CtheIronblooded
2023
I might edit this and go more in-depth and detailed when I finish the game, but this is after about 25 hours of gameplay time and over halfway through the main story so I feel pretty confident in my opinions on the game right now.
The more I play Engage, the more I enjoy it and I honestly just don't understand the hate at all, this is not even close to being the worst FE title let alone the worst game ever in general. Even the story is nowhere near as bad or offensive as people make it out to be, it's just very dated and simplistic.
If you can get past the extremely flamboyant, V-tuber, modern anime character designs (Personally I like a lot of them as they're very vibrant and colorful, but I get why they're not everyone's cup of tea), this is the most "classic" feeling Fire Emblem game post-Awakening with the most polished and arguably the best gameplay the series has ever had.
I'm very happy to see the iconic weapons triangle return and I love the new additions with the break and smash mechanics and of course the whole gimmick of Engaging with Emblems which you'd think would be overly OP, but since the entire game was designed around it and even enemies can Engage as well it is pretty well balanced and the game will really give you a challenge even on normal, but the one thing I honestly do miss is weapon durability.
I think a lot of the disappointment just comes from people who were expecting this game to be like 3H and don't get me wrong, I love 3H, it's great in its own way, but it is a Persona game in disguise with a Langrisser combat system. Nearly nothing about that game feels like Fire Emblem. It was a cool experiment, but I wouldn't want every future Fire Emblem to be like that and I'm very happy Engage actually feels like a real Fire Emblem game.
Engage feels like a true love letter to the series past (Which makes sense considering it is an anniversary title), I especially see so much influence and inspiration from the GBA titles everything from the animations to the over-world map making a return to the stripped down and more simplistic support events (Note: Most of the characters don't have a lot of depth, but I still find them likable and charming enough, however Alear is the best protagonist Fire Emblem has had in years) and even the very old-school 90s-like narrative with a classic tale of good vs evil, a band of heroes traveling around various kingdoms to collect magical artifacts to stop an evil dragon complete with a very campy 4Kids sounding Saturday morning cartoon dub and that really makes me feel nostalgic.
Also want to mention how much I love the side mission Paralogues which let you re-live iconic battles and maps from the classic games even with remixes of that game's music as well.
I also want to say that I am not a fan of the Somniel. Glad they cut down the Monastery-like content (Despite actually enjoying it in 3H for the most part), but I would've been happier if they removed it all together because while raising the Guardian Spirit, adopting animals, working out and eating meals with your friends are all cute side activities they feel like inconsequential fluff that could easily be skipped entirely if you wanted to and I think it was developed like that on purpose due to the criticisms of many people saying the Monastery parts of Three Houses went on for too long. The main thing that your base offers which is mandatory is the shops and smithy where you can buy new equipment and upgrade it.
One last thing to note, the animations and cut-scenes are very smooth and look better than ever thanks to the improved graphical fidelity and I haven't had a problem with the performance overall yet which is a miracle considering most newer games run horribly on the Switch.
Overall if you got into the series with 3H or 3H is your favorite in the series you'll probably be disappointed because Engage is nothing like it and in a way kind of dated, but if you've been a long-time fan and prefer old-school FE compared to the more modern titles I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and satisfied with Engage.
The more I play Engage, the more I enjoy it and I honestly just don't understand the hate at all, this is not even close to being the worst FE title let alone the worst game ever in general. Even the story is nowhere near as bad or offensive as people make it out to be, it's just very dated and simplistic.
If you can get past the extremely flamboyant, V-tuber, modern anime character designs (Personally I like a lot of them as they're very vibrant and colorful, but I get why they're not everyone's cup of tea), this is the most "classic" feeling Fire Emblem game post-Awakening with the most polished and arguably the best gameplay the series has ever had.
I'm very happy to see the iconic weapons triangle return and I love the new additions with the break and smash mechanics and of course the whole gimmick of Engaging with Emblems which you'd think would be overly OP, but since the entire game was designed around it and even enemies can Engage as well it is pretty well balanced and the game will really give you a challenge even on normal, but the one thing I honestly do miss is weapon durability.
I think a lot of the disappointment just comes from people who were expecting this game to be like 3H and don't get me wrong, I love 3H, it's great in its own way, but it is a Persona game in disguise with a Langrisser combat system. Nearly nothing about that game feels like Fire Emblem. It was a cool experiment, but I wouldn't want every future Fire Emblem to be like that and I'm very happy Engage actually feels like a real Fire Emblem game.
Engage feels like a true love letter to the series past (Which makes sense considering it is an anniversary title), I especially see so much influence and inspiration from the GBA titles everything from the animations to the over-world map making a return to the stripped down and more simplistic support events (Note: Most of the characters don't have a lot of depth, but I still find them likable and charming enough, however Alear is the best protagonist Fire Emblem has had in years) and even the very old-school 90s-like narrative with a classic tale of good vs evil, a band of heroes traveling around various kingdoms to collect magical artifacts to stop an evil dragon complete with a very campy 4Kids sounding Saturday morning cartoon dub and that really makes me feel nostalgic.
Also want to mention how much I love the side mission Paralogues which let you re-live iconic battles and maps from the classic games even with remixes of that game's music as well.
I also want to say that I am not a fan of the Somniel. Glad they cut down the Monastery-like content (Despite actually enjoying it in 3H for the most part), but I would've been happier if they removed it all together because while raising the Guardian Spirit, adopting animals, working out and eating meals with your friends are all cute side activities they feel like inconsequential fluff that could easily be skipped entirely if you wanted to and I think it was developed like that on purpose due to the criticisms of many people saying the Monastery parts of Three Houses went on for too long. The main thing that your base offers which is mandatory is the shops and smithy where you can buy new equipment and upgrade it.
One last thing to note, the animations and cut-scenes are very smooth and look better than ever thanks to the improved graphical fidelity and I haven't had a problem with the performance overall yet which is a miracle considering most newer games run horribly on the Switch.
Overall if you got into the series with 3H or 3H is your favorite in the series you'll probably be disappointed because Engage is nothing like it and in a way kind of dated, but if you've been a long-time fan and prefer old-school FE compared to the more modern titles I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and satisfied with Engage.
2022
Evil West is a video game first and foremost. Nowadays people tend to say that in a derogatory way, but I mean it with as much affection as I possibly can. Let's be honest, not every game has to be a major thought provoking art-piece or a genre-bending defining experience to be good, sometimes all you really want is an action packed adrenaline fueled thrill ride where your main objective is simply "fight and kill all the bad guys" and that is exactly what Evil West excels at, providing a good old classic linear action game experience that doesn't try to be anything more than what it is. A badass vampire hunting cowboy kicking a bunch of vampire ass and looking cool while doing it.
Evil West takes place in a steampunk style alternate historical setting of late 1800s USA following Jesse Rentier the heir to the Rentier Institute, a secret government organization dedicated to eradicating all evil creatures of the night (Imagine the Belmont clan if they were cowboys and funded by the government instead of the church). One day a rival vampire clan attacks the Rentier Institute both crippling the organization and putting Jesse's father in critical condition. Now Jesse is on a quest for revenge and to save his father's life.
I'll be honest, the narrative of Evil West is nothing amazing, it is full of cliches and twists you'll see coming a mile away, it's far from a compelling story, but that doesn't stop it from still being a super fun and entertaining one thanks to how over-the-top it is with incredible action set-pieces, visually stunning environments and a solid cast of eccentric characters Jesse meets on his journey who all have strong voice acting performances backing them. Jesse himself is also a very good protagonist who is the perfect blend of gruff badass and wise-cracking smartass. The whole game plays out like a campy edgy action movie from the 2000s giving me major vibes of Hugh Jackman's Van Helsing or maybe Priest. My only complaint is I found the ending to be a bit lackluster.
Now like I said, the story while entertaining is far from the selling point. This is not an overly cinematic game only having about 1 and a half hours of cut-scenes across its 15 hour campaign. Evil West is part of a dying breed being a hyper linear action game which is split up into a mission based structure and through those missions there are a handful of secrets to discover mostly to give more context into the world and lore, but also caches of money for weapons upgrades. However exploration is extremely limited and there are even very few puzzles spread out in the game so the bulk of your gameplay time is going to come solely from the combat in which you punch and shoot hordes of vampires in many stylish ways.
The combat feels like the devs took the base of God of War 2018 with the over-the-shoulder camera perspective and focus on a single melee weapon (Hell, some of the animations themselves even feel copy and pasted from GoW 2018 lol), but then they expanded it to incentivize chaining together stylish combos in a DMC-like manner. Your primary weapon is Jesse's vampire slaying electricity powered gauntlet and you'll be doing a lot of punching as this is much more of a melee focused combat system than a shooter (It just has lots of guns for secondary weapons) so in the early hours it might even feel a little repetitive, but as you play more the game slowly starts to naturally open up more as you level up with experience and get perk points which you can invest in the skill tree to unlock an arsenal of secondary weapons and powers for Jesse to use like a revolver, a rifle, a shotgun, grenades, an electric shockwave, a whip like grapple, a tornado (Yep, you read that right) and even a minigun among others. By the end of the game you have so many tools at your disposal to cause as much damage and carnage possible that the combat never gets boring or stale and you might even want to jump right into NG+ to experience it all again on a harder difficulty with all your powers unlocked from the start.
Evil West is a nostalgic throwback to a bygone era in the best way possible, feeling like a lost gem of the 360/PS3 days. A no frills attached linear action game that focuses first and foremost on giving the player a satisfyingly rich combat system that is fast, fluid and fun alongside waves of vampires to test their combat skills on. While the narrative itself is nothing to write home about, it at least does a good job of being thoroughly entertaining with great action packed cut-scenes, some memorable characters and visually striking locations thanks to a fantastic art style. Evil West might seem dated to some and it certainly won't be for everyone, but if you're like me and often hunger for that simpler time of gaming then much like blood to a vampire, Evil West will help satiate that thirst for those good old days.
Evil West takes place in a steampunk style alternate historical setting of late 1800s USA following Jesse Rentier the heir to the Rentier Institute, a secret government organization dedicated to eradicating all evil creatures of the night (Imagine the Belmont clan if they were cowboys and funded by the government instead of the church). One day a rival vampire clan attacks the Rentier Institute both crippling the organization and putting Jesse's father in critical condition. Now Jesse is on a quest for revenge and to save his father's life.
I'll be honest, the narrative of Evil West is nothing amazing, it is full of cliches and twists you'll see coming a mile away, it's far from a compelling story, but that doesn't stop it from still being a super fun and entertaining one thanks to how over-the-top it is with incredible action set-pieces, visually stunning environments and a solid cast of eccentric characters Jesse meets on his journey who all have strong voice acting performances backing them. Jesse himself is also a very good protagonist who is the perfect blend of gruff badass and wise-cracking smartass. The whole game plays out like a campy edgy action movie from the 2000s giving me major vibes of Hugh Jackman's Van Helsing or maybe Priest. My only complaint is I found the ending to be a bit lackluster.
Now like I said, the story while entertaining is far from the selling point. This is not an overly cinematic game only having about 1 and a half hours of cut-scenes across its 15 hour campaign. Evil West is part of a dying breed being a hyper linear action game which is split up into a mission based structure and through those missions there are a handful of secrets to discover mostly to give more context into the world and lore, but also caches of money for weapons upgrades. However exploration is extremely limited and there are even very few puzzles spread out in the game so the bulk of your gameplay time is going to come solely from the combat in which you punch and shoot hordes of vampires in many stylish ways.
The combat feels like the devs took the base of God of War 2018 with the over-the-shoulder camera perspective and focus on a single melee weapon (Hell, some of the animations themselves even feel copy and pasted from GoW 2018 lol), but then they expanded it to incentivize chaining together stylish combos in a DMC-like manner. Your primary weapon is Jesse's vampire slaying electricity powered gauntlet and you'll be doing a lot of punching as this is much more of a melee focused combat system than a shooter (It just has lots of guns for secondary weapons) so in the early hours it might even feel a little repetitive, but as you play more the game slowly starts to naturally open up more as you level up with experience and get perk points which you can invest in the skill tree to unlock an arsenal of secondary weapons and powers for Jesse to use like a revolver, a rifle, a shotgun, grenades, an electric shockwave, a whip like grapple, a tornado (Yep, you read that right) and even a minigun among others. By the end of the game you have so many tools at your disposal to cause as much damage and carnage possible that the combat never gets boring or stale and you might even want to jump right into NG+ to experience it all again on a harder difficulty with all your powers unlocked from the start.
Evil West is a nostalgic throwback to a bygone era in the best way possible, feeling like a lost gem of the 360/PS3 days. A no frills attached linear action game that focuses first and foremost on giving the player a satisfyingly rich combat system that is fast, fluid and fun alongside waves of vampires to test their combat skills on. While the narrative itself is nothing to write home about, it at least does a good job of being thoroughly entertaining with great action packed cut-scenes, some memorable characters and visually striking locations thanks to a fantastic art style. Evil West might seem dated to some and it certainly won't be for everyone, but if you're like me and often hunger for that simpler time of gaming then much like blood to a vampire, Evil West will help satiate that thirst for those good old days.
2021
No More Heroes III is a game that many thought would never even come out, a proper mainline sequel over 10 years in the making and maybe I don't have the proper authority to say this because I just played the originals for the first time 2 weeks ago, but I think NMH III does a wonderful job of honoring the legacy of the franchise and was well worth the wait.
