Wanted: Dead is a great game and I'll die on that hill, it's just super fun and entertaining above all else. I won't pretend the game isn't rough around the edges and the gameplay isn't pretty janky because it is for sure and there's no denying that, but many miss the fact that is also kinda the point considering the game is trying to emulate the sixth gen of consoles (in every way, even the ones most would consider outdated) where a lot of the games were exactly that, rough around the edges and janky though there's also so much creativity, charm and passion put into every inch of the product that it is simply impossible for me to not love it.

I will tolerate no slander or hate against the devs and especially the creative director and writer Sergei Kolobashkin because he never lied nor did he ever give false promises and the game is exactly what he said it would be. A passionate love letter to the sixth gen of consoles back when devs weren't afraid to do different and unique things and put out games that simply weren't going to be for everyone and wouldn't get critical praise, but they put these games out because they had a vision and they wanted to make it a reality. That's exactly what Wanted: Dead is for better or for worse because I have never played anything else quite like Wanted: Dead which reminds me heavily of many things like Deadly Premonition, Ninja Gaiden, Yakuza, Metal Gear Rising and basically anything with Suda51's name attached to it all rolled into one insane hybrid fever dream of a game.

Wanted: Dead is unapologetic about its influences down to its core and everything from the unique blend of gory, flashy melee hack and slash and 3rd person cover shooter combat (Which just gets better the more you play as you unlock more skills and abilities) to the over-the-top and slightly convoluted B-movie plot about a group of former war-criminal inmates who get a second chance at freedom and become an elite team of police officers that also happen to get tangled up into a corporate conspiracy complete with eccentric archetypal characters (Like the loose canon katana wielding badass cop who plays by her own rules Hannah Stone, the awkward pop culture referencing, cat loving genius gunsmith Viviane or the ramen connoisseur and ladies man Herzog) and influenced by Hong Kong action cinema and 80s/90s Cyberpunk anime like Ghost in the Shell or the purposefully amateurish voice acting done by the devs themselves, the awkwardly lip-synched cut-scenes, self-aware goofy dialogue, weird mini-games and especially the linear to a fault level design and punishing difficulty with checkpoints few and far between (I would go as far to say that your enjoyment of the game could hinge upon how good you are at action games with nuanced controls) was all deliberately added to further fully encapsulate that PS2 era charm in every way possible.

Wanted: Dead feels like a long-lost classic PS2 game in the best (and some of the worst) ways possible and while that isn't going to be for everyone, hell it won't even be for most people, but I personally adore it and respect the creator for sticking entirely to their creative vision and simply putting out a game for no other reason than it was something they were passionate about and wanted to release for the ones who will enjoy and truly "get" it and for the ones that do "get" it, you'll get an incredible retro throwback to a time when games weren't afraid to just be weird and fun.

P.S. I can already tell that much like games such as Deadly Premonition, NieR, God Hand, Killer7 or Killer is Dead this is the epitome of a truly misunderstood gem of a game that will be heralded as a cult classic 5 or 10 years from now, but for now it has already reached that status for me.

I somewhat loathe to “defend” it as Forspoken isn't an amazing game by any means, but the hate going around feels pretty undeserved. Nothing here is inherently that much worse than most 7/10 open world games on the market.
Hell, in terms of gameplay it has a really janky but unique feel that might end up sticking with me in the long run. Some of the powers, especially the last set (which you get way too late btw lol) are pretty unique and fun! The magical parkour might be one of my favorite traversal systems in a game in a while too, it gives you a ton of freedom to get around creatively and looks flashy as hell. I mostly had a good enough time when actually playing it.
But holy moly, even I find it difficult to defend this story. I'm pretty good at trusting the writer, going with whatever they throw at me, and finding things to enjoy along the way, but the way this story is constructed is incredibly bizarre. No specifics, but I think the story of someone shutting themselves off, feeling ostracized from society, trying to find their place in it is a perfectly fine idea if a bit rote, but it can't be 90% buildup with characters being awful people all the way, and all of the payoff dropped in the final hour. The pacing is just absolutely abysmal. There is a weird part where they create a borderline out of character-feeling interpersonal conflict between most of the named cast with everyone being assholes to each other, and that was pretty much the final straw for me. All of the makings of a decent adventure are there and there are some beats that I think are genuinely kinda good, but similar to Luminous’ last project, the execution is questionable.
Also have to mention that the final boss is a crazy difficulty spike. In general, the last couple chapters feel like a sudden sprint to the end of the story. So strange.
I was pretty excited despite everything, and again the gameplay is unique and fun enough but… it’s just not great as a whole. A shame because I really want to be a champion of Luminous, there is something special and specific to them somewhere in their work... Hopefully whatever their next project is can capture that fully.

