Incredible in every way. All 3 routes contained profound messages, themes and character arcs that were planned out and executed to perfection. It's a slow build story that results in some of the best revelations and pay-offs in any work I've experienced. Top this all off with it's unique art that really enhances the stand out moments, an incredible soundtrack and full voice acting to boot. The world-building and lore is so in-depth that it feels like I've barely scratched the surface of it's mechanics after 70 hours of reading. Suspense, mystery, action, romance, horror, and history all combined into one incredible magical realism story. The only thing that holds it back is that the slice of life can drag on at times (and that h-scene writing is laughable). Writing is sometimes a bit clunky or weird, likely a result translation combined with the writer's unique style and lack of experience, but it feels very sincere either way. Reading this all blind as my introduction to the Fate universe was such a wild journey, with some of the most shocking plot twists and powerful moments that evoked my emotions or amazement. Easily one of my top media pieces of all time, and the anime adaptations don't even begin to compare.

One of the best in it's genre, has a super addictive gameplay loop paired with a mysterious, unsettling atmosphere that keeps you wondering what's next. Great sense of progression and I love how it characterized Samus + her backstory, making her resourceful and strong, but still worn down. Beautiful pixel art and an outstanding but repetitive soundtrack. It improves upon the original in every possible way while staying true. There are some problems though, a couple tediously long backtracks, annoying sections, and inconsistent difficulty, but those are the extent of my nitpicks and accurate to the NES original. This is the epitome of what all game remakes should try to be.

I loved the flash game when I was younger. This game is truly the peak of taking an idea that sounds boring on paper, and making it into something great. The tension and stress of everyday, along side the looming sense of doom that an attack might happen, or that you might make a mistake and not be able to feed your family almost makes it feel like action game at times. The progression as the mechanics get more and more complex is paced perfectly. To top that all off, it's stylistically amazing. There are great character interactions, moments and endings that are filled with black humor and irony, with a story that is surprisingly investing. The music although scarcely used, has great effect when it is. Just a super creative and truly unique indie masterpiece.

The gameplay in this is a solid improvement on Overture, however it was a completely underwhelming ending to all of the mysteries built up previously. The one thing this game had going for it (the great atmosphere) is completely destroyed by a ridiculously annoying, constantly talking invisible "companion" who serves absolutely no purpose in the story by the end. His dialogue tries to be witty, and I think he was intended to be comedic-relief but is never funny (which wouldn't really change much anyway) and is usually just constantly insulting and prodding you. It is impossible to enjoy the positive aspects of this game with Clarence talking non-stop. The puzzles are still mostly a slog, but enemy design is better than the first game in many ways. The graphics and controls are noticeable improvement as well, and it's starting to feel a lot closer to Amnesia, but all in all it was still just an absolute waste of great ideas in of itself. I'm really happy that Frictional took things in the right direction after this game and developed their formula with all positives and negatives of Penumbra in mind.

It started off with a great horror atmosphere, interesting plot lines, a building mystery, and unique game design, but it quickly got bogged down by annoying puzzles, badly designed levels, and a very noticeable lack of content. By the end it all feels very worn out. This game deserves to be respected for what Frictional would later do with it's foundation, but the design was completely shallow. It has an interesting premise and location for a horror game, but convoluted puzzles (including NEEDING to know morse code, with literally no explanation or context to introducing it? really???) reusing one incredibly dull enemy type the entire game, and an unfulfilling, pretty nonsensical story made this feel like an absolute waste of time. As someone who loves puzzles and horror games, this game was sorely lacking in good design. I hate to be so cynical as I try to find the good in everything, but certain parts of this game were just incomprehensibly bad. The saving grace was the genuinely good creepy atmosphere, mystery, and the physics engine integrated gameplay that was very far ahead the rest of this games quality. If you're a fan of Frictional, I'd really suggest to save time by avoiding this one or skim a play through.