The story of NMH III has to be the most over-the-top and extravagant the series has seen to date. After the events of the previous NMH games Travis Touchdown has become the best and strongest assassin on Earth, so where's there to go now? If you said "space" you are correct. In NMH III we follow Travis Touchdown as he fights to protect Earth from the invasion of the alien warlord Jess Baptiste VI (Better known as FU to his friends) and his squad of criminals known as the "Galactic Superhero Corps". This story might not hit as hard as the existential and thought provoking themes of TSA or be as consistently thematically strong as the first NMH, but where it fails there it succeeds at being thoroughly entertaining and hilarious satire of the superhero genre from start to finish. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard while playing a game. There's just as many wacky twists and turns you'd expect from a writer of Suda51's stature to keep the narrative consistently fresh as well. All I can say is expect the unexpected when playing any Suda51 game because right when I think I've seen it all Suda never fails to find new and interesting ways to surprise me.
No More Heroes III sees a return to a classic 3rd person styled action game format not unlike the first two NMH games, but this time the combat feels faster, smoother and more fluid than ever. While the core is still quite simple in nature the combat now has some extra depth thanks to the added features from Travis Strikes Again like some Death Glove abilities (Ranging from a teleport dropkick straight out of Kamen Rider, a telekinetic grab and a time slow down) and jump attacks alongside the incredibly stylish visual presentation making this the most fun the combat has ever been in the series as far as I'm concerned. My two biggest minor complaints about the combat is how the kill move slot machine bonuses make a return, but most of the best ones from past games have been removed (Thankfully we get a new really cool Gundam-like henshin transformation mode though) and there being no new Beam Katanas to collect like in the first 2 games.
No More Heroes is one of the few series that I can think of that truly tries to make each and every boss character and their fights have just as much personality and charm as the main cast themselves and NMH III is no exception to that rule because Suda's signature charm and style shine through here more than ever. From a Tokusatsu style rock quarry battle to a Final Fantasy-esque turn based RPG and even literally playing MUSICAL CHAIRS every single boss fight has so much quirky charm to them that makes them super memorable, the fact there's a cut-scene between FU and the boss themselves hanging out before the fight also helps to humanize and flesh them out more. FU himself is also a fantastic antagonist who steals nearly every scene he's in. I would definitely rank some of these bosses right up there with the best NMH has to offer and I legitimately felt bad when I had to kill some of them.
I will say No More Heroes III is an amazing game in nearly every way, but it's not without its flaws. One major complaint I have is removing the actual level based/mission structure of going through areas and fighting waves of enemies until reaching the boss room. How they mitigated this was by making you do 3 mandatory fights before even being able to qualify to challenge the boss and these are essentially just kill rooms where you teleport somewhere and fight some enemies. The enemy variety is nice, but I do think a couple of them are poorly designed and break up the flow of combat. However since everything about the game is so stylish and nice to look at plus the combat being so much fun it never gets too repetitive, but I do still miss running down halls and exploring the levels because older No More Heroes games had some legitimately good level design, for all my problems with NMH II at least that game had actual levels. Unfortunately now it's just 3 different small square rooms with a handful of enemies in them before teleporting to the boss fights.
My other complaint is the side content (or lack there of I guess) and the open world. Glad the open world returned because I enjoyed it in the first NMH and found it a nice way of breaking up the non-stop combat. Not happy it returned with a more typical modern "checklist" gaming formula. Granted it is a small open world so there aren't too many checkmarks on the map to go to, but it is still a formula I am just tired of and I'm not a fan of the over abundance of collectibles either. There's very limited clothing customization options and you can't even go to the gym to work out and increase your stats like in the first NMH, but now instead there's a more RPG-esque stats system like in TSA (Loved it in TSA because it fit the "game within a game" narrative that game went for, but not a fan of it here) I did however really like the handful of Travis Strikes Again VN style side quests though, those were really cool. Also glad to see classic mini games like mowing the lawn and picking up trash back, but some of the new mini-games I didn't find to be as enjoyable as ones that were left out from the first NMH (They're all still vastly superior to NMH II mini-games though). While this may sound like a lot of flaws, these are all quite minor complaints for me in the grand-scheme of things and they don't detract too much from the overall game which I still think is quite amazing.
NMH III takes many of the best elements from all the past games and melds them together (Unfortunately leaving a few out that should've been included as well IMO) while wrapping it all up into a hilariously clever satirical superhero package alongside the best combat the series has seen to date and though I might not consider it the best NMH game for some personal reasons, it is certainly the definitive one which captures everything that makes NMH one of the most genuinely special, unique and creative series across the entire medium of gaming and it'll certainly be an experience that I think will leave the majority of NMH fans and Suda51 fans as a whole very satisfied.
The story of NMH III has to be the most over-the-top and extravagant the series has seen to date. After the events of the previous NMH games Travis Touchdown has become the best and strongest assassin on Earth, so where's there to go now? If you said "space" you are correct. In NMH III we follow Travis Touchdown as he fights to protect Earth from the invasion of the alien warlord Jess Baptiste VI (Better known as FU to his friends) and his squad of criminals known as the "Galactic Superhero Corps". This story might not hit as hard as the existential and thought provoking themes of TSA or be as consistently thematically strong as the first NMH, but where it fails there it succeeds at being thoroughly entertaining and hilarious satire of the superhero genre from start to finish. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard while playing a game. There's just as many wacky twists and turns you'd expect from a writer of Suda51's stature to keep the narrative consistently fresh as well. All I can say is expect the unexpected when playing any Suda51 game because right when I think I've seen it all Suda never fails to find new and interesting ways to surprise me.
No More Heroes III sees a return to a classic 3rd person styled action game format not unlike the first two NMH games, but this time the combat feels faster, smoother and more fluid than ever. While the core is still quite simple in nature the combat now has some extra depth thanks to the added features from Travis Strikes Again like some Death Glove abilities (Ranging from a teleport dropkick straight out of Kamen Rider, a telekinetic grab and a time slow down) and jump attacks alongside the incredibly stylish visual presentation making this the most fun the combat has ever been in the series as far as I'm concerned. My two biggest minor complaints about the combat is how the kill move slot machine bonuses make a return, but most of the best ones from past games have been removed (Thankfully we get a new really cool Gundam-like henshin transformation mode though) and there being no new Beam Katanas to collect like in the first 2 games.
No More Heroes is one of the few series that I can think of that truly tries to make each and every boss character and their fights have just as much personality and charm as the main cast themselves and NMH III is no exception to that rule because Suda's signature charm and style shine through here more than ever. From a Tokusatsu style rock quarry battle to a Final Fantasy-esque turn based RPG and even literally playing MUSICAL CHAIRS every single boss fight has so much quirky charm to them that makes them super memorable, the fact there's a cut-scene between FU and the boss themselves hanging out before the fight also helps to humanize and flesh them out more. FU himself is also a fantastic antagonist who steals nearly every scene he's in. I would definitely rank some of these bosses right up there with the best NMH has to offer and I legitimately felt bad when I had to kill some of them.
I will say No More Heroes III is an amazing game in nearly every way, but it's not without its flaws. One major complaint I have is removing the actual level based/mission structure of going through areas and fighting waves of enemies until reaching the boss room. How they mitigated this was by making you do 3 mandatory fights before even being able to qualify to challenge the boss and these are essentially just kill rooms where you teleport somewhere and fight some enemies. The enemy variety is nice, but I do think a couple of them are poorly designed and break up the flow of combat. However since everything about the game is so stylish and nice to look at plus the combat being so much fun it never gets too repetitive, but I do still miss running down halls and exploring the levels because older No More Heroes games had some legitimately good level design, for all my problems with NMH II at least that game had actual levels. Unfortunately now it's just 3 different small square rooms with a handful of enemies in them before teleporting to the boss fights.
My other complaint is the side content (or lack there of I guess) and the open world. Glad the open world returned because I enjoyed it in the first NMH and found it a nice way of breaking up the non-stop combat. Not happy it returned with a more typical modern "checklist" gaming formula. Granted it is a small open world so there aren't too many checkmarks on the map to go to, but it is still a formula I am just tired of and I'm not a fan of the over abundance of collectibles either. There's very limited clothing customization options and you can't even go to the gym to work out and increase your stats like in the first NMH, but now instead there's a more RPG-esque stats system like in TSA (Loved it in TSA because it fit the "game within a game" narrative that game went for, but not a fan of it here) I did however really like the handful of Travis Strikes Again VN style side quests though, those were really cool. Also glad to see classic mini games like mowing the lawn and picking up trash back, but some of the new mini-games I didn't find to be as enjoyable as ones that were left out from the first NMH (They're all still vastly superior to NMH II mini-games though). While this may sound like a lot of flaws, these are all quite minor complaints for me in the grand-scheme of things and they don't detract too much from the overall game which I still think is quite amazing.
NMH III takes many of the best elements from all the past games and melds them together (Unfortunately leaving a few out that should've been included as well IMO) while wrapping it all up into a hilariously clever satirical superhero package alongside the best combat the series has seen to date and though I might not consider it the best NMH game for some personal reasons, it is certainly the definitive one which captures everything that makes NMH one of the most genuinely special, unique and creative series across the entire medium of gaming and it'll certainly be an experience that I think will leave the majority of NMH fans and Suda51 fans as a whole very satisfied.
Travis Strikes Again is both a passionate love letter to indie games and a celebratory comprehensive look into Suda51's history as a game developer.
Let's get this out of the way first. I see people complain about the gameplay of Travis Strikes Again all the time and say it isn't fun and I could not disagree more, I was kept thoroughly entertained for my entire 15 hour run and I wasn't even playing it co-op either.
TSA is in a top-down isometric POV, but much like the older No More Heroes games it is a hack-n-slash where you have a classic light and heavy attack control scheme alongside a dodge as well, but now since there's a stronger emphasis on platforming you also have a jump button and there are skill chips you can find which act as various powers from a telekinetic grab to a lightning bolt and more. Yes it is repetitive, but No More Heroes always has been a repetitive game and TSA is meant to be so in a classic and simplistic arcade-like way and even then there's still a lot of variety and depth to it, even more so than first 2 No More Heroes games thanks to the new additions to combat.
In TSA we follow Badman the father of Badgirl as he goes to get revenge on Travis Touchdown for killing his daughter in the first game, but during their fight they both get sucked up into a cursed video game console called the "Death Drive" and learn that if they can find all 6 of the game cartridges known as "Death Balls" and complete them it is rumored that any one wish of your choosing can be granted and naturally Badman wants to wish his daughter back to life, so Travis and Badman set their differences aside and work together to strive towards this goal.
TSA has truly phenomenal presentation. The set-up of having various game worlds to go through leaves the game open for so many creative and experimental style mixups in truest Suda fashion that keeps the game fresh and fun. From a cyberpunk city to a Resident Evil style mansion, racing mini games to a level that is "under construction" in the Unreal Engine and even a major homage to one of Suda's other games, I never knew what was going to be in store for me when I loaded the next Death Ball world. That isn't even mentioning how in between Death Balls there's a Silver Case style ADV section (Which is a great way to break up the combat and gameplay so it doesn't get too repetitive) that shows how Travis gets each Death Ball and in this section he even gets to interact with many characters from past Suda games from Killer is Dead to the Silver Case and more.
Hidden within the meta comedic narrative of "a game within a game" Travis Strikes Again has so much introspective subtext about Suda51's own personal experience about how his vision as a creator has been mangled and twisted countless times by big name publishers and how for the first time in a long time Suda was able to go back to his roots and make a game that was completely in his own vision with TSA by developing it with a very small team of about 10 people in the same fashion an indie game would be developed.
Travis Strikes Again is a game that you can tell is very personal to Suda51 and it wasn't just made for the fans, but for himself too. This is a deep and often existential look into video game development itself. A work of art that is a celebration of art as well. The kind of experience that is meant to stick with you long after you put the controller down. It certainly won't be for everyone, but for the people who truly understand what makes this game as special as it is, you'll find very few games capable of matching how rich the character writing, story, themes and aesthetics are in Travis Strikes Again.
Let's get this out of the way first. I see people complain about the gameplay of Travis Strikes Again all the time and say it isn't fun and I could not disagree more, I was kept thoroughly entertained for my entire 15 hour run and I wasn't even playing it co-op either.
TSA is in a top-down isometric POV, but much like the older No More Heroes games it is a hack-n-slash where you have a classic light and heavy attack control scheme alongside a dodge as well, but now since there's a stronger emphasis on platforming you also have a jump button and there are skill chips you can find which act as various powers from a telekinetic grab to a lightning bolt and more. Yes it is repetitive, but No More Heroes always has been a repetitive game and TSA is meant to be so in a classic and simplistic arcade-like way and even then there's still a lot of variety and depth to it, even more so than first 2 No More Heroes games thanks to the new additions to combat.
In TSA we follow Badman the father of Badgirl as he goes to get revenge on Travis Touchdown for killing his daughter in the first game, but during their fight they both get sucked up into a cursed video game console called the "Death Drive" and learn that if they can find all 6 of the game cartridges known as "Death Balls" and complete them it is rumored that any one wish of your choosing can be granted and naturally Badman wants to wish his daughter back to life, so Travis and Badman set their differences aside and work together to strive towards this goal.
TSA has truly phenomenal presentation. The set-up of having various game worlds to go through leaves the game open for so many creative and experimental style mixups in truest Suda fashion that keeps the game fresh and fun. From a cyberpunk city to a Resident Evil style mansion, racing mini games to a level that is "under construction" in the Unreal Engine and even a major homage to one of Suda's other games, I never knew what was going to be in store for me when I loaded the next Death Ball world. That isn't even mentioning how in between Death Balls there's a Silver Case style ADV section (Which is a great way to break up the combat and gameplay so it doesn't get too repetitive) that shows how Travis gets each Death Ball and in this section he even gets to interact with many characters from past Suda games from Killer is Dead to the Silver Case and more.
