Chowder
2007
Imported from my Backloggery: (Beaten on Normal)
What a blast this game was to play! Although ME had combat that felt floaty, playing on a lower difficulty alleviated this problem. What works so well is the pacing of the main story. Every time you touch down on a new planet, a 1-3 hour story plays out, which has an engaging beginning middle and end, which feeds into the main story. It's an excellent way to keep you constantly engaged. I also liked getting attached to characters in your party, I just wish they expanded on that part more.
What a blast this game was to play! Although ME had combat that felt floaty, playing on a lower difficulty alleviated this problem. What works so well is the pacing of the main story. Every time you touch down on a new planet, a 1-3 hour story plays out, which has an engaging beginning middle and end, which feeds into the main story. It's an excellent way to keep you constantly engaged. I also liked getting attached to characters in your party, I just wish they expanded on that part more.
2017
Imported from my Backloggery:
This game is definitely my favorite of 2017. Though it may not be for everyone, the gameplay is simple and tight, yet surprisingly deep and challenging. On the story end, all of the characters are lovable and well designed. Though there is conflict in the plot, it never gets so caught up in the negative to ever stop being pleasant and lighthearted. My only issues are the poor combat animations and the sometimes generic art style. This game never stops being pleasant and happy.
This game is definitely my favorite of 2017. Though it may not be for everyone, the gameplay is simple and tight, yet surprisingly deep and challenging. On the story end, all of the characters are lovable and well designed. Though there is conflict in the plot, it never gets so caught up in the negative to ever stop being pleasant and lighthearted. My only issues are the poor combat animations and the sometimes generic art style. This game never stops being pleasant and happy.
2018
Imported from my Backloggery
I was shocked to see how hard this game ended up hitting me. I cried in the opening sequence, and was emotionally moved throughout. The platforming, although basic, is elegantly simple and easy to get through. The music and art make this game feel so incredibly emotional, it's hard to describe. So many of the moments hit their emotional beats, and it just made me enjoy it so much. It's pure catharsis in game form.
I was shocked to see how hard this game ended up hitting me. I cried in the opening sequence, and was emotionally moved throughout. The platforming, although basic, is elegantly simple and easy to get through. The music and art make this game feel so incredibly emotional, it's hard to describe. So many of the moments hit their emotional beats, and it just made me enjoy it so much. It's pure catharsis in game form.
Imported from my Backloggery:
Crown of the Sunken King was definitely the best of the DLCs, and possibly the best part of DS2. Toward the beginning of the DLC, I loved the Zelda style switches that you had to hit with bows or swords. I loved all the bosses, Elana was my favorite gank fight of the whole series. It wasn't too hard and was never unfair. Just a great time save a few areas.
Crown of the Sunken King was definitely the best of the DLCs, and possibly the best part of DS2. Toward the beginning of the DLC, I loved the Zelda style switches that you had to hit with bows or swords. I loved all the bosses, Elana was my favorite gank fight of the whole series. It wasn't too hard and was never unfair. Just a great time save a few areas.
2019
Imported from my Backloggery:
This one was a tough one to rate due to the fact that I didn't really love playing a large portion of this game, a lot of the puzzles just turned out to be a little too hard for me, but I persevered and pushed through. That being said a lot of the puzzles were so satisfying to me. The story was also incredible, It got me thinking about human's place on the earth in a way I never thought I would. It's really well done, and I thought it was fantastic for that.
This one was a tough one to rate due to the fact that I didn't really love playing a large portion of this game, a lot of the puzzles just turned out to be a little too hard for me, but I persevered and pushed through. That being said a lot of the puzzles were so satisfying to me. The story was also incredible, It got me thinking about human's place on the earth in a way I never thought I would. It's really well done, and I thought it was fantastic for that.
2021
This review contains spoilers
Glad I didn't spend money on this one... It's a decent platformer with some moderately enjoyable combat sections, but there was nothing that truly grabbed me with this one. The story was alright, but it wasn't anything particularly special. There was one section (the gunk tower) that really stood out to me as beautiful and atmospheric, but I didn't get anything more out the game beyond that. The voice acting was decent even if it was a little spotty at times. The art direction was solid, even if it was pretty uncanny at times. I wish I had more to say than "eh... it was alright"
Imported from my Backloggery:
Despite having a great final boss (that granted may have too many fake out deaths) and some awesome lore, I didn't love Ashes of Ariandel as much as the rest of the game. The area leading up to the boss didn't really feel like an engaging area as much as a funnel to the boss fight with a few enemies. The enemies made an extremely loud sound that just got grating after a while, and enemy placements felt needlessly spammy and annoying. Still Souls though!
Despite having a great final boss (that granted may have too many fake out deaths) and some awesome lore, I didn't love Ashes of Ariandel as much as the rest of the game. The area leading up to the boss didn't really feel like an engaging area as much as a funnel to the boss fight with a few enemies. The enemies made an extremely loud sound that just got grating after a while, and enemy placements felt needlessly spammy and annoying. Still Souls though!
Imported from my Backloggery:
This DLC for TEW is kind of trash. It functions and is kind of fun for the first 10 mins or so, but it's just basic first person combat stretched out to 90+ minutes. This game was not meant to be first person, so the animations are clunky and the combat is dry. This one doesn't add to the story of the main game at all. Definitely worth skipping.
This DLC for TEW is kind of trash. It functions and is kind of fun for the first 10 mins or so, but it's just basic first person combat stretched out to 90+ minutes. This game was not meant to be first person, so the animations are clunky and the combat is dry. This one doesn't add to the story of the main game at all. Definitely worth skipping.
