This game exceeded even my highest expectations in almost every way.

I could talk about it for hours but as with Remake I don't think it's possible for me to do it justice, it's peak. I've spent over 200 hours with FF7 Rebirth now and I could easily jump back in for a 3rd playthrough today.

This game is such an achievement, and home to some of the most beautiful scenes, characters and music in memory. If the final part is able to do even half as many things as well as this does, then we're in for a phenomenal trilogy of games.

As an aside, getting the platinum for this was insanely fun and surprisingly easy ... until the last few combat simulations. It took me around 40 hours over 5 days to get them done. I am begging that part 3 is easier 🥹
Thanks for reading folks, hope you're all doing well!🙏

We've got our first contender for the most unintentionally genius game of the year. I knew I was in for peak when David Harbour stumbled across a magical talisman that teleported him to an eldritchian nightmare realm where the streets were always night and massive scum-covered flesh creatures were watching his every move, and he was like, "huh, now this is a predicament. Anyway, I have a mystery to solve!" And then proceeded to keep that exact air of extreme disinterest about discovering that cosmic, supernatural magic was a tangible, real part of his world for the next four hours.

To be clear, this game is a mess. While the environments are stunning and the sound design is top-notch, It's glitchy as hell, the combat is broken and feels awful to play, the dialogue is stilted and the puzzles are your pretty standard "wacky key" Resident Evil affairs. But there's just something about a scuffed game that lulls my bargain-bin-ass right in like a moth to a flame. Whether it's a bowl of soup in the background of a cutscene just freely stirring itself or one of the final bosses stopping mid-fighting me to reflect on his sins, this was some Grade-A jank.

If we're being real, probably best to wait for a sale or avoid it completely; it's not really worth your time. But my god, with the combination of two lead characters who seem to not give a single shit about being trapped in a Lovecraftian nightmare and combat where enemies will just walk through gunfire like your lobbing fruity pebbles at them, this whole thing is an essential one to play drunk with the homies.

Despite Splatoon 2 & 3 being more popular and slightly better games, I still hold a heavy amount of nostalgia for this game. I admire so much about it, from its characters, the lore, the smooth gameplay and the OST which is unironically fantastic. The dual screen gameplay is the best in the series, and I greatly prefer it over 2 and 3's controls. The game's playerbase is still active even though it's on a dead console, which goes to show how much of a classic this game is. I'm so glad this game's legacy lives on, and I'll always love this game until my dying breath.

Clearly made with care and does a very good job of putting a modern spin on one of the best games ever made. Personally I don't think the more sluggish movement and aiming is a great fit for an action game like RE4 and it did sour my experience throughout, though it did get a bit better as I got more accustomed to it. The smarter enemy AI and sparse ammo drops make for a very intense experience different from the relatively stress-free shooting gallery presented by the original but the lack of hitstun when shooting enemies did make the gunplay generally feel less satisfying. I feel like my issues with the game would've been greatly alleviated if I had just played on standard and I think whoever decided to describe hardcore mode as "the mode you should play if you played the original RE4 :)" should be seriously reprimanded since it is much more difficult than the original on professional and it led to a lot of frustration. Level design and boss fights feel improved from the original and I can't say I miss some of the skipped content like the lava room and U3. The bolt gun is a cool new addition and the enhanced melee system adds a great deal to the combat as well. The story is generally lacking the charm of the original but it's not offensively bad or anything and they do a much better job with Luis this time around at least. I suppose RE4make ended up being exactly what I wanted which is a similar experience to the original while being different enough that neither invalidates the other.