tedius. A few hours in you will mostly have it down yet you will be forced to go through very similar fights over and over and over again. This is what I meant at the beginning of this review. The ebb and flow just isn't there and I found myself becoming increasingly fatigued by the core gameplay.

Episode 2 was probably my low point in that there's a scenario which introduces the flare while relying on an npc to do damage as you have no weapon. Now granted I did use them too liberally but in my defense I wasn't entirely sure how they worked, whether they could outright kill a Taken, the fact that tapping R2 drops the flare and I had no foreknowledge an additional onslaught of Taken would be coming when I had to wait for an npc to open a door. To cut this short if you use up all the flares by the time the checkpoint triggers, if you die you will still be left with non and no way to re stock. This forced me to try in vain to stun lock the enemies for long enough with the flashlight to escape. Eventually I had to restart the entire chapter.
A counter argument to this is that this incentivises recourse management and it's true, I did take my ammo more seriously from this point on which is a positive however it's hard to see the value in having to repeat story segments which was the case in Ep2. It also doesn't feel like intentional design on the devs part. Thankfully I never had to repeat an episode again.

As convoluted as the story is I still found myself engaged by it for the most part. The biggest issues being the sometimes odd whiplash of tones but this often helps reinforce the shaky ground Alan finds himself in. It can be difficult to parse exactly what is going on. Small footholds are left in the form of manuscripts you find dotted around and these do a decent job of connecting the story to the game world, sometimes even foreshadowing events which gives a small taste of tension the game sorely needs. Alan himself delivers many of his lines in a grandiose fashion and has generally quite a grating personality. Alice whose disappearence is at the heart of the game is pleasant enough yet her character model and stiff animation give her an extreamly unnerving presence which makes it all the harder to care for what is ironically the most unnerving part of the game. Barry is much maligned and I understand why yet he comes through as having the most distinct personality and his loyalty that shines through his brash persona is actually fairly endearing. Seeing him wrapped in christmas lights is one of the more memorable parts of the game.
Cards on the table I'm not the best at analysing stories which probably shows but for what it's worth in the end I was more on board with Alan Wake than I expected even if I got pretty fatigued at all the "go from A to B and something goes wrong, repeat".

In summary Alan Wake has some genuinely good qualities, the lighting is still impressive, the combat has some worthwhile qualities and the story kept me intrigued but it's also poorly paced, with unneccesary hand holding wrapped up in a combat system and enemy roster better suited to a game half it's length.

Jak 2 feels like a strained attempt to continue a series that exhausted most of it's creativity and core concepts by the second game.

What we are left with is some enjoyable additions like weapon mods which can help alter combat in small ways yet the game still suffers from issues from 2 like enemies with hit scan weapons that force themselves into becoming a number one priority to kill/interrupt. These situations usually feel like a chaotic race to beat the clock ticking down to an unnavoidable hit. Generally though combat scenarios tend not to put the player under much pressure. I often felt like I had to go out of my way to keep combat interesting, depending on the type of game this can be a positive but Jak 3 has a fairly rigid mission design so I expect more compelling scenarios to keep me on my toes. I'm struggling to even recall all that many combat encounters and I only played it a few months ago.

The biggest departure from 2 comes in the form of the desert area and dune buggies. These vehichles range in combat and traversal abilities but all share a severe lack of traction and tendency to flip over making missions on a timer a frustrating crapshoot. These vehichles have their moments of satisfaction when you nail a difficult turn but the missions that put them to use which bookend the game are just an excercise in praying that your vehichle won't get out of control. It doesn't help that the enemy buggies spawn in such a transparent way, almost always coming directly at you in small groups which prevents the player from getting into any real flow while making dealing with the level design in such a precarious vehichle far too unpredictable.
This kind of vehichle game play undercuts what should have been one of the highlights of the game when you are tasked with bringing down a walker similar in appearence to Halo 3's scarab. This "boss" is impressive to behold as it makes it's way accross the desert however again, actually engaging with it is a nightmare. Hoping to god you manage to line up shots, not flip or get hit out of nowhere by bombs that it drops quickly drained my enthusiasm for the mission.

When it comes to difficulty Jak 3 is a lot more forgiving than 2 with more appropriate checkpoint placement and I didn't even use the healing ability (basically I initially started the game years ago and after a few hours stopped only to pick it back up again recently and forgot it was a feature). Still even without the healing ability the game rarely is all that challenging which makes the fact it can still manages to be so aggrivating all the more disappointing

The hover cars and parts of haven city are still present only in a more limited form. Gone are the dense traffic that frustrated many players. I for one understood the complaints but always enjoyed the way the hover cars handled and the joy of ducking and weaving through the city. Now it's a breeze to make your way around and frankly a little dull as a result. The lizard mount you get in the wasteland village is a poor substitute given how straightforward it controls and how little it is utilised in main missions. This feels typical of Jak 3, while it has smoothed some of the edges from 2, it also removed much of it's character.