2019
Imported from my Backloggery:
Despite having a convoluted plot and absolutely ridiculous dialogue at points, Death Stranding delivers a narrative and experience that I will remember for years to come. There are so many themes, so many moving parts to the narrative that could be picked apart and analyzed infinitely. The choice of music in the game is phenomenal as well. The graphics and sound design, as well as the mechanics that supplement the walking make the gameplay meditative, enjoyable, and magical at points.
Despite having a convoluted plot and absolutely ridiculous dialogue at points, Death Stranding delivers a narrative and experience that I will remember for years to come. There are so many themes, so many moving parts to the narrative that could be picked apart and analyzed infinitely. The choice of music in the game is phenomenal as well. The graphics and sound design, as well as the mechanics that supplement the walking make the gameplay meditative, enjoyable, and magical at points.
2001
Imported from my Backloggery: (In Water Ending)
I enjoyed thinking about SH2 way more than I enjoyed playing it. There's a staggering amount of depth when it comes to atmosphere, visual design, storytelling, and much more. That being said, actually PLAYING the game was rough. The survival horror mechanics were rudimentary, and I had much less trouble in this game than SH1. I ended the game with 300+ pistol, 100+ shotgun, and 60+ rifle ammo. The game was stupidly easy. I was just never scared, which definitely dampened it for me.
I enjoyed thinking about SH2 way more than I enjoyed playing it. There's a staggering amount of depth when it comes to atmosphere, visual design, storytelling, and much more. That being said, actually PLAYING the game was rough. The survival horror mechanics were rudimentary, and I had much less trouble in this game than SH1. I ended the game with 300+ pistol, 100+ shotgun, and 60+ rifle ammo. The game was stupidly easy. I was just never scared, which definitely dampened it for me.
2016
Imported from my Backloggery:
Dark Souls 3 was a fantastic time, but nothing more than that. Compared to other entries in the Dark Souls series, I didn't have nearly as many 'woah' moments that really blew me away. That being said, the gameplay and combat is phenomenal, with so many options for you to use. It's crazy that I was able to tailor my build completely to my playstyle and have something that felt personalized and unique. The lore, atmosphere, and bosses were consistently awesome too.
Dark Souls 3 was a fantastic time, but nothing more than that. Compared to other entries in the Dark Souls series, I didn't have nearly as many 'woah' moments that really blew me away. That being said, the gameplay and combat is phenomenal, with so many options for you to use. It's crazy that I was able to tailor my build completely to my playstyle and have something that felt personalized and unique. The lore, atmosphere, and bosses were consistently awesome too.
SotN takes and blends both of the aesthetic elements of Castlevania and Dracula X to create an absolutely lovely atmosphere. The music was absolutely incredible start to end and pending time in the castle was an absolute delight beginning to end, I loved uncovering all of the secrets that the game had to offer. I love that the secrets also culminated into a wonderful twist that really tied the whole experience together for me. There were some things that really stuck out to me, however, that preventing me from loving it more than I do. My biggest complaint is the difficulty. Compared to earlier Castlevania games, I felt as though I never really had to apply myself or plan out my strategy in each room. Instead, I found myself running at things and avoiding damage when it was convenient. I think it's something that is inevitable when the game is so open-ended, but I would have loved to see some enemy designs that complimented Alucard's moveset better. Unfortunately, a lot of the bosses followed the same trend. I ended up beating the vast majority of the bosses on my first try, which led to most of them bleeding together for me, despite having incredible designs visually. Although the bosses are undertuned, I think the problem is more fundamental than that. A lot of the bosses have annoying attacks that are difficult and finnicky to reliably dodge. This led to me trying to just out damage the boss rather than actually engaging with it. I think SotN still holds up rather well, but I think there are definitely some games that improve and iterate upon the foundation that this game laid.
2014
Imported from my Backloggery:
This game is hard to pin down, because it's so close to being something good. The enemies are scary, and TGW nailed the atmosphere, but something is missing. The issues come up when it comes to progressing in the game. In order to progress, you are going to die. A lot. The trial and error design makes sure of that. Dying that much makes it a lot less scary. Story was cool but light. Didn't do enough with the concept. Unforgettable, but ended up leaving fairly middled. TEW2 could be much better.
This game is hard to pin down, because it's so close to being something good. The enemies are scary, and TGW nailed the atmosphere, but something is missing. The issues come up when it comes to progressing in the game. In order to progress, you are going to die. A lot. The trial and error design makes sure of that. Dying that much makes it a lot less scary. Story was cool but light. Didn't do enough with the concept. Unforgettable, but ended up leaving fairly middled. TEW2 could be much better.
2015
Imported from my Backloggery:
While SOMA didn't necessarily blow me away on the first playthrough, due to the unenjoyable monster encounters and well-tread thematic ground, SOMA has stuck with me longer than I really expected it to. Messing with machines and turning knobs was really fun, the amount of depth that is present in the writing, as well as the oppressive and hopeless atmosphere has haunted me for a while. Although the ending was undercut slightly by the post credits scene, the ending was still quite moving.
While SOMA didn't necessarily blow me away on the first playthrough, due to the unenjoyable monster encounters and well-tread thematic ground, SOMA has stuck with me longer than I really expected it to. Messing with machines and turning knobs was really fun, the amount of depth that is present in the writing, as well as the oppressive and hopeless atmosphere has haunted me for a while. Although the ending was undercut slightly by the post credits scene, the ending was still quite moving.
Abstract and deeply moving. In the short amount of time I had with the game, I found myself deeply moved in a way that made me feel heard. The level of abstraction in the art allowed for more relatability for me, and I very much appreciate that. After finishing it, I found myself laying on the floor for about 30 minutes just thinking. Also to whoever made this game, I hope you're doing okay <3