The only mainline Uncharted game I hadn't played until recently!

I can see why it's a divisive entry. The plot is kind of a mess and some of the combat sequences near the end of the game severely overstay their welcome.

But man, it is STILL so breathtaking to play through some of these sequences. Escaping the burning mansion, the sinking ship, the plane crash, and the horseback chase sequence are all stunning moments that perfectly showcase what makes Uncharted special and still worth playing all these years later.

Also, everything with Sully is genuinely touching and is almost the sole reason this chapter in the story matters.

The more of this I play, the more I realize this is an un-reviewable video game.

The emotional equivalent of the coolest, nicest, hottest people you know asking you to help them move and paying you with pizza. Rebirth has some of the most satisfying real time RPG combat with one of the best ensembles in video game history-- all shoved into a bizarrely designed approximation of a "modern" open-world game.

Reflecting on FF7's world map, the openness was more of a feeling than literal design. It wasn't until you got the Highwind near the finale of the original game that you could actually go anywhere you wanted.

Rebirth, ironically, is best when it's on the rails. There are some fun side quests here and there, but there is so much fluff that it genuinely feels like half of the world map activities were designed out of spite.

Ultimately, I am such an unabashed FF7 fan that even if part three is complete garbage, I will still be grateful that this remake trilogy exists. The characters all feel like fully realized versions of themselves, and there are moments of Rebirth that are high points for Final Fantasy overall. It's just a shame that somewhere within Square Enix they felt that a 10/10 story-driven linear action game needed to be shoved into another genre that doesn't feel built around Rebirth's strengths.

One of my favorite games is Garden Story and I found myself interested in this game because of the resemblance to each other. What can I say? I love a cute little nonbinary lead that wants to be a warrior and keep their friends safe.

This game was super cozy and relaxing. The theming and music felt really well done and exciting. My biggest complaint is that some of the adventuring felt a little monotonous and repetitive, resulting in me not wanting to explore much unless I had to go somewhere for a quest. That being said, I do feel like there were some really cool artistic and heartfelt moments made... even with the simplicity of the gameplay. I loved the relationship building between the characters. Two moments I felt really wowed by the art direction were definitely during Chorus' dream scape and during the final boss fight. It was so cool!

This was a nice, short game that made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

I haven't done the epilogue yet.

The first Crysis is pretty much a tech show-off and... that's about it.
Can't say i've ever been a fan of the first Crysis, but yeah, I must admit that it was impressive for the year 2007, it looked really good and not many PCs could run it. It had cool mechanics like the invisibile cloak or the fact that the environment was destroyable, a tropical setting just like the first Far Cry but this time in North Korea with robot aliens. The game sounds great on paper but in reality it doesn't excel in anything.
The remaster isn't that great either.

Ugh...

Okay-- so, on one hand, this game plays extremely well. Engage's interpretation of the weapon triangle and the titular "Engage" mechanic make combat a blast. Maps are cleverly designed and the battle animations are incredible. The hub world is also fun, and overall, the game has a very rewarding loop that's hard to walk away from.

Unfortunately, I actively dislike everything else. The story is rough and the supports feel AI written. I went in with low expectations given many reviews explicitly stated this game was more focused on tactics, and I still found myself feeling disappointed by the narrative.

I know very well that not every FE game prioritizes story, but there's absolutely a way to have a lighter stakes journey that doesn't take itself too seriously. Instead, we get a plot that echoes the beats of an epic fantasy tale without giving us any reason to care.

Despite my issues with Engage, I am still enjoying the game. My advice is to skip the cutscenes, give everyone sunglasses, and have fun with the incredible tactics.

TLDR: Help, I miss Garegg Mach so much...