Hidden within the meta comedic narrative of "a game within a game" Travis Strikes Again has so much introspective subtext about Suda51's own personal experience about how his vision as a creator has been mangled and twisted countless times by big name publishers and how for the first time in a long time Suda was able to go back to his roots and make a game that was completely in his own vision with TSA by developing it with a very small team of about 10 people in the same fashion an indie game would be developed.
Travis Strikes Again is a game that you can tell is very personal to Suda51 and it wasn't just made for the fans, but for himself too. This is a deep and often existential look into video game development itself. A work of art that is a celebration of art as well. The kind of experience that is meant to stick with you long after you put the controller down. It certainly won't be for everyone, but for the people who truly understand what makes this game as special as it is, you'll find very few games capable of matching how rich the character writing, story, themes and aesthetics are in Travis Strikes Again.
No More Heroes quickly became one of my fave games for all its charm and creativity so I was excited to jump into No More Heroes 2 especially when I heard a lot of people prefer it to the first, but I honestly just didn't enjoy the game that much.
No More Heroes 2 is like the Dark Souls 2 of NMH in the fact that the original director Suda51 had almost nothing to with it (Like Miyazaki had nothing to do with Dark Souls 2) and because it goes for a quantity instead of quality type of design and has the most bosses, but due to this I find most of the bosses are extremely unmemorable (Alice was definitely the best) unlike in the first game where they all had their own unique personalities and felt like real characters. The entire story itself was also a massive step down from the first and almost felt like a parody of the first game as it is just a retread of Travis' arc from the first game and I don't think this game was anywhere near as funny as the first either.
Right from the start I did not like No More Heroes 2 and it just got worse as it went on for me, No More Heroes 2 is a very short game only clocking in at about 10 hours, but it also felt like a slog for me to get through seeing as how all the charm and creativity I loved so much from the first game is gone.
There's nothing to break up the pacing of the game like in the first and it essentially becomes a boss rush, there are still mini-games, but now they're retro throwbacks instead of doing remedial jobs for cash and frankly the new minigames suck, I miss mowing the lawn and picking up garbage. I also think it is detrimental to the game design that you can now just go from ranking mission to ranking mission as you no longer have to earn money to unlock the next mission and can no longer drive around the open world since they got rid of it because with nothing to break up the pacing of the fighting it gets very boring and stale fast and it doesn't help that every mission sends wave after wave of enemies at you before the boss, the level designs leading up to the bosses weren't very good either.
However credit where credit is due I do like the new Ecstasy meter addition to combat which increases the range on your beam katana the longer you don't get hit and I like that you get to play as Shinobu in a couple missions as well plus there are new beam katana options like duel wielding, but these slight improvements to the combat just can't save a sequel that misses the point of what made the original so special and is ultimately inferior to its predecessor in every other way when it comes to story, bosses, level design, creativity and comedy. The lack of Suda51's distinct direction, wacky charm and style is very evident and sorely missed.
No More Heroes 2 is like the Dark Souls 2 of NMH in the fact that the original director Suda51 had almost nothing to with it (Like Miyazaki had nothing to do with Dark Souls 2) and because it goes for a quantity instead of quality type of design and has the most bosses, but due to this I find most of the bosses are extremely unmemorable (Alice was definitely the best) unlike in the first game where they all had their own unique personalities and felt like real characters. The entire story itself was also a massive step down from the first and almost felt like a parody of the first game as it is just a retread of Travis' arc from the first game and I don't think this game was anywhere near as funny as the first either.
Right from the start I did not like No More Heroes 2 and it just got worse as it went on for me, No More Heroes 2 is a very short game only clocking in at about 10 hours, but it also felt like a slog for me to get through seeing as how all the charm and creativity I loved so much from the first game is gone.
There's nothing to break up the pacing of the game like in the first and it essentially becomes a boss rush, there are still mini-games, but now they're retro throwbacks instead of doing remedial jobs for cash and frankly the new minigames suck, I miss mowing the lawn and picking up garbage. I also think it is detrimental to the game design that you can now just go from ranking mission to ranking mission as you no longer have to earn money to unlock the next mission and can no longer drive around the open world since they got rid of it because with nothing to break up the pacing of the fighting it gets very boring and stale fast and it doesn't help that every mission sends wave after wave of enemies at you before the boss, the level designs leading up to the bosses weren't very good either.
However credit where credit is due I do like the new Ecstasy meter addition to combat which increases the range on your beam katana the longer you don't get hit and I like that you get to play as Shinobu in a couple missions as well plus there are new beam katana options like duel wielding, but these slight improvements to the combat just can't save a sequel that misses the point of what made the original so special and is ultimately inferior to its predecessor in every other way when it comes to story, bosses, level design, creativity and comedy. The lack of Suda51's distinct direction, wacky charm and style is very evident and sorely missed.
2007
No More Heroes is one of the best action games I've ever played. Featuring Incredible over-the-top flashy violent action with fast paced and addictive combat, so much wacky creative charm in every single part of the game from the eccentric characters you find in the open-world and the dialogue to all the mini-game odd-jobs you do to make cash (From mowing lawns to picking up trash on the highway and more) and of course the boss fights as well which were all memorable and unique in their own ways thanks to their eccentric, over-the-top personalities and different fight-styles.
The story is ridiculous and over-the-top in the best way possible as we follow Travis Touchdown, a loveable edgy loser otaku (One of the most 'literally me' characters in all of video games) on his journey to become the #1 assassin all for the honorable goal of scoring with his handler the beautiful Sylvia Christel and as we witness Travis slowly climb the ranks of the assassin leaderboard more crazy twists and turns unfold full of hilariously clever satire on anime/video game tropes and otaku culture in general and tons of pop culture references too.
I never had the privilege of playing this gem of a game back when it first came out, but I can totally see why it got as much praise as it did. The gameplay loop is addictive and cathartic, the combat is fast-paced, fluid and fun, the characters despite having such little depth are instantly iconic thanks to how quirky they are and their fantastic voice acting, the dialogue is hilarious and memorable and there is just so much charm in everything the game has to offer that even 15 years later makes No More Heroes a timeless classic that every action game fan deserves to experience.
The story is ridiculous and over-the-top in the best way possible as we follow Travis Touchdown, a loveable edgy loser otaku (One of the most 'literally me' characters in all of video games) on his journey to become the #1 assassin all for the honorable goal of scoring with his handler the beautiful Sylvia Christel and as we witness Travis slowly climb the ranks of the assassin leaderboard more crazy twists and turns unfold full of hilariously clever satire on anime/video game tropes and otaku culture in general and tons of pop culture references too.
I never had the privilege of playing this gem of a game back when it first came out, but I can totally see why it got as much praise as it did. The gameplay loop is addictive and cathartic, the combat is fast-paced, fluid and fun, the characters despite having such little depth are instantly iconic thanks to how quirky they are and their fantastic voice acting, the dialogue is hilarious and memorable and there is just so much charm in everything the game has to offer that even 15 years later makes No More Heroes a timeless classic that every action game fan deserves to experience.
I have been super excited for Midnight Suns ever since it was first announced. A Marvel game made by XCOM devs Firaxis where I replace my nameless troops for iconic superheroes? Sounds awesome to me! However Midnight Suns has very little in common with XCOM and while that might have been disappointing for a lot of people looking forward to the game, for me the game we got is somehow even better than Marvel themed XCOM because we got a Marvel themed Mass Effect/Persona/Slay the Spire hybrid instead and it is a game I never knew I wanted so bad until I actually played it, but more on that in a bit.
Let's talk about story first because as with all RPGs that is the primary focus and the bulk of your 50 to 100 hour runtime is going to center around it. Everything I'm about to talk about happens within the first hour so this is spoiler free btw. In Midnight Suns the big bad is Lilith, the Mother of Demons who was recently resurrected by Hydra mad scientist Doctor Faustus. Lilith's goal is to herald the second coming of the eldritch Elder God of chaos, Chthon (Basically the Marvel equivalent to Cthulhu) and bring about the end of all creation as we know it and to do this she creates her own army made up of mind controlled Hydra soldiers, corrupted super villains such as Venom and Sabertooth and of course her own demonic forces as well. The Avengers are no match for Lilith so who can stop her?
Well that is where the protagonist of our story comes in. Enter The Hunter, a Commander Shepard-like blank slate for the player to customize as they see fit in the form of an ancient demon hunter from 1,700s Salem and the prophesied chosen one to stop Lilith. Oh yeah did I mention The Hunter is also Lilith's child and is in a constant struggle between the light and dark powers inside of them? No? Well they are and that makes for a very compelling and emotional dynamic between the main hero and villain. I personally found the tale of The Hunter and Lilith to be more entertaining than 99% of the MCU. That is not to say the story is not without its tropes that plague nearly all superhero media, but the amount of unique charm and passion put into this story is simply undeniable and helps it stand out from its contemporaries.
The main plot is simply put, batshit insane and almost feels like it was torn right off the pages of a classic Silver Age comic to be portrayed as a campy B-movie in the best way possible (With all the one-liners and over-the-top action that comes with the territory). I know I'm in the minority when I say this, but THIS is the kind of stuff that I wish the MCU did more of (Precisely the reason Multiverse of Madness is my fave movie in the MCU), Midnight Suns is a game that was made by people who clearly have a deep love and understanding of exactly what makes the medium of comic books so fun and enjoyable and they transferred that Marvel(ously) into a video game with tons of over-the-top action and set-pieces that a silver screen just couldn't do justice.
With all that said the main plot is merely half of the game because as I mentioned earlier this game takes a lot of inspiration from Persona (or Fire Emblem: Three Houses or Trails of Cold Steel etc) and when you're not experiencing the crazy tale of Hunter and Lilith you'll be at your base of operations known as the Abbey which is essentially a magical boarding house for all the heroes to stay at and while in the Abbey The Hunter can do many things (Which I'll come back to later), but the most important one is bonding with your fellow heroes by doing social link style mundane day-to-day events including everything from playing video games with Ghost Rider to Meditating with Doctor Strange or just having a drink at the bar with Iron Man. I also want to mention aside from the day-to-day events there are also special side quest club-like activities you can follow at certain times through the whole game like joining a shop class with Iron Man and Ghost Rider or a book club with Blade and Captain Marvel.
During these hangouts you get a variety of dialogue choices and choosing the right one will help build your friendship meter with said hero. The dialogue trees themselves remind me of a classic BioWare RPG like Mass Effect or Dragon Age and there's even a light and dark system which changes how different characters view the Hunter and also give the Hunter new powers, cosmetics and various passive buffs in combat. As your Hunter hangs out with the heroes they will slowly get closer and open up to you more about their backstories, inner conflicts and likes and dislikes and everything between. Firaxis basically came as close to making a dating sim without actually making a dating sim (There is some light flirting though) and the Hunter can essentially become BFFs with any hero they max out their friendship with, some say the way the friendships progress comes across as very fanfic like, but personally I think it comes across as pretty organic and natural due to the Hunter's backstory and history being relatable to many of the heroes in various ways.
Midnight Suns is a game of many tones and it flawlessly executes them all, managing to capture that ridiculous over-the-top 70s campy comic book style in the main plot, yet knowing when to get suitably dark and emotional as well, but the best and most unique part of it all has to be portraying such a great down to earth vibe with the friendship and team building mechanics that show all the mundane day-to-day events between heroes during your down time from the main plot. From Avengers to X-Men, Runaways, the titular Midnight Sons and more this cast is absolutely stacked with some of Marvel's best and coolest characters and we get to see as friendships bloom between them, rivalries form and various team conflicts happens and that's just the tip of the iceberg, just walking around the Abbey after a mission you can listen to heroes have casual conversations with each other and there is even an in game text messaging app all the heroes use which provides some great interactions.
This one game did a better job of making all these characters feel like a family than 20 movies in the MCU did and I know that's in no small part thanks to the fantastic voice acting performances which really helped to capture all the characters personalities, the fact those personalities are closer to the comics than their MCU counterparts and also most of these characters are voiced by the main actors who have been voicing them for years like Yuri Lowenthal as Spider-Man or Steve Blum as Wolverine definitely helps too. Even the characters with fresh voices were done justice like Michael Jai White as Blade or Matthew Mercer (If you play as the male Hunter which I did) as the voice of the Hunter themselves and hearing Jennifer Hale as Lilith was always a treat as well and that's just a few examples out of this massive cast too because everyone gets ample opportunity to shine. Fun fact: Btw this game has over 60,000 lines of unique voiced dialogue and it shows because the characters never ran out of things to say for me even after 80 hours.
So remember how I mentioned you could do many things at the Abbey? Well aside from bonding with your fellow heroes you can also explore the fairly sizable overworld map of the Abbey grounds which other than a small tutorial is completely optional for those who don't want to however you'd be doing yourself a disservice since I found doing it to be very immersive and rewarding because it expands the world-building and connects to a side quest which reveals more mysteries about the Hunter and their past through various documents and lore that can be found on the grounds through some light puzzle solving. There's also a decently in-depth resource management and crafting system and you can find treasure chests which unlock tons of new cosmetic options for the Hunter and skins for the other heroes.
I focused on the story, characters world etc first because this is an RPG and there was a LOT to talk about and with this game I believe Firaxis has established themselves with BioWare, Obsidian, Atlus and Falcom as one of the best RPG makers so I wanted to really go in-depth about why I believe that, but If you're still reading and you made it this far into the review it is finally time to talk about the combat system and honestly it's just as amazing as everything else this game has to offer.