I'm not going to rate this simply because I did not put enough time into it to give it an honest rating. But I can say that unfortunately the Overdrive combat system is not clicking with me. I know it's an added strategic mechanic to the combat but I feel it's limiting how I want to play the game, and I'm just not feeling it.

I'm reminded of CrossCode, a game with high praise from players and critics. On paper, it should have been right up my alley. Beautiful pixel art, inspired by the JRPG classics I grew up with it. But I did not like the puzzles in it, at all, to the point where it dragged down my inspiration to see it through.

I like the art and environments of Chained Echoes. Story and characters seem okay so far, but I wouldn't say I'm attached to any of it. Time is precious and I'm going to move on to something else that I'd like to play (maybe I'll finish one of the 8 other games I'm currently playing).

I'm gonna shelve this indefinitely and maybe I'll revisit it someday...but it's unlikely.

GOTY tbh. Beat Raymond's route in about 34 hours first, will do Laeticia's later on.

Story
I really like the premise of this game's story, its a lot of fun. Space FedEx deliveryman Raymond's ship is attacked and he crash lands on a fantasy themed underdeveloped planet named Aster IV where he gets involved in a war between nations. There is a law in universe that prevents people from interacting with underdeveloped planets so that the evolution of their society isn't influenced by anyone but Raymond doesn't give a fuck, its very entertaining to see Sci Fi and Fantasy mix together in his interactions with the residents of Aster IV as they react to the increasing presence of advanced technology on their journey. I don't get the complaints some have about the game suddenly ending, but I do wish we got a bit more at the end with Aster IV, though that may be because I am attached to this cast.

Characters
The characters the draw of the game for me. The party in this game is pretty varied and they're mostly good. Midas in particular is a joy to watch because of how little patience he has with the royalty of the planet and also due to how his inventor side reacts to Sci-Fi stuff. He's also buff as fuck for a mage. Private Actions are a mechanic where the MC gets to converse with party members mostly one on one during their downtime in cities and its put to great use here, loads of funny and interesting conversations with great characterization.

Gameplay
The combat although easy is a lot of fun and personally, buffing up, blindsiding an enemy and then hitting them with your strongest chain combo/Vatting attack never got old. They also somehow made it fun to play as the healer and it felt pretty natural to swap to Nina to build up AP and then swap to Elena/Marielle to own enemies. Figuring out the best chain combos for the party is neat but I will say, I never bothered figuring out what was best for the mages(I'm lazy).

One of the key features of a Star Ocean game is its unique Item Creation mechanic. Unfortunately for me, this is my first Star Ocean game so I did not interact with it much beyond doing the side quests for Welch to unlock them and making stronger revive items with it. I have seen online that its very useful for making great items and equipment though. I'll definitely be using it more in post game.

Exploration is pretty good with a fair amount of visual variety as well as vertical emphasis due to the ability to launch yourself into the air and glide although sadly the vertical aspects of the area design peak towards the beginning of the game. Most of the exploration is done in open fields that are visually great but sadly empty beyond some chests and gems for upgrades. Towards the end of the game the areas get replaced with dungeons and they are actually decently designed. There's even a teleport dungeon, hats off to Tri-Ace honestly for implementing one in their game even if it is a simple one.

Music
Motoi Sakuraba killed it on the music. I haven't played the other games he's composed for besides half of Valkyrie Elysium, I can hear the similarities and I gotta say I much prefer his work here over Elysium. Some of my favorites are "Special Delivery, Coming In Hot!", "Dance of The White Blade", "Bravery Flows Where Flesh Meets Steel", "Blaze Your Own Path: The Aldous" and "Paladurnia". I actually have a lot more but I don't want to list like 70% of the OST.

Conclusion
The Divine Force is a very fun time with great characters, combat and music. A must have honestly but I think the weaker story may affect some people's enjoyment of the game. Its hooked me on the series and I will be playing the rest of them