An incredible love letter and update to the OG. RE4 Remake takes the gameplay that was groundbreaking back in 2005 and freshens it with new mechanics that bring in way more depth. It's refreshing for both newcomers and fans of the OG in every aspect. The story is a massive improvement, with genuine character development and more connections to the RE world. Don't let anyone tell you that they "watered" down the game, the campiness is still present consistently, and because the overall tone is more serious and Leon's new one liners are so goofy (in a good way!) the camp sticks out more when it occurs. Let's be honest, RE4 OG is a ton of fun, but the story is impossible to take seriously, so these changes were perfect. There are plenty of crazy action sequences, but they don't break immersion and tone like in the original. The increased emphasis on horror was great to see and there were parts I truly found scary. The OST is the biggest change, and it's actually for the better, besides the save theme. New boss themes are AMAZING. Reworked designs of boss fights were also extremely high quality. The devs knew exactly what fans loved about RE4 and retained what was needed, while making calculated changes to improve all around the board that I could spend forever listing. There is so much to do in this game, so many reasons to replay, a shooting range you can spend hours in, and a ton of lovingly added details. This is now one of my favourite games of all time and for now, my favourite Resident Evil game.

10/10

A fresh take on Cyperpunk setting, instead focusing on the main characters daily life. A very sweet story, with a well rounded cast of characters. There is moments that are filled with lots of good personal meaning, emotional depth, and great humour. Above all else, the style of this game is insane. Beautiful pixel art, incredible music, and UI / overall aesthetic that is overflowing with substance. It's not a very long VN, but it's the perfect short but sweet experience. It took me a long time to beat this game because I don't like playing VNs on Switch much, but I still pushed myself through and enjoyed the comfy experience of playing this game during late nights in bed. It's the game responsible for opening my eyes to visual novels as a medium.

Just like the first, a game with amazing style and gameplay. Really fun combat, and way less clunky controls than the first. Although it is really fun and well made, and a massive improvement over the first in every way, it's still hampered down by the developer trying to execute certain ideas that don't work out well mechanically. I have never had a fun boss fight in this game, and some of the levels are annoyingly designed. Still, it is way more fun than annoyance in the end, and the aesthetics are even more improved than in the first. A really interesting story which answers all the questions of the first game and more.

I'm incredibly shocked how this game represents the themes and identity of Mad Max so well. It really is written like a love letter to the movies, and has a lot of soul. It's a typical story that is over done, but it pays so much homage to Mad Max that I'm still happy to have it. Very overdone open world mechanics that get repetitive, but amazing car combat, decent fighting. Really wish they expanded on the concepts more. The ending was kind of a let down and it would've benefited greatly from either a DLC or post-game content.

One of my favourite games of all time. Everything is so well crafted, between the strange, almost cyberpunk semi-dystopia utopia of Cloudbank, the wonderful interactions between Red and the Transistor, and the most incredible video game soundtrack I have ever heard bar none. There are so many small details that serve to elevate this story and world to another level that I can only be appreciated on repeat playthroughs and the ending is just perfect. I like the combat a lot, but it isn't the highlight, and everything else overshadows it though it is still designed well and used in interesting ways, especially when you bump up the difficulty.

The best character action game of all time. This is near perfection for hack and slash combat at it's time. There's a fairly large but not overwhelming selection of varied weapons that are all fun to use, with different combos to learn and master, on top of some amazingly designed boss fights make it impossible to put down. The flashy characters, campy style that can only be described as DMC, a complete lack of subtlety and great game design all combine to make this an experience like no other. I fought Vergil for over 3 hours, twice.... and I'll do it again gladly.

9.9/10

Flawed masterpiece. Easily one of the most unique, creative, and greatest games ever made. It can also be incredibly frustrating and soul-breaking, but most of all the unfinished / rushed parts of the game are very apparent. Some design choices are questionable, but the wonder of this game and it's amazing world, lore, boss fights, music, atmosphere and overall design are amazing. Of course, in hindsight this was a revolutionary game for the style that it popularized, and was further refined by FromSoft. As for the Remaster, it is overall well done. It is lacking much needed QoL features and could have gone further in updating the graphics, but with the terrible quality of the original PC port, it is an acceptable upgrade and updates the visuals while maintaining the same art direction.
9/10