With Midnight Suns Firaxis has created one of the most fun and enjoyable tactical combat systems I've ever experienced. On the surface it doesn't look like it has a lot of depth, but the more you play the deeper you realize it is. Like I mentioned earlier this is a card based combat system like Slay the Spire and every individual character has their own unique play style and set of ability cards which perfectly represent them and their unique set of abilities from Captain America drawing agro, taunting enemies and building up his resistance to Blade applying bleed and using life-steal. You can build everyone in so many different ways as you unlock new cards and level up characters by completing missions, throw in team combo attacks, using the environment and positioning of your characters to your advantage and there's just countless creative options and I barely even scratched the surface. Also the RNG of the cards keeps battles fresh even after 80 hours and the fact all the characters are well balanced and no one isn't fun to use makes this combat system so addictive. This is the natural evolution of the Slay the Spire style and I hope more games start using now. Also want to mention the attack animations are over-the-top, flashy and have all the impact one would expect from such big name heroes and I never got sick of watching them.
I almost forgot to mention the OST, but that certainly doesn't make it bad, on the contrary it is quite great. The main theme is very triumphant, heroic and reminiscent of Alan Silvestri's Avengers Theme while some other tracks you hear around the Abbey have a more whimsical and magical Danny Elfman feeling to them and the battle themes really pump you up being a a mix of orchestral and metal/rock instruments, the final battle theme which is my fave track in the game and essentially instrumental symphonic black metal.
Midnight Suns is simply put, the best comic book game I've ever played and it isn't even close. Midnight Suns was everything I ever could've dreamed of and more. As a fan of classic Marvel comics, immersive RPGs with tons of dialogue, world-building and character bonding, tactics games and card games, Midnight Suns vastly exceeded my expectations across all fields becoming a truly one-of-a-kind experience and amalgamation of a bunch of my personal favorite things that it almost feels like this game was manifested from my own thoughts.
I'll admit it has performance issues, the graphics look outdated by 2 generations and I'm sure a lot of people would get bored by how slow the story progresses (especially early game) and how grindy the missions can be, but I love everything about this game so much that it feels like it was tailored to my own personal tastes and for that Midnight Suns won't be for everyone, but I can certainly say it is without a doubt one of my favorite games of 2022.
Let's talk about story first because as with all RPGs that is the primary focus and the bulk of your 50 to 100 hour runtime is going to center around it. Everything I'm about to talk about happens within the first hour so this is spoiler free btw. In Midnight Suns the big bad is Lilith, the Mother of Demons who was recently resurrected by Hydra mad scientist Doctor Faustus. Lilith's goal is to herald the second coming of the eldritch Elder God of chaos, Chthon (Basically the Marvel equivalent to Cthulhu) and bring about the end of all creation as we know it and to do this she creates her own army made up of mind controlled Hydra soldiers, corrupted super villains such as Venom and Sabertooth and of course her own demonic forces as well. The Avengers are no match for Lilith so who can stop her?
Well that is where the protagonist of our story comes in. Enter The Hunter, a Commander Shepard-like blank slate for the player to customize as they see fit in the form of an ancient demon hunter from 1,700s Salem and the prophesied chosen one to stop Lilith. Oh yeah did I mention The Hunter is also Lilith's child and is in a constant struggle between the light and dark powers inside of them? No? Well they are and that makes for a very compelling and emotional dynamic between the main hero and villain. I personally found the tale of The Hunter and Lilith to be more entertaining than 99% of the MCU. That is not to say the story is not without its tropes that plague nearly all superhero media, but the amount of unique charm and passion put into this story is simply undeniable and helps it stand out from its contemporaries.
The main plot is simply put, batshit insane and almost feels like it was torn right off the pages of a classic Silver Age comic to be portrayed as a campy B-movie in the best way possible (With all the one-liners and over-the-top action that comes with the territory). I know I'm in the minority when I say this, but THIS is the kind of stuff that I wish the MCU did more of (Precisely the reason Multiverse of Madness is my fave movie in the MCU), Midnight Suns is a game that was made by people who clearly have a deep love and understanding of exactly what makes the medium of comic books so fun and enjoyable and they transferred that Marvel(ously) into a video game with tons of over-the-top action and set-pieces that a silver screen just couldn't do justice.
With all that said the main plot is merely half of the game because as I mentioned earlier this game takes a lot of inspiration from Persona (or Fire Emblem: Three Houses or Trails of Cold Steel etc) and when you're not experiencing the crazy tale of Hunter and Lilith you'll be at your base of operations known as the Abbey which is essentially a magical boarding house for all the heroes to stay at and while in the Abbey The Hunter can do many things (Which I'll come back to later), but the most important one is bonding with your fellow heroes by doing social link style mundane day-to-day events including everything from playing video games with Ghost Rider to Meditating with Doctor Strange or just having a drink at the bar with Iron Man. I also want to mention aside from the day-to-day events there are also special side quest club-like activities you can follow at certain times through the whole game like joining a shop class with Iron Man and Ghost Rider or a book club with Blade and Captain Marvel.
During these hangouts you get a variety of dialogue choices and choosing the right one will help build your friendship meter with said hero. The dialogue trees themselves remind me of a classic BioWare RPG like Mass Effect or Dragon Age and there's even a light and dark system which changes how different characters view the Hunter and also give the Hunter new powers, cosmetics and various passive buffs in combat. As your Hunter hangs out with the heroes they will slowly get closer and open up to you more about their backstories, inner conflicts and likes and dislikes and everything between. Firaxis basically came as close to making a dating sim without actually making a dating sim (There is some light flirting though) and the Hunter can essentially become BFFs with any hero they max out their friendship with, some say the way the friendships progress comes across as very fanfic like, but personally I think it comes across as pretty organic and natural due to the Hunter's backstory and history being relatable to many of the heroes in various ways.
Midnight Suns is a game of many tones and it flawlessly executes them all, managing to capture that ridiculous over-the-top 70s campy comic book style in the main plot, yet knowing when to get suitably dark and emotional as well, but the best and most unique part of it all has to be portraying such a great down to earth vibe with the friendship and team building mechanics that show all the mundane day-to-day events between heroes during your down time from the main plot. From Avengers to X-Men, Runaways, the titular Midnight Sons and more this cast is absolutely stacked with some of Marvel's best and coolest characters and we get to see as friendships bloom between them, rivalries form and various team conflicts happens and that's just the tip of the iceberg, just walking around the Abbey after a mission you can listen to heroes have casual conversations with each other and there is even an in game text messaging app all the heroes use which provides some great interactions.
This one game did a better job of making all these characters feel like a family than 20 movies in the MCU did and I know that's in no small part thanks to the fantastic voice acting performances which really helped to capture all the characters personalities, the fact those personalities are closer to the comics than their MCU counterparts and also most of these characters are voiced by the main actors who have been voicing them for years like Yuri Lowenthal as Spider-Man or Steve Blum as Wolverine definitely helps too. Even the characters with fresh voices were done justice like Michael Jai White as Blade or Matthew Mercer (If you play as the male Hunter which I did) as the voice of the Hunter themselves and hearing Jennifer Hale as Lilith was always a treat as well and that's just a few examples out of this massive cast too because everyone gets ample opportunity to shine. Fun fact: Btw this game has over 60,000 lines of unique voiced dialogue and it shows because the characters never ran out of things to say for me even after 80 hours.
So remember how I mentioned you could do many things at the Abbey? Well aside from bonding with your fellow heroes you can also explore the fairly sizable overworld map of the Abbey grounds which other than a small tutorial is completely optional for those who don't want to however you'd be doing yourself a disservice since I found doing it to be very immersive and rewarding because it expands the world-building and connects to a side quest which reveals more mysteries about the Hunter and their past through various documents and lore that can be found on the grounds through some light puzzle solving. There's also a decently in-depth resource management and crafting system and you can find treasure chests which unlock tons of new cosmetic options for the Hunter and skins for the other heroes.
I focused on the story, characters world etc first because this is an RPG and there was a LOT to talk about and with this game I believe Firaxis has established themselves with BioWare, Obsidian, Atlus and Falcom as one of the best RPG makers so I wanted to really go in-depth about why I believe that, but If you're still reading and you made it this far into the review it is finally time to talk about the combat system and honestly it's just as amazing as everything else this game has to offer.
With Midnight Suns Firaxis has created one of the most fun and enjoyable tactical combat systems I've ever experienced. On the surface it doesn't look like it has a lot of depth, but the more you play the deeper you realize it is. Like I mentioned earlier this is a card based combat system like Slay the Spire and every individual character has their own unique play style and set of ability cards which perfectly represent them and their unique set of abilities from Captain America drawing agro, taunting enemies and building up his resistance to Blade applying bleed and using life-steal. You can build everyone in so many different ways as you unlock new cards and level up characters by completing missions, throw in team combo attacks, using the environment and positioning of your characters to your advantage and there's just countless creative options and I barely even scratched the surface. Also the RNG of the cards keeps battles fresh even after 80 hours and the fact all the characters are well balanced and no one isn't fun to use makes this combat system so addictive. This is the natural evolution of the Slay the Spire style and I hope more games start using now. Also want to mention the attack animations are over-the-top, flashy and have all the impact one would expect from such big name heroes and I never got sick of watching them.
I almost forgot to mention the OST, but that certainly doesn't make it bad, on the contrary it is quite great. The main theme is very triumphant, heroic and reminiscent of Alan Silvestri's Avengers Theme while some other tracks you hear around the Abbey have a more whimsical and magical Danny Elfman feeling to them and the battle themes really pump you up being a a mix of orchestral and metal/rock instruments, the final battle theme which is my fave track in the game and essentially instrumental symphonic black metal.
Midnight Suns is simply put, the best comic book game I've ever played and it isn't even close. Midnight Suns was everything I ever could've dreamed of and more. As a fan of classic Marvel comics, immersive RPGs with tons of dialogue, world-building and character bonding, tactics games and card games, Midnight Suns vastly exceeded my expectations across all fields becoming a truly one-of-a-kind experience and amalgamation of a bunch of my personal favorite things that it almost feels like this game was manifested from my own thoughts.
I'll admit it has performance issues, the graphics look outdated by 2 generations and I'm sure a lot of people would get bored by how slow the story progresses (especially early game) and how grindy the missions can be, but I love everything about this game so much that it feels like it was tailored to my own personal tastes and for that Midnight Suns won't be for everyone, but I can certainly say it is without a doubt one of my favorite games of 2022.
2022
First let me start this review by saying that while I thought God of War (2018) was a very good game and liked it a lot I was never of the opinion it was a masterpiece or one of the greatest games ever made like a lot of people claimed. However I truly believe God of War Ragnarok is a genre defining masterpiece that only comes around once in a generation and improved upon God of War (2018) in genuinely every way imaginable. Ragnarok is the kind of game that even when I wasn't playing it because of work and other things all I could do was think about how much I wanted to play it and I know it is an experience that will stay with me until the day I die.
Like all good sequels God of War Ragnarok only expands upon what its predecessor set-up making everything bigger and more grandiose and turning it up to 11. The action and set-pieces (Seriously some of this stuff is so over-the-top it could give DMC or MGR a run for its money), the cast of characters, the bosses, the references to Norse myth, the side quests and most importantly the scope and stakes of the narrative, there's just so much more of ALL of it.
Speaking of the narrative, it is just simply incredible and not an exaggeration to say this game has some of the best writing in all of video games. Picking up 3 years after the events of God of War 2018, we see Kratos and Atreus trying to survive through Fimbulwinter in Midgard when Thor and Odin give them a surprise visit asking for peace in hopes of staving off Ragnarok and from there on things spiral out of control into a massive adventure across the Nine Realms with a complex narrative about prophecy, fate and war tangled in a web of character threads that span multiple families and all their interpersonal drama which slowly unravels and at the heart of it all is a story of a father and son with a bond so strong they would do anything to protect one another even if it means pushing each other away in the process with the hope of defying prophecy and fate itself all the while inadvertently slowly causing that very same prophecy to come true with every action they take to so desperately avoid it. Honestly never thought I'd see the day that a God of War game would make me cry, but Ragnarok got me not 1, but 3 different times. One of the most emotionally charged narratives I've experienced in awhile.
However a great narrative is meaningless without equally great characters to support it, but thankfully Ragnarok has them in spades. From the protagonists and heroes to the antagonists and even the side characters, every single one is written fantastically with realistic personalities and relatable, human goals they strive towards. Also not a single character feels underused, every one has their own arcs that give them time to shine and the sheer amount of character development and growth everyone in the game goes through is just staggering.
You simply can't talk about Ragnarok without mentioning its stellar blockbuster acting performances that are every bit as impressive as any movie. This game without a doubt has some of the greatest voice acting performances I've ever heard and they're paired up perfectly with the hyper realistic character models and animations that show just as much raw emotion as the voice performances themselves. From Christopher Judge and Sunny Suljic as Kratos and Atreus to Danielle Bisutti as Freya, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Richard Schiff as Odin and Ryan Hurst as Thor among many others, every single performance is masterfully acted and genuinely any character on the screen at any given time has the ability to steal a scene and make it their own because they're just all that talented and captivating.
Now I could talk about how much I love the narrative themes, characters and acting performances all day long, but since I want to keep this review relatively spoiler free lets talk about the gameplay now and it is rare a big budget AAA game has gameplay as captivating and enjoyable as the story because they usually focus more on the story, but Ragnarok manages to have its cake and eat it too so to speak because the gameplay is just as amazing as everything else.
Combat feels vastly improved upon having access to two weapons that have expanded move sets and skills right from the start of the game and eventually getting a new 3rd weapon adds so much more diversity and depth to the combat system allowing for chaining together much more satisfying combos than in 2018 that during my entire 45 hour playthrough I found the combat consistently enjoyable and entertaining.
