This was originally going to be a much different and longer review but looking back on it I don't think that it represents what I feel about this game anymore after sitting on it for a few weeks.

I don't like this game, I find it to be disgusting, malicious and most criminally boring. LAD8's story is repugnant and fundamentally betrays everything I love about the series' writing.
Memoirs of a Dragon and the Bucket List are one of the most evil and shameless game design choices I've ever seen, trying to actively pay homage to the prior entries while actively doing it way worse than it already had previously, I'm not much fond of Yakuza 0 either but that game actually put effort into celebrating the series and Kiryu's past.

I had my share of problems with Like A Dragon 7 as well, but for everything that game did wrong the writing remained top notch, having some of the best narrative and emotional highs of any game I've played prior. The majestic voice work of Kazuhiro Nakaya helping to create a perfect scene during the finale.
But LAD8 never reaches these heights, aside from Yamai and Tomizawa every character arc either feels completely rushed or filled with plot twists that lead nowhere.

However, there's still a lot to love about the game, some of the side content arguably being the series' best. Dondoko Island being a pastiche of Animal Crossing with the goal of building a Natural Paradise, a Legendary resort for people to fall back in love with nature! Yet the ultimate punchline is that the most effective way of going about this is by essentially rebuilding Kamurocho... Oops! There's also Miss Match, a natural evolution of the Chaturbate minigame from Yakuza 6, showcasing the gamification of human contract and relationships.
Even with all that aside, the reworked gameplay and job system has breathed a whole new life into the turn-based combat, actively promoting experimentation and to grow your bond with your party members, almost perfecting the system that was introduced with LAD7.
And to go along with the new and improved combat is the phenomenal OST which may possibly be one of RGG's very best, fiiled with tons of memorable tracks like Slugfest, BodyBag, Kooky, Barracuda, etc.

This review is probably more negative than I intended but It's just really unfortunate that for everything this game does right, I just can't bring myself to like it because of how much I despise the writing, some of Kiryu's best and coolest character moments are buried deep within this game yet I still don't feel like either this game or Gaiden justified not making Yakuza 6 Kiryu's final chapter when the series actively tries to fake Kiryu's death in every single entry.

Anyway, time for the actual review.

Breakdown is undoubtedly one of the most creative, innovative and coolest games I've ever played and seeing it being brushed off and forgotten due to when and where it came out is heartbreaking.
The gameplay is nothing short of fantastic, making you feel like a total badass all the while even the slightest amount of carelessness or arrogance will result in your death, the game managing to combine a fantastic story and setting in the process.

My only real critique would be that the auto-aim is often times janky and some encounters can be a bit frustrating, but those are heavily outweighed by all the positives, mastering and properly learning the combat will lead you to an unforgettable experience that is a must-play for anybody who's a fan of action games or rather video games as a medium and what they can be.

Warriors Orochi has always been a very interesting and peculiar little series.

What originally started as a humble crossover between the "final" ps2 warriors game to end off the generation, very quickly turned into another mainline Warriors franchise for Koei and turned into a celebration of not only Warriors but Koei Tecmo as a whole.

So here's how 4 differs from what came prior: It's still a celebration of the series but... it's more like... how do I say this? A celebration of what's bad about Warriors games and Koei Tecmo's cheapness?

Just utterly embarrassing.

Final Fantasy 16 at its core is a solid action game that tries to rival Asura's Wrath in terms of spectacle, Devil May Cry 5 in terms of style and Stranger of Paradise with its customizability. Yet at the end of the day it fails to surpass any of them and ends up being a poor imitation.

It's a game that's way more invested in being an MMO than an action game as most of your playtime will be wasted on doing meaningless fetch quests and any meaningful side content is drowned out with a whole swarm of awful side missions.

It's such a massive shame too, because this game had every opportunity to be phenomenal (if we ignore the blatant sexism).

When I initially played SuperHot a while back, I totally adored it.
The story, the gameplay, the presentation were all superb.

So when I found out there was a sequel that expands on the gameplay of the original, I was ecstatic.
But god help me this game loses all of the charm the original had and the sheer length of it only backfires on it, making it lose its novelty really quickly.

“Are you ready for your gameplay lessons?”
Ninja Gaiden Black gulps
God Hand breathes heavily
Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix nods nervously
Devil May Cry 5 sighs
“Yes, Samurai Warriors 2” they say in unison

As someone who generally isn't into Strategy games, Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening was a pleasant surprise and a game that I won't be forgetting anytime soon (and possibly my GOTY?? What??).

This is a game that is EXTREMELY hard to review for a few reasons, main ones being my inexperience with the genre and how expansive the game really is.

When you start a new game you're prompted with a few time periods and you have to chose which Clan you wish to start as in each one. This already by itself is extremely overwhelming, the sheer amount of options is daunting and for the most part you wouldn't know which one you'd like to start.

While the game recommends you to start with post Okehazama Nobunaga, I decided to start from the very beginning of his journey. The early game being extremely difficult due to constant invasions by neighboring clans and especially those of the Imagawa.
However with pure determination and understanding of history I held on until I managed to reach Okehazama. And I could not overexaggerate the sheer Hype and Excitement of that entire sequence playing out, constantly being on the edge of my seat as I fought for my life.

That being said, you don't have to only play by History! In fact your playthrough more than likely will deviate very heavily from it. But that's not a bad thing either, the game sometimes rewarding you for going your own route with hypothetical scenarios or your choices to not play by history resulting in a way more optimal path for unification (if you know what you're doing that is).

All of this is of course enhanced by the amazing art, visuals and soundtrack which perfectly suits every situation you're in, just every little thing comes together to provide a magnificent experience even during your most dire situations.

This game is nothing short of phenomenal and I urge anyone to give it a try, once you get over the initial learning curve, you're in for something great.