Story wise the impression I got was that it was largely going through the motions. Jak and Daxter being expelled from the city isn't all that convincing and the central conflict is another contrived battle between factions, the metal heads surving and repopulating so easily makes the events of 2 retroactively less impactful and it again all stinks of the desire or need to re use assets from 2.
Jaks character also appears less defined than ever, at one point he utters "im beginning to like this war" and it made me question who he even is. I did however appreciate some of the twist and turns the story takes which I won't spoil.

I could go on and on but I'll cut it short. Jak 3 shares much of it's dna from the first two great games so of course there will be fun to be had but it also comes nowhere close to moving the series forward in any meaningful way.

I was set up to like Stray given my enjoyment of exploring certain highly detailed game worlds, particularly at night. In GTAV or any other open world Rockstar game I would often just wander around and see what's out there, the video game equivalent of urban exploration.

Stray doesn't have the scale of those games but what it does have is a highly detailed, cramped urban environment with enough unique personality and environmental story telling that kept me fairly engaged for the short run time.

The fundamental simplicity of the movement mechanics, while allowing for a laid back experience also puts a limit on the highs and lows of traversing this world. While there are failure states you can literally never miss a jump. I find this a bit dissappointing because a cat has the potential to be a very nimble vessel to explore a dense environment such as this. As it stands you more or less automatically manouver the cat through the environment, with precous few times where you have to put much thought into where to go.
Some games can justify simple movement mechanics because they may have other factors that feed off of them but with Stray you are rarely asked to combine movement with anything else in a taxing way.
I actually turned off the visual clue that tells you where you can jump to because I found myself looking at the button prompt more so than the actual areas. This led to a few moments where I jumped down instead of up yet overall its well worth the few small frustrations I had with it.

Thankfully the game does have enough set pieces, light puzzles and character interactions that help sell the world or ocassionally make you think of how to traverse an environment like in certain Zurk encounters.
Taking in this forgotten city and the strange ways its robotic populace attempt to immitate human society in a way that produces their own unique culture is endearing. This is a post apocalypse that definitely has its dark moments yet you get the sense many of the robots have managed to carve out a happy existence. Visually the game is absolutely stunning, it's approaching the detail of a game like The Last of Us Part 2 which is an amazing achievment given the size of this games development team. Rubbish litters the street, dense housing looms overhead, flourescent lighting bounces off surfaces and a thick fog contributes to an atmosphere of being in a claustrophobic urban setting and the mystery of it's current fate.

The main character so to speak is a highly convincing representation of a cat, from the way it moves and interacts with the environment and inhabitants never gets old. However the game never comes close to being a rigorous exploration of what it would be like to be a small, vulnerable creature in a dangerous place, Rain World this is not. Sure both games have diverging priorities but Rain World never has the jarring moment where you have to play along so to speak. While your companion B12 can communicate with the cat (how much the cat takes in is up for debate but still it clearly gets the broad strokes), there are stretches where both of you are not together and in these instances its hard to imagine a cat doing anything as directed or dangerous as you enact in Stray. Also going back to my issues with movement, if there was a sense of danger in platforming you would be pushed into imitating the actions of a cat more directly instead of just observing them. Theres simply not that harmony between gameplay and story or point A to B structure that could have took the game to a whole new level.

Overall the game still achieves a relaxing, intriguing experience with an entirely appropriate ending, I just wish it took the reins off the core gameplay.

Pathologic 2, the reimagining of the original game (I have heard there is no requirement to play the original first) walks the walk of dropping the player into a genuinely hostile and strange environment, one where every choice has it's own pros and cons, the selfless actions rarely yield valuable rewards like in many other games and if they do they tend not to be instant but delayed. This is not the typical heroic journey.
The survival mechanics along with an often bleak aesthetic and potentially dangerous populace combine to impart a feeling of stress, more or less from the start to finish and this keeps you highly focused on the task at hand, agonizing over who to spend your time on and what to risk or sacrifice.
While the setting and characters are far from straightforward, the game is not weird for the sake of it, the game will make more and more sense as you play through/replay but by the end you will have a fairly solid idea of what is going on even if you haven't figured absolutely everything out.
Unfortunately this melding of environmental design, mechanics and the overall themes/story of the game is sometimes let down by technical issues, frequently you will see floating characters in the distance and less frequently but even more immersion breaking are the T posing npc's, this was nowhere near a deal breaker for me but you may find it harder to look past these shortcomings.
Comparisons to other games are difficult but if you were drawn in to the world of Fallout New Vegas or STALKER and are up for a worthwhile challenge, give Pathologic 2 a go. You won't be able to do everything on your first playthrough, just try to make it to the end.