One of my biggest complaints about God of War 2018 was the unnecessary pseudo RPG elements and I figured they'd be worse in Ragnarok, but somehow they are much better thanks to being expanded upon (Including a better and more in-depth crafting system) and right from the beginning of the game you have more choices available to you since you have both your weapons from God of War 2018 immediately at the start alongside a decent size skill tree for each weapon, 3 different types of armor and a shield and new mechanics and skills that are slowly unlocked and added on top of all that. One minor nitpick for me is that your level is still determined by your gear instead of actual battle experience and stat allocation so it's still not a true RPG, but it is very close to it in every other way.
Another minor complaint about 2018 I had was the lack of enemy variety and re-skin troll mini bosses, but Ragnarok also improves on that adding so many new enemy types, various creatures from Norse myth and fun mini-bosses and of course the main bosses which are without a doubt some of the coolest spectacles I've ever seen in a game.
Finally my biggest major complaint about God of War 2018 was the boring open world segments and despite having much heavier emphasis on exploration and more open world segments in Ragnarok they were consistently more enjoyable thanks to the beautiful and stunning art direction and incredible graphical fidelity that breathes so much diverse life into all of the Nine Realms and actually incentivizes you to explore them more. Also the fact the exploration is much more linear at first and slowly opens up as you progress further through the story unlocking various things reminded me of a Metroidvania style design and encourages you to backtrack to previous areas to find new secrets and thanks to heavier emphasis on platforming via grapple points and Uncharted-like climbing and there being legitimate dungeons to explore in the overworld with valuable loot to find exploration is both fun and always feels worthwhile. I also can not express how much I love that all your weapons are utilized as tools for puzzle solving and platforming as well enough because it makes for some super creative design choices which also helps to always keep exploration fresh.
I have to mention the side quests as well because they are much better compared to 2018 since they actually add to the world-building or provide extra detail and depth to characters. Honestly some of the side quests in this game are better written than most games main story, that's just how great the writing is in Ragnarok. Even side quests that you think are probably pointless busywork usually end up revealing some small detail about the world, a character's backstory or even just give you a meaningful interaction between Kratos and Atreus or other various characters so it is always worth doing aside from the quest rewards (like new gear or crafting materials) you get which are quite valuable in their own way.
Bear McCreary's score deserves to be mentioned as well because it is simply masterfully composed and from triumphant to melancholic it and just about everything in between it adds so much more emotional weight to every single scene that I just can not imagine the game without it.
God of War Ragnarok is the big budget Sony Blockbuster formula at its best. A true masterclass in both storytelling and game design that everyone deserves to experience. Ragnarok is one of those rare games where every single thing about it is just as perfect as possible, from the narrative and characters to the acting performances, gameplay, art, visuals and score there is simply nothing about this game I would change and when it all comes together it creates something truly special that will stand the test of time for decades to come and be remembered as not only one of the best games of 2022, but one of the best games of all time as well.
Like all good sequels God of War Ragnarok only expands upon what its predecessor set-up making everything bigger and more grandiose and turning it up to 11. The action and set-pieces (Seriously some of this stuff is so over-the-top it could give DMC or MGR a run for its money), the cast of characters, the bosses, the references to Norse myth, the side quests and most importantly the scope and stakes of the narrative, there's just so much more of ALL of it.
Speaking of the narrative, it is just simply incredible and not an exaggeration to say this game has some of the best writing in all of video games. Picking up 3 years after the events of God of War 2018, we see Kratos and Atreus trying to survive through Fimbulwinter in Midgard when Thor and Odin give them a surprise visit asking for peace in hopes of staving off Ragnarok and from there on things spiral out of control into a massive adventure across the Nine Realms with a complex narrative about prophecy, fate and war tangled in a web of character threads that span multiple families and all their interpersonal drama which slowly unravels and at the heart of it all is a story of a father and son with a bond so strong they would do anything to protect one another even if it means pushing each other away in the process with the hope of defying prophecy and fate itself all the while inadvertently slowly causing that very same prophecy to come true with every action they take to so desperately avoid it. Honestly never thought I'd see the day that a God of War game would make me cry, but Ragnarok got me not 1, but 3 different times. One of the most emotionally charged narratives I've experienced in awhile.
However a great narrative is meaningless without equally great characters to support it, but thankfully Ragnarok has them in spades. From the protagonists and heroes to the antagonists and even the side characters, every single one is written fantastically with realistic personalities and relatable, human goals they strive towards. Also not a single character feels underused, every one has their own arcs that give them time to shine and the sheer amount of character development and growth everyone in the game goes through is just staggering.
You simply can't talk about Ragnarok without mentioning its stellar blockbuster acting performances that are every bit as impressive as any movie. This game without a doubt has some of the greatest voice acting performances I've ever heard and they're paired up perfectly with the hyper realistic character models and animations that show just as much raw emotion as the voice performances themselves. From Christopher Judge and Sunny Suljic as Kratos and Atreus to Danielle Bisutti as Freya, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Richard Schiff as Odin and Ryan Hurst as Thor among many others, every single performance is masterfully acted and genuinely any character on the screen at any given time has the ability to steal a scene and make it their own because they're just all that talented and captivating.
Now I could talk about how much I love the narrative themes, characters and acting performances all day long, but since I want to keep this review relatively spoiler free lets talk about the gameplay now and it is rare a big budget AAA game has gameplay as captivating and enjoyable as the story because they usually focus more on the story, but Ragnarok manages to have its cake and eat it too so to speak because the gameplay is just as amazing as everything else.
Combat feels vastly improved upon having access to two weapons that have expanded move sets and skills right from the start of the game and eventually getting a new 3rd weapon adds so much more diversity and depth to the combat system allowing for chaining together much more satisfying combos than in 2018 that during my entire 45 hour playthrough I found the combat consistently enjoyable and entertaining.
One of my biggest complaints about God of War 2018 was the unnecessary pseudo RPG elements and I figured they'd be worse in Ragnarok, but somehow they are much better thanks to being expanded upon (Including a better and more in-depth crafting system) and right from the beginning of the game you have more choices available to you since you have both your weapons from God of War 2018 immediately at the start alongside a decent size skill tree for each weapon, 3 different types of armor and a shield and new mechanics and skills that are slowly unlocked and added on top of all that. One minor nitpick for me is that your level is still determined by your gear instead of actual battle experience and stat allocation so it's still not a true RPG, but it is very close to it in every other way.
Another minor complaint about 2018 I had was the lack of enemy variety and re-skin troll mini bosses, but Ragnarok also improves on that adding so many new enemy types, various creatures from Norse myth and fun mini-bosses and of course the main bosses which are without a doubt some of the coolest spectacles I've ever seen in a game.
Finally my biggest major complaint about God of War 2018 was the boring open world segments and despite having much heavier emphasis on exploration and more open world segments in Ragnarok they were consistently more enjoyable thanks to the beautiful and stunning art direction and incredible graphical fidelity that breathes so much diverse life into all of the Nine Realms and actually incentivizes you to explore them more. Also the fact the exploration is much more linear at first and slowly opens up as you progress further through the story unlocking various things reminded me of a Metroidvania style design and encourages you to backtrack to previous areas to find new secrets and thanks to heavier emphasis on platforming via grapple points and Uncharted-like climbing and there being legitimate dungeons to explore in the overworld with valuable loot to find exploration is both fun and always feels worthwhile. I also can not express how much I love that all your weapons are utilized as tools for puzzle solving and platforming as well enough because it makes for some super creative design choices which also helps to always keep exploration fresh.
I have to mention the side quests as well because they are much better compared to 2018 since they actually add to the world-building or provide extra detail and depth to characters. Honestly some of the side quests in this game are better written than most games main story, that's just how great the writing is in Ragnarok. Even side quests that you think are probably pointless busywork usually end up revealing some small detail about the world, a character's backstory or even just give you a meaningful interaction between Kratos and Atreus or other various characters so it is always worth doing aside from the quest rewards (like new gear or crafting materials) you get which are quite valuable in their own way.
Bear McCreary's score deserves to be mentioned as well because it is simply masterfully composed and from triumphant to melancholic it and just about everything in between it adds so much more emotional weight to every single scene that I just can not imagine the game without it.
God of War Ragnarok is the big budget Sony Blockbuster formula at its best. A true masterclass in both storytelling and game design that everyone deserves to experience. Ragnarok is one of those rare games where every single thing about it is just as perfect as possible, from the narrative and characters to the acting performances, gameplay, art, visuals and score there is simply nothing about this game I would change and when it all comes together it creates something truly special that will stand the test of time for decades to come and be remembered as not only one of the best games of 2022, but one of the best games of all time as well.
2018
I like God of War 2018 a lot, I'd go far enough to say I love it and it is a great game, but it is not without its flaws. The narrative is well written, compelling, emotional and has some great twists with some of the absolute best moments in the whole series. Kratos gets amazing character development and the whole dynamic between him and Atreus is heartwarming and feels very organic and realistic especially thanks to the incredible voice acting performances of Christopher Judge and Sunny Suljic.
The core combat is lots of fun and quite challenging at times since there is a bit of a Souls feel to it. Despite only having one weapon for half the game the Leviathan Axe can do so much that there's still a lot of variety to the combat and you do eventually get a 2nd weapon halfway through, but at the same time the combat does feel much simpler and watered down compared to old God of War titles, not being able to jump alone drastically reduces combo variety. There's some incredible boss fights, but also far too many reskinned troll mini bosses.
Back when I first played this game 4 years ago I remember saying I enjoyed the open world and RPG elements and I don't know if this is because I played 5 super linear action games back to back or if it is because I have grown even more increasingly disgusted with the checklist gaming open-world design of every modern day AAA game (maybe a little of both), but exploring the world and doing remedial tasks just to find gear you're going to replace in a couple hours or resources for upgrades feels like such a slog and it breaks up the pacing of the story as well.
I can't help but think that God of War 2018 would be a much better and more cohesive game if it was a linear story driven experience akin to the old God of War games or Uncharted and didn't have the shoehorned open-world and RPG elements thrown in just because that's what is popular and what sells games nowadays. However a lot of people will complain if a $60 game isn't long enough so developers add a bunch of pointless filler side content as padding to say 'See our game is 50 hours!' and honestly it is just exhausting and detracts from the experience as far as I'm concerned.
I will still say God of War is one of the best AAA titles to come out in years and still mostly delivers on the hype it generated with a beautiful story, enjoyable combat and breathtaking visuals, but there's still a few pitfalls of modern gaming design tropes that the game would've been better off without and I'm sure that stuff won't even bother a lot of people who play the game, but I guess I'm just too much of a boomer who misses old school game design nowadays.
The core combat is lots of fun and quite challenging at times since there is a bit of a Souls feel to it. Despite only having one weapon for half the game the Leviathan Axe can do so much that there's still a lot of variety to the combat and you do eventually get a 2nd weapon halfway through, but at the same time the combat does feel much simpler and watered down compared to old God of War titles, not being able to jump alone drastically reduces combo variety. There's some incredible boss fights, but also far too many reskinned troll mini bosses.
Back when I first played this game 4 years ago I remember saying I enjoyed the open world and RPG elements and I don't know if this is because I played 5 super linear action games back to back or if it is because I have grown even more increasingly disgusted with the checklist gaming open-world design of every modern day AAA game (maybe a little of both), but exploring the world and doing remedial tasks just to find gear you're going to replace in a couple hours or resources for upgrades feels like such a slog and it breaks up the pacing of the story as well.
I can't help but think that God of War 2018 would be a much better and more cohesive game if it was a linear story driven experience akin to the old God of War games or Uncharted and didn't have the shoehorned open-world and RPG elements thrown in just because that's what is popular and what sells games nowadays. However a lot of people will complain if a $60 game isn't long enough so developers add a bunch of pointless filler side content as padding to say 'See our game is 50 hours!' and honestly it is just exhausting and detracts from the experience as far as I'm concerned.
I will still say God of War is one of the best AAA titles to come out in years and still mostly delivers on the hype it generated with a beautiful story, enjoyable combat and breathtaking visuals, but there's still a few pitfalls of modern gaming design tropes that the game would've been better off without and I'm sure that stuff won't even bother a lot of people who play the game, but I guess I'm just too much of a boomer who misses old school game design nowadays.
Let me start off by saying I have no nostalgia for this game, I didn't grow up with a PS3 and the very first time I played it was back in 2017 so this is only my 2nd time playing the game so when I say it is my favorite in the series it is through a fresh experience and not rose-tinted glasses.
God of War III features bigger and more grandiose set-pieces and locations, the sheer scale of the game is just insane exploring everywhere from Hades to the heights of Mt Olympus and who could forget the breathtaking, awestriking view as you climb the Chain of Balance or move the Labyrinth cubes in the cavern. I still think God of War I&II have more of an adventurous feeling since in God of War III you're mostly just in Olympus the whole game, but the sheer scope and scale of the locations and set-pieces more than make up for that.
Of course the locations are not the only thing that is bigger and better. No, the boss fights are easily some of the coolest and most epic in not only the whole series, but action video games in general. God of War III is a game that revels in its gory spectacle and every boss fight is just a joy to watch unfold from the very beginning of fighting Poseidon on the back of the Titan Gaia to carving off pieces of Hades flesh or ripping off fingernails from the Titan Chronos as you scale his body and even getting into a bloody fist fight with Hercules (Shout out to the devs for getting Kevin Sorbo who voiced Hercules in the iconic 90s show 'Hercules the Legendary Journeys' to voice him in this game as well). God of War II introduced epic boss fights with heroes and demi-gods from Greek myths, but in God of War III you actually get to fight the gods themselves and I was never once disappointed with how those fights played out.
Combat is mostly the same as the first two games, Kratos still has his primary blades (Known as the Blades of Exile in this game) alongside various magic powers and other weapons you pick up on your journey like the Claws of Hades or the Neman Cestus. There is one major addition to the formula like the Item Power bar which recovers over time after using secondary items like Apollo's Bow or Herme's Boots which are mostly used for platforming and puzzles, but also have combos tied to them which can add an edge in combat. This is the most polished, fast, fluid and complex the combat formula has ever been in God of War to date.
The story for God of War III is once again a tale of vengeance as Kratos butchers all the greek gods one by one on his path to Zeus and causes an apocalyptic event to befall the people of Greece. This time Kratos must quell the deadly Flame of Olympus to once again use Pandora's Box against Zeus as he did all those years ago against Ares and to do that he must find Pandora herself. God of War III expands the world and lore of the series in clever ways that often even tie back into the very first game flipping what we thought we knew on its head and I love that. Also I will say how I saw that at the time of this game's first release a lot of people complained about the ending and found it weird, but I love the dynamic between Kratos and Pandora and how she helps him develop and grow and it fits even better after playing God of War (2018). So I would say that God of War III ended the trilogy in a very satisfying way because while it is very dark and tragic there's still a glimmer of hope for the future as well.
God of War is a series that has only gotten better every new entry (At least in terms of the original trilogy) God of War (2005) set the standard for action/adventure games, God of War II redefined that standard and raised the bar in every way imaginable and finally God of War III mastered and perfected the formula. Featuring more grandiose set-pieces, some of the most epic bosses in the action game genre, the best God of War combat system to date and a well written story that gives a satisfying conclusion to Kratos' vengeance filled trilogy, God of War III is everything I loved about the first two games, but turned up to 11 making it the definitive God of War experience.
God of War III features bigger and more grandiose set-pieces and locations, the sheer scale of the game is just insane exploring everywhere from Hades to the heights of Mt Olympus and who could forget the breathtaking, awestriking view as you climb the Chain of Balance or move the Labyrinth cubes in the cavern. I still think God of War I&II have more of an adventurous feeling since in God of War III you're mostly just in Olympus the whole game, but the sheer scope and scale of the locations and set-pieces more than make up for that.
Of course the locations are not the only thing that is bigger and better. No, the boss fights are easily some of the coolest and most epic in not only the whole series, but action video games in general. God of War III is a game that revels in its gory spectacle and every boss fight is just a joy to watch unfold from the very beginning of fighting Poseidon on the back of the Titan Gaia to carving off pieces of Hades flesh or ripping off fingernails from the Titan Chronos as you scale his body and even getting into a bloody fist fight with Hercules (Shout out to the devs for getting Kevin Sorbo who voiced Hercules in the iconic 90s show 'Hercules the Legendary Journeys' to voice him in this game as well). God of War II introduced epic boss fights with heroes and demi-gods from Greek myths, but in God of War III you actually get to fight the gods themselves and I was never once disappointed with how those fights played out.
Combat is mostly the same as the first two games, Kratos still has his primary blades (Known as the Blades of Exile in this game) alongside various magic powers and other weapons you pick up on your journey like the Claws of Hades or the Neman Cestus. There is one major addition to the formula like the Item Power bar which recovers over time after using secondary items like Apollo's Bow or Herme's Boots which are mostly used for platforming and puzzles, but also have combos tied to them which can add an edge in combat. This is the most polished, fast, fluid and complex the combat formula has ever been in God of War to date.
The story for God of War III is once again a tale of vengeance as Kratos butchers all the greek gods one by one on his path to Zeus and causes an apocalyptic event to befall the people of Greece. This time Kratos must quell the deadly Flame of Olympus to once again use Pandora's Box against Zeus as he did all those years ago against Ares and to do that he must find Pandora herself. God of War III expands the world and lore of the series in clever ways that often even tie back into the very first game flipping what we thought we knew on its head and I love that. Also I will say how I saw that at the time of this game's first release a lot of people complained about the ending and found it weird, but I love the dynamic between Kratos and Pandora and how she helps him develop and grow and it fits even better after playing God of War (2018). So I would say that God of War III ended the trilogy in a very satisfying way because while it is very dark and tragic there's still a glimmer of hope for the future as well.
God of War is a series that has only gotten better every new entry (At least in terms of the original trilogy) God of War (2005) set the standard for action/adventure games, God of War II redefined that standard and raised the bar in every way imaginable and finally God of War III mastered and perfected the formula. Featuring more grandiose set-pieces, some of the most epic bosses in the action game genre, the best God of War combat system to date and a well written story that gives a satisfying conclusion to Kratos' vengeance filled trilogy, God of War III is everything I loved about the first two games, but turned up to 11 making it the definitive God of War experience.
2009
Replaying God of War II for the first time in 15 years reminded me why I loved this game so much as a teenager and why it is still my favorite of the trilogy. The PS2 has a library of over 1000 games and even so you'd be hard pressed to find many that reach the same heights as God of War II, truly one of the finest games available on the system.
God of War II picks up roughly 13 years after the events of the first game. Kratos is now the new God of War. Shunned by his fellow gods for his destructive ways, Kratos finds a new family in his Spartan Army and starts to lay waste to Greece one city at a time. Naturally this angers Zeus and he takes matters into his own hands by betraying Kratos, stripping him of his godly power and killing him out of fear that Kratos will kill him first. Kratos finds new allies in the Titans who are the sworn enemies of the Gods and after crawling out of Hades itself he sets out on a new quest for revenge against the Gods by journeying to the Island of Creation and seeking an audience with the Sisters of Fate in hopes of turning back time, changing his fate and stopping Zeus' betrayal before it ever even happens.
Running nearly double the length of the first game, this story is just simply epic from start to finish and I love the themes of defying the Gods and taking fate into your own hands. Kratos' quest to change fate itself mostly takes place on the Island of Creation, but the level design is so well crafted, creative and diverse you'd think it was an epic sprawling adventure across the whole world like the first game despite being much more secular in nature. My personal fave area has to be the Palace of the Fates near the end of the game, the way all the individual areas and puzzles are so intricately connected in the Palace of the Fates is just masterclass game design.
The first God of War primarily focused around building Kratos' backstory and giving him character development, but God of War II puts more emphasis on expanding the world of God of War and boy does it do so marvelously. Bringing in many various legends and myths from the story of Chronos and the Titans to the three Sisters of Fate Lachesis, Atropos and Clotho or Jason from Jason and the Argonauts (Shout out to the skeleton enemies that have animations and move similarly to the ones in the 60s Argonauts movie) Icarus, Prometheus and Perseus (Who is also voiced by Harry Hamlin who played Perseus in the 80s Clash of the Titans movie) among others. This game is filled to the brim with references to heroes and legends in Greek myth and so much detail went into making them feel authentic in this world and that's one of my favorite parts of the game. No other game has captured Greek myth as well as God of War II has.
While the combat is mostly the same as the first there are some newly added magic powers and an expanded weapons arsenal adding a couple new sub weapons (although I honestly find those kind of useless), but where the gameplay of God of War II is truly expanded upon is thanks to Kratos being able to grapple onto things alongside getting many items including an amulet which lets him slow time Prince of Persia style or a pair of wings to glide with which add an extra layer of dimension to both the platforming and puzzles that are found throughout the game.
God of War II is a game that takes everything I loved about the first and turns it up to 11 making it more grandiose. Whether that be the higher stakes narrative, detailed world-building with much love for the mythology it represents or expanded gameplay systems, if God of War (2005) set the standard for action adventure games then God of War II redefined it and raised the bar in every way imaginable. A sequel just as iconic and memorable as its predecessor and a journey well worth going on even 15 years later.
God of War II picks up roughly 13 years after the events of the first game. Kratos is now the new God of War. Shunned by his fellow gods for his destructive ways, Kratos finds a new family in his Spartan Army and starts to lay waste to Greece one city at a time. Naturally this angers Zeus and he takes matters into his own hands by betraying Kratos, stripping him of his godly power and killing him out of fear that Kratos will kill him first. Kratos finds new allies in the Titans who are the sworn enemies of the Gods and after crawling out of Hades itself he sets out on a new quest for revenge against the Gods by journeying to the Island of Creation and seeking an audience with the Sisters of Fate in hopes of turning back time, changing his fate and stopping Zeus' betrayal before it ever even happens.
Running nearly double the length of the first game, this story is just simply epic from start to finish and I love the themes of defying the Gods and taking fate into your own hands. Kratos' quest to change fate itself mostly takes place on the Island of Creation, but the level design is so well crafted, creative and diverse you'd think it was an epic sprawling adventure across the whole world like the first game despite being much more secular in nature. My personal fave area has to be the Palace of the Fates near the end of the game, the way all the individual areas and puzzles are so intricately connected in the Palace of the Fates is just masterclass game design.
The first God of War primarily focused around building Kratos' backstory and giving him character development, but God of War II puts more emphasis on expanding the world of God of War and boy does it do so marvelously. Bringing in many various legends and myths from the story of Chronos and the Titans to the three Sisters of Fate Lachesis, Atropos and Clotho or Jason from Jason and the Argonauts (Shout out to the skeleton enemies that have animations and move similarly to the ones in the 60s Argonauts movie) Icarus, Prometheus and Perseus (Who is also voiced by Harry Hamlin who played Perseus in the 80s Clash of the Titans movie) among others. This game is filled to the brim with references to heroes and legends in Greek myth and so much detail went into making them feel authentic in this world and that's one of my favorite parts of the game. No other game has captured Greek myth as well as God of War II has.
While the combat is mostly the same as the first there are some newly added magic powers and an expanded weapons arsenal adding a couple new sub weapons (although I honestly find those kind of useless), but where the gameplay of God of War II is truly expanded upon is thanks to Kratos being able to grapple onto things alongside getting many items including an amulet which lets him slow time Prince of Persia style or a pair of wings to glide with which add an extra layer of dimension to both the platforming and puzzles that are found throughout the game.
God of War II is a game that takes everything I loved about the first and turns it up to 11 making it more grandiose. Whether that be the higher stakes narrative, detailed world-building with much love for the mythology it represents or expanded gameplay systems, if God of War (2005) set the standard for action adventure games then God of War II redefined it and raised the bar in every way imaginable. A sequel just as iconic and memorable as its predecessor and a journey well worth going on even 15 years later.
2007
Replaying God of War II for the first time in 15 years reminded me why I loved this game so much as a teenager and why it is still my favorite of the trilogy. The PS2 has a library of over 1000 games and even so you'd be hard pressed to find many that reach the same heights as God of War II, truly one of the finest games available on the system.
God of War II picks up roughly 13 years after the events of the first game. Kratos is now the new God of War. Shunned by his fellow gods for his destructive ways, Kratos finds a new family in his Spartan Army and starts to lay waste to Greece one city at a time. Naturally this angers Zeus and he takes matters into his own hands by betraying Kratos, stripping him of his godly power and killing him out of fear that Kratos will kill him first. Kratos finds new allies in the Titans who are the sworn enemies of the Gods and after crawling out of Hades itself he sets out on a new quest for revenge against the Gods by journeying to the Island of Creation and seeking an audience with the Sisters of Fate in hopes of turning back time, changing his fate and stopping Zeus' betrayal before it ever even happens.
Running nearly double the length of the first game, this story is just simply epic from start to finish and I love the themes of defying the Gods and taking fate into your own hands. Kratos' quest to change fate itself mostly takes place on the Island of Creation, but the level design is so well crafted, creative and diverse you'd think it was an epic sprawling adventure across the whole world like the first game despite being much more secular in nature. My personal fave area has to be the Palace of the Fates near the end of the game, the way all the individual areas and puzzles are so intricately connected in the Palace of the Fates is just masterclass game design.
The first God of War primarily focused around building Kratos' backstory and giving him character development, but God of War II puts more emphasis on expanding the world of God of War and boy does it do so marvelously. Bringing in many various legends and myths from the story of Chronos and the Titans to the three Sisters of Fate Lachesis, Atropos and Clotho or Jason from Jason and the Argonauts (Shout out to the skeleton enemies that have animations and move similarly to the ones in the 60s Argonauts movie) Icarus, Prometheus and Perseus (Who is also voiced by Harry Hamlin who played Perseus in the 80s Clash of the Titans movie) among others. This game is filled to the brim with references to heroes and legends in Greek myth and so much detail went into making them feel authentic in this world and that's one of my favorite parts of the game. No other game has captured Greek myth as well as God of War II has.
While the combat is mostly the same as the first there are some newly added magic powers and an expanded weapons arsenal adding a couple new sub weapons (although I honestly find those kind of useless), but where the gameplay of God of War II is truly expanded upon is thanks to Kratos being able to grapple onto things alongside getting many items including an amulet which lets him slow time Prince of Persia style or a pair of wings to glide with which add an extra layer of dimension to both the platforming and puzzles that are found throughout the game.
God of War II is a game that takes everything I loved about the first and turns it up to 11 making it more grandiose. Whether that be the higher stakes narrative, detailed world-building with much love for the mythology it represents or expanded gameplay systems, if God of War (2005) set the standard for action adventure games then God of War II redefined it and raised the bar in every way imaginable. A sequel just as iconic and memorable as its predecessor and a journey well worth going on even 15 years later.
God of War II picks up roughly 13 years after the events of the first game. Kratos is now the new God of War. Shunned by his fellow gods for his destructive ways, Kratos finds a new family in his Spartan Army and starts to lay waste to Greece one city at a time. Naturally this angers Zeus and he takes matters into his own hands by betraying Kratos, stripping him of his godly power and killing him out of fear that Kratos will kill him first. Kratos finds new allies in the Titans who are the sworn enemies of the Gods and after crawling out of Hades itself he sets out on a new quest for revenge against the Gods by journeying to the Island of Creation and seeking an audience with the Sisters of Fate in hopes of turning back time, changing his fate and stopping Zeus' betrayal before it ever even happens.
Running nearly double the length of the first game, this story is just simply epic from start to finish and I love the themes of defying the Gods and taking fate into your own hands. Kratos' quest to change fate itself mostly takes place on the Island of Creation, but the level design is so well crafted, creative and diverse you'd think it was an epic sprawling adventure across the whole world like the first game despite being much more secular in nature. My personal fave area has to be the Palace of the Fates near the end of the game, the way all the individual areas and puzzles are so intricately connected in the Palace of the Fates is just masterclass game design.
The first God of War primarily focused around building Kratos' backstory and giving him character development, but God of War II puts more emphasis on expanding the world of God of War and boy does it do so marvelously. Bringing in many various legends and myths from the story of Chronos and the Titans to the three Sisters of Fate Lachesis, Atropos and Clotho or Jason from Jason and the Argonauts (Shout out to the skeleton enemies that have animations and move similarly to the ones in the 60s Argonauts movie) Icarus, Prometheus and Perseus (Who is also voiced by Harry Hamlin who played Perseus in the 80s Clash of the Titans movie) among others. This game is filled to the brim with references to heroes and legends in Greek myth and so much detail went into making them feel authentic in this world and that's one of my favorite parts of the game. No other game has captured Greek myth as well as God of War II has.
While the combat is mostly the same as the first there are some newly added magic powers and an expanded weapons arsenal adding a couple new sub weapons (although I honestly find those kind of useless), but where the gameplay of God of War II is truly expanded upon is thanks to Kratos being able to grapple onto things alongside getting many items including an amulet which lets him slow time Prince of Persia style or a pair of wings to glide with which add an extra layer of dimension to both the platforming and puzzles that are found throughout the game.
God of War II is a game that takes everything I loved about the first and turns it up to 11 making it more grandiose. Whether that be the higher stakes narrative, detailed world-building with much love for the mythology it represents or expanded gameplay systems, if God of War (2005) set the standard for action adventure games then God of War II redefined it and raised the bar in every way imaginable. A sequel just as iconic and memorable as its predecessor and a journey well worth going on even 15 years later.
2009
Forgot how damn great this game is and I basically played through the whole game in one 7 hour sitting yesterday because I couldn't put it down once I started. This is a game I played a lot as a kid and it definitely left a huge impact on me because even 15 years later I still remembered almost every single thing about the game from the level design to the puzzles and story as if I had just played it yesterday.
God of War is a game that wears its influences on its sleeve proudly taking elements and ideas from series like Prince of Persia, Devil May Cry, Onimusha and ICO and God of War was described by David Jaffe himself as not being developed to be innovative or unique. Yet the funny thing is 17 years later and God of War is a game that has become so iconic and influential due to how it masterfully blended all its influences into a whole new breed of action adventure game unlike anything seen before that it spawned an entire generation of games that desperately wanted to be the next God of War.
Like I said, God of War is such an iconic game and franchise that it is so ingrained into gaming culture to where I don't even need to do a super long review on it because you'd be hard pressed to find someone who isn't familiar with the game or Kratos as a protagonist, but I'm still going to do it anyways just because it is a classic and deserves to be talked about in depth.
God of War is a dark and tragic filled modern take on a classic Greek odyssey that follows the story of Kratos, a once great commander in the Spartan army now a very broken and troubled man looking to find peace from the nightmares of his countless unspeakable crimes that haunt his dreams, Kratos is tasked by Athena to kill the God of War Ares and promised to be absolved of his sins if he completes this task.
Right from that very first iconic opening cut-scene of Kratos jumping off the highest cliff in Athens attempting to end it all, the story instantly pulls you in and the plot is slowly revealed with some thoughtful twists and turns as you make your way through the game. This is a simple story compared to many nowadays, but it is also a timeless one that focuses around the themes of vengeance and anger and I think that's exactly what makes it so memorable and effective.
Now I'm not going to say Kratos was the first anti-hero in video games, but I will say he was one of the first to popularize this style of protagonist and back in 2005 there really was no one else like him which definitely helps set the game apart from its contemporaries. Kratos is a brutal, ruthless wrathful man who has killed many in his past, will stop at nothing to achieve his goals and he's not above sacrificing innocents if it benefits him. Everywhere you go characters in the world recognize Kratos and are terrified of him, but even with all that said there's still an air of tragedy to his character, this is a man who lashes out at the world through rage and hate simply because he doesn't know or understand any other way and you can't help but feel sorry for him and wonder if there could've been another way.
Gameplay is primarily divided into two sections. You've got the core combat which is the bulk of the gameplay and while it feels a lot more barebones compared to many games nowadays, it's still a fun and fast system with plenty of weapons, powers and combos to chain together and accommodate different playstyles from Kratos' main weapon the whip-like Blades of Chaos to the AOE spell Poseidon's Wrath or the ranged spell Zeus' Fury there's a little for all occasions. While not in combat there's plenty of well crafted platforming and puzzle sections to make sure the combat never becomes too monotonous.
God of War is a game that is notable for its cinematic presentation. While most other games suffered from immersion-breaking loading screens back in the day, God of War's story mode switches seamlessly from the title screen to FMV sequences, to gameplay, and back, with very little load time. I read that David Jaffe took inspiration from Indiana Jones while making the game and I believe it because God of War is an epic journey like no other, from fictionalized versions of the real-world Aegean Sea and city of Athens to the Desert of Lost Souls, Temple of Pandora and even the Underworld itself, God of War features plenty of grandiose locations to explore. The fixed camera angles and bombastic film score OST really help to enhance the cinematic qualities of every new area Kratos visits while on his adventure as well.
From its fast and fluid combat to its dark and mature story of vengeance and tragedy alongside its sprawling grandiose locations to explore, God of War is truly a timeless classic and even 17 years later it is still one of the greatest action adventure games ever made. This quest to kill a god is one you don't want to miss out on.
God of War is a game that wears its influences on its sleeve proudly taking elements and ideas from series like Prince of Persia, Devil May Cry, Onimusha and ICO and God of War was described by David Jaffe himself as not being developed to be innovative or unique. Yet the funny thing is 17 years later and God of War is a game that has become so iconic and influential due to how it masterfully blended all its influences into a whole new breed of action adventure game unlike anything seen before that it spawned an entire generation of games that desperately wanted to be the next God of War.
Like I said, God of War is such an iconic game and franchise that it is so ingrained into gaming culture to where I don't even need to do a super long review on it because you'd be hard pressed to find someone who isn't familiar with the game or Kratos as a protagonist, but I'm still going to do it anyways just because it is a classic and deserves to be talked about in depth.
God of War is a dark and tragic filled modern take on a classic Greek odyssey that follows the story of Kratos, a once great commander in the Spartan army now a very broken and troubled man looking to find peace from the nightmares of his countless unspeakable crimes that haunt his dreams, Kratos is tasked by Athena to kill the God of War Ares and promised to be absolved of his sins if he completes this task.
Right from that very first iconic opening cut-scene of Kratos jumping off the highest cliff in Athens attempting to end it all, the story instantly pulls you in and the plot is slowly revealed with some thoughtful twists and turns as you make your way through the game. This is a simple story compared to many nowadays, but it is also a timeless one that focuses around the themes of vengeance and anger and I think that's exactly what makes it so memorable and effective.
Now I'm not going to say Kratos was the first anti-hero in video games, but I will say he was one of the first to popularize this style of protagonist and back in 2005 there really was no one else like him which definitely helps set the game apart from its contemporaries. Kratos is a brutal, ruthless wrathful man who has killed many in his past, will stop at nothing to achieve his goals and he's not above sacrificing innocents if it benefits him. Everywhere you go characters in the world recognize Kratos and are terrified of him, but even with all that said there's still an air of tragedy to his character, this is a man who lashes out at the world through rage and hate simply because he doesn't know or understand any other way and you can't help but feel sorry for him and wonder if there could've been another way.
Gameplay is primarily divided into two sections. You've got the core combat which is the bulk of the gameplay and while it feels a lot more barebones compared to many games nowadays, it's still a fun and fast system with plenty of weapons, powers and combos to chain together and accommodate different playstyles from Kratos' main weapon the whip-like Blades of Chaos to the AOE spell Poseidon's Wrath or the ranged spell Zeus' Fury there's a little for all occasions. While not in combat there's plenty of well crafted platforming and puzzle sections to make sure the combat never becomes too monotonous.
God of War is a game that is notable for its cinematic presentation. While most other games suffered from immersion-breaking loading screens back in the day, God of War's story mode switches seamlessly from the title screen to FMV sequences, to gameplay, and back, with very little load time. I read that David Jaffe took inspiration from Indiana Jones while making the game and I believe it because God of War is an epic journey like no other, from fictionalized versions of the real-world Aegean Sea and city of Athens to the Desert of Lost Souls, Temple of Pandora and even the Underworld itself, God of War features plenty of grandiose locations to explore. The fixed camera angles and bombastic film score OST really help to enhance the cinematic qualities of every new area Kratos visits while on his adventure as well.
From its fast and fluid combat to its dark and mature story of vengeance and tragedy alongside its sprawling grandiose locations to explore, God of War is truly a timeless classic and even 17 years later it is still one of the greatest action adventure games ever made. This quest to kill a god is one you don't want to miss out on.
2005
Forgot how damn great this game is and I basically played through the whole game in one 7 hour sitting yesterday because I couldn't put it down once I started. This is a game I played a lot as a kid and it definitely left a huge impact on me because even 15 years later I still remembered almost every single thing about the game from the level design to the puzzles and story as if I had just played it yesterday.
God of War is a game that wears its influences on its sleeve proudly taking elements and ideas from series like Prince of Persia, Devil May Cry, Onimusha and ICO and God of War was described by David Jaffe himself as not being developed to be innovative or unique. Yet the funny thing is 17 years later and God of War is a game that has become so iconic and influential due to how it masterfully blended all its influences into a whole new breed of action adventure game unlike anything seen before that it spawned an entire generation of games that desperately wanted to be the next God of War.
Like I said, God of War is such an iconic game and franchise that it is so ingrained into gaming culture to where I don't even need to do a super long review on it because you'd be hard pressed to find someone who isn't familiar with the game or Kratos as a protagonist, but I'm still going to do it anyways just because it is a classic and deserves to be talked about in depth.
God of War is a dark and tragic filled modern take on a classic Greek odyssey that follows the story of Kratos, a once great commander in the Spartan army now a very broken and troubled man looking to find peace from the nightmares of his countless unspeakable crimes that haunt his dreams, Kratos is tasked by Athena to kill the God of War Ares and promised to be absolved of his sins if he completes this task.
Right from that very first iconic opening cut-scene of Kratos jumping off the highest cliff in Athens attempting to end it all, the story instantly pulls you in and the plot is slowly revealed with some thoughtful twists and turns as you make your way through the game. This is a simple story compared to many nowadays, but it is also a timeless one that focuses around the themes of vengeance and anger and I think that's exactly what makes it so memorable and effective.
Now I'm not going to say Kratos was the first anti-hero in video games, but I will say he was one of the first to popularize this style of protagonist and back in 2005 there really was no one else like him which definitely helps set the game apart from its contemporaries. Kratos is a brutal, ruthless wrathful man who has killed many in his past, will stop at nothing to achieve his goals and he's not above sacrificing innocents if it benefits him. Everywhere you go characters in the world recognize Kratos and are terrified of him, but even with all that said there's still an air of tragedy to his character, this is a man who lashes out at the world through rage and hate simply because he doesn't know or understand any other way and you can't help but feel sorry for him and wonder if there could've been another way.
Gameplay is primarily divided into two sections. You've got the core combat which is the bulk of the gameplay and while it feels a lot more barebones compared to many games nowadays, it's still a fun and fast system with plenty of weapons, powers and combos to chain together and accommodate different playstyles from Kratos' main weapon the whip-like Blades of Chaos to the AOE spell Poseidon's Wrath or the ranged spell Zeus' Fury there's a little for all occasions. While not in combat there's plenty of well crafted platforming and puzzle sections to make sure the combat never becomes too monotonous.
God of War is a game that is notable for its cinematic presentation. While most other games suffered from immersion-breaking loading screens back in the day, God of War's story mode switches seamlessly from the title screen to FMV sequences, to gameplay, and back, with very little load time. I read that David Jaffe took inspiration from Indiana Jones while making the game and I believe it because God of War is an epic journey like no other, from fictionalized versions of the real-world Aegean Sea and city of Athens to the Desert of Lost Souls, Temple of Pandora and even the Underworld itself, God of War features plenty of grandiose locations to explore. The fixed camera angles and bombastic film score OST really help to enhance the cinematic qualities of every new area Kratos visits while on his adventure as well.
From its fast and fluid combat to its dark and mature story of vengeance and tragedy alongside its sprawling grandiose locations to explore, God of War is truly a timeless classic and even 17 years later it is still one of the greatest action adventure games ever made. This quest to kill a god is one you don't want to miss out on.
God of War is a game that wears its influences on its sleeve proudly taking elements and ideas from series like Prince of Persia, Devil May Cry, Onimusha and ICO and God of War was described by David Jaffe himself as not being developed to be innovative or unique. Yet the funny thing is 17 years later and God of War is a game that has become so iconic and influential due to how it masterfully blended all its influences into a whole new breed of action adventure game unlike anything seen before that it spawned an entire generation of games that desperately wanted to be the next God of War.
Like I said, God of War is such an iconic game and franchise that it is so ingrained into gaming culture to where I don't even need to do a super long review on it because you'd be hard pressed to find someone who isn't familiar with the game or Kratos as a protagonist, but I'm still going to do it anyways just because it is a classic and deserves to be talked about in depth.
God of War is a dark and tragic filled modern take on a classic Greek odyssey that follows the story of Kratos, a once great commander in the Spartan army now a very broken and troubled man looking to find peace from the nightmares of his countless unspeakable crimes that haunt his dreams, Kratos is tasked by Athena to kill the God of War Ares and promised to be absolved of his sins if he completes this task.
Right from that very first iconic opening cut-scene of Kratos jumping off the highest cliff in Athens attempting to end it all, the story instantly pulls you in and the plot is slowly revealed with some thoughtful twists and turns as you make your way through the game. This is a simple story compared to many nowadays, but it is also a timeless one that focuses around the themes of vengeance and anger and I think that's exactly what makes it so memorable and effective.
Now I'm not going to say Kratos was the first anti-hero in video games, but I will say he was one of the first to popularize this style of protagonist and back in 2005 there really was no one else like him which definitely helps set the game apart from its contemporaries. Kratos is a brutal, ruthless wrathful man who has killed many in his past, will stop at nothing to achieve his goals and he's not above sacrificing innocents if it benefits him. Everywhere you go characters in the world recognize Kratos and are terrified of him, but even with all that said there's still an air of tragedy to his character, this is a man who lashes out at the world through rage and hate simply because he doesn't know or understand any other way and you can't help but feel sorry for him and wonder if there could've been another way.
Gameplay is primarily divided into two sections. You've got the core combat which is the bulk of the gameplay and while it feels a lot more barebones compared to many games nowadays, it's still a fun and fast system with plenty of weapons, powers and combos to chain together and accommodate different playstyles from Kratos' main weapon the whip-like Blades of Chaos to the AOE spell Poseidon's Wrath or the ranged spell Zeus' Fury there's a little for all occasions. While not in combat there's plenty of well crafted platforming and puzzle sections to make sure the combat never becomes too monotonous.
God of War is a game that is notable for its cinematic presentation. While most other games suffered from immersion-breaking loading screens back in the day, God of War's story mode switches seamlessly from the title screen to FMV sequences, to gameplay, and back, with very little load time. I read that David Jaffe took inspiration from Indiana Jones while making the game and I believe it because God of War is an epic journey like no other, from fictionalized versions of the real-world Aegean Sea and city of Athens to the Desert of Lost Souls, Temple of Pandora and even the Underworld itself, God of War features plenty of grandiose locations to explore. The fixed camera angles and bombastic film score OST really help to enhance the cinematic qualities of every new area Kratos visits while on his adventure as well.
From its fast and fluid combat to its dark and mature story of vengeance and tragedy alongside its sprawling grandiose locations to explore, God of War is truly a timeless classic and even 17 years later it is still one of the greatest action adventure games ever made. This quest to kill a god is one you don't want to miss out on.
Finished Lords of Shadow 2 last night and with that my revisit of the Lords of Shadow trilogy for the first time in almost 10 years is now concluded.
So let's talk about Lords of Shadow 2 and I have a lot to say and not really for good reasons either.
Out of all the games I've played in my life this is definitely one of the ones I am most mixed on. For everything I like about the game there's another thing that I dislike and for every moment I'm having fun and enjoying the game the next area right after might be so miserable that I just want to quit playing the game. It's honestly impressive in its own right.
The story in Lords of Shadow 2 is really weird and while I like elements of it I just think the execution could've been much better and it comes off as very convoluted. You play as Dracula who after waking up for the first time in hundreds of years is weakened and must recover his powers so he can stop the resurrection of Satan on earth. Seems simple enough right? Well the problem is the story jumps back and forth between modern day segments where Dracula has to hunt down the acolytes of Satan in the modern day and some weird dream-like parts where Dracula gets brought back to his castle in the past and is guided by his dead wife and child to recover his powers. The narrative goes back and forth between present and past, modern and medieval, but that isn't even the confusing part...
What's most confusing is how some things are very vague and never fully explained and then other things just completely contradict each other. Like Dracula going back to his old castle is very symbolic of him facing the guilt and trauma he feels about being the reason his family died and he has to learn how to forgive himself to unlock the powers deep within him, hell you even fight a boss called 'Inner Dracula' which is the most literal sense of "facing your demons" and I love all this psychological exploration of Dracula, it's really cool because it humanizes him (With thanks to Robert Carlyle's incredible voice acting performance) and makes him more of a multidimensional anti-hero than a pure villain. However there's a scene where his dead wife completely contradicts this because she says she was brought back by GOD himself to help guide him??? So I guess that means the castle ISN'T just symbolic and Dracula is quite literally going back to a real version of his castle through some kind of magic? What makes this even more confusing is the Alucard DLC where Alucard goes to the castle as well, but young Trevor exists in the castle world and Alucard is Trevor so like....I really just don't get it. It just doesn't make sense.
That's just the biggest and weirdest inconsistency in the plot and there's definitely many others, but we'll be here all day if I break them all down so I'll just leave off with the plot should be very simple, but how it was told was in a messy and convoluted way and the fact it constantly goes back and forth also completely destroys the pacing. Oh yeah and the ending feels insanely rushed and anticlimactic. Like this was always meant to be the ending to the trilogy with no plans for another game, but they leave so many loose threads and it just makes me angry, not to mention the final boss in the first Lords of Shadow is one of the best final bosses ever, but the final boss in Lords of Shadow 2 is very disappointing by comparison.
So how is the gameplay you might be asking? Well I can inform you that it is just as damn mixed as the plot. The past segments are the highlights with the level design genuinely being well crafted with some stunning scenery that is fun to explore with a solid metroidvania design which encourages backtracking for upgrades when you get new powers, but the modern parts of the game takes place in a really bland pseudo open world city (Which is literally called "Castlevania City" due to being built over the remains of Dracula's castle and that'll never not be funny to me) where a lot of it is focused on forced stealth sections where Dracula has to turn into a rat and hide from enemies. This is also another way the game's pacing gets destroyed because going from past segments with more emphasis on combat and boss fights (Though even the castle segments have some awful forced stealth moments too) into present day where you are forced to hide is just jarring and it happens many times throughout the game making up at least 25% of the game's runtime. To make matters worse the first Lords of Shadow had some cool puzzles and those are almost all completely removed here to add the new stealth sections.
However credit where credit is due, the combat which is the primary focus of the game is genuinely great. It's similar to the first Lords of Shadow being very fast and fluid, but expanded and even more complex due to the fact the Light and Dark Magic systems which heal and do more damage now have new weapons attached to them being the Void Sword and the Shadow Claws and these come with their own move-sets and skill trees just like your main weapon the Shadow Whip. You also have a phase dash now instead of a dodge roll and the camera can be controlled freestyle compared to the first game that had fixed camera angles which definitely helps combat play smoother. Most of the boss fights are genuinely very fun and look awesome as well and whenever I was in combat was when I was having the most fun with the game.
Unfortunately the enemy variety is severely lacking missing many classic staples from the old Castlevania games and even many that were in the first Lords of Shadow. You mostly fight demons that look like they came straight out of DOOM, mechs that wouldn't be out of place in MGS and some skeletons so it ends up getting very repetitive and a lot of it just doesn't even feel like Castlevania. Lords of Shadow didn't feel like Castlevania a lot of the times either, but it still felt like a grandiose adventure which made it great in its own right. Lords of Shadow 2 takes place in a completely secular environment so it doesn't even have that adventurous feeling to enhance it.
At the end of the day Lords of Shadow 2 was a game plagued by a very troubled development process (Look it up on YouTube, there's multiple videos explaining what happened) and that certainly did no favors for it. This is a game that 2 separate teams of people worked on without tight coordination between each other and it shows because between the old school metroidvania style castle parts and the bland modern-day stealth sections plus the confusing, convoluted and contradictory story, Lords of Shadow 2 feels more like 2 different games that were mashed together to form 1 game and for this reason while the combat is great and there's plenty of interesting ideas spread throughout, at the end of the day it is very disappointing as both a Castlevania game and a Lords of Shadow game and a truly lackluster finale to a sadly very mixed and confused trilogy that unfortunately put the final nail in the coffin to one of my all time favorite franchises.
So let's talk about Lords of Shadow 2 and I have a lot to say and not really for good reasons either.
Out of all the games I've played in my life this is definitely one of the ones I am most mixed on. For everything I like about the game there's another thing that I dislike and for every moment I'm having fun and enjoying the game the next area right after might be so miserable that I just want to quit playing the game. It's honestly impressive in its own right.
The story in Lords of Shadow 2 is really weird and while I like elements of it I just think the execution could've been much better and it comes off as very convoluted. You play as Dracula who after waking up for the first time in hundreds of years is weakened and must recover his powers so he can stop the resurrection of Satan on earth. Seems simple enough right? Well the problem is the story jumps back and forth between modern day segments where Dracula has to hunt down the acolytes of Satan in the modern day and some weird dream-like parts where Dracula gets brought back to his castle in the past and is guided by his dead wife and child to recover his powers. The narrative goes back and forth between present and past, modern and medieval, but that isn't even the confusing part...
What's most confusing is how some things are very vague and never fully explained and then other things just completely contradict each other. Like Dracula going back to his old castle is very symbolic of him facing the guilt and trauma he feels about being the reason his family died and he has to learn how to forgive himself to unlock the powers deep within him, hell you even fight a boss called 'Inner Dracula' which is the most literal sense of "facing your demons" and I love all this psychological exploration of Dracula, it's really cool because it humanizes him (With thanks to Robert Carlyle's incredible voice acting performance) and makes him more of a multidimensional anti-hero than a pure villain. However there's a scene where his dead wife completely contradicts this because she says she was brought back by GOD himself to help guide him??? So I guess that means the castle ISN'T just symbolic and Dracula is quite literally going back to a real version of his castle through some kind of magic? What makes this even more confusing is the Alucard DLC where Alucard goes to the castle as well, but young Trevor exists in the castle world and Alucard is Trevor so like....I really just don't get it. It just doesn't make sense.
That's just the biggest and weirdest inconsistency in the plot and there's definitely many others, but we'll be here all day if I break them all down so I'll just leave off with the plot should be very simple, but how it was told was in a messy and convoluted way and the fact it constantly goes back and forth also completely destroys the pacing. Oh yeah and the ending feels insanely rushed and anticlimactic. Like this was always meant to be the ending to the trilogy with no plans for another game, but they leave so many loose threads and it just makes me angry, not to mention the final boss in the first Lords of Shadow is one of the best final bosses ever, but the final boss in Lords of Shadow 2 is very disappointing by comparison.
So how is the gameplay you might be asking? Well I can inform you that it is just as damn mixed as the plot. The past segments are the highlights with the level design genuinely being well crafted with some stunning scenery that is fun to explore with a solid metroidvania design which encourages backtracking for upgrades when you get new powers, but the modern parts of the game takes place in a really bland pseudo open world city (Which is literally called "Castlevania City" due to being built over the remains of Dracula's castle and that'll never not be funny to me) where a lot of it is focused on forced stealth sections where Dracula has to turn into a rat and hide from enemies. This is also another way the game's pacing gets destroyed because going from past segments with more emphasis on combat and boss fights (Though even the castle segments have some awful forced stealth moments too) into present day where you are forced to hide is just jarring and it happens many times throughout the game making up at least 25% of the game's runtime. To make matters worse the first Lords of Shadow had some cool puzzles and those are almost all completely removed here to add the new stealth sections.
However credit where credit is due, the combat which is the primary focus of the game is genuinely great. It's similar to the first Lords of Shadow being very fast and fluid, but expanded and even more complex due to the fact the Light and Dark Magic systems which heal and do more damage now have new weapons attached to them being the Void Sword and the Shadow Claws and these come with their own move-sets and skill trees just like your main weapon the Shadow Whip. You also have a phase dash now instead of a dodge roll and the camera can be controlled freestyle compared to the first game that had fixed camera angles which definitely helps combat play smoother. Most of the boss fights are genuinely very fun and look awesome as well and whenever I was in combat was when I was having the most fun with the game.
Unfortunately the enemy variety is severely lacking missing many classic staples from the old Castlevania games and even many that were in the first Lords of Shadow. You mostly fight demons that look like they came straight out of DOOM, mechs that wouldn't be out of place in MGS and some skeletons so it ends up getting very repetitive and a lot of it just doesn't even feel like Castlevania. Lords of Shadow didn't feel like Castlevania a lot of the times either, but it still felt like a grandiose adventure which made it great in its own right. Lords of Shadow 2 takes place in a completely secular environment so it doesn't even have that adventurous feeling to enhance it.
At the end of the day Lords of Shadow 2 was a game plagued by a very troubled development process (Look it up on YouTube, there's multiple videos explaining what happened) and that certainly did no favors for it. This is a game that 2 separate teams of people worked on without tight coordination between each other and it shows because between the old school metroidvania style castle parts and the bland modern-day stealth sections plus the confusing, convoluted and contradictory story, Lords of Shadow 2 feels more like 2 different games that were mashed together to form 1 game and for this reason while the combat is great and there's plenty of interesting ideas spread throughout, at the end of the day it is very disappointing as both a Castlevania game and a Lords of Shadow game and a truly lackluster finale to a sadly very mixed and confused trilogy that unfortunately put the final nail in the coffin to one of my all time favorite franchises.