Very impressive game from a studio that has only made mobile gacha games. Stellar Blade caught my eye immediately upon the reveal trailer, and not for the reasons that you're thinking. As a huge fan of character action games, and a fan of soulslikes, this game stuck out immediately. Stellar Blade is a Nier: Automata inspired character action game with a light splash of soulslike combat, and it delivers on all of these.

The combat is fantastic, its tight and responsive, and challenging in many parts, especially near the end. I wouldn't say the game really does anything new with it's combat, but it is stands tall when compared to it's peers.

The open world aspect of the game was actually a surprise to me, and I think this game does it well. Instead of doing a massive and empty sprawling wasteland, this game focuses itself by having two smaller and densely packed areas. The game has a ton of collectibles that actually feel worthwhile to find, unlike many games.

The story was pretty decent, nothing super groundbreaking but interesting enough to keep me invested.

The side content was serviceable, and thankfully the game didn't overload itself too much with side quests.

The music is absolutely fantastic, but that is to be expected as it is made by the same people who made the music for Nier.

Overall great time, exited for the sequel.

As someone who’s a big fan of “The Messenger” when I heard that this game was made by the same dev, AND is directly connected to The Messenger, I instantly scooped it up, and boy am I glad I did.

The story and writing in this game is solid, it’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s endearing and serviceable.

This game is absolutely gorgeous, some of the greatest pixel art work in a long long time. Every area is unique, colorful and diverse. The music is also fantastic to boot.

The world on a gameplay level is pretty good, lots of rewarding stuff to find throughout, and it even has some nice dungeons with permanent overworld utility upgrades.

The biggest plus of this game is the gameplay. Sea of Stars has one of the best combat systems in a turn based RPG, period. It’s like Mario and Luigi on steroids. The lock system and the way the different abilities for the six characters interact with the lock system makes fights engaging and strategy heavy.

Now I’m just exited for the next game this dev puts out.

Previously I wrote a review about how I did not enjoy Alan Wake 1 very much. Well playing Alan Wake 2 made 1 worth it. Playing 1 is pretty much required to get as much as possible out of 2. Now onto the main review.

Alan Wake 2 is probably the single most definitive example of how video games are art. This game hits nearly every single mark

Let’s start with the very basics. I’m not usually one to care all that much about the graphical fidelity of games, but this game is absolutely gorgeous. The opening sequence’s graphics and atmosphere completely floored me right off the bat. I will say near the end in particular I was having some issues with textures not loading in properly, although that was likely due to my hardware.

Next is gameplay. Alan Wake 2 is now one of the greats of the survival horror genre. The combat is quick, weighty and punishing, and the game spaces our encounters enough so I always felt dread about when the next enemies were going to pop out. Exploration is super rewarding as there are tons of collectibles to find throughout that are satisfying to hunt down. As a horror game AW2 blows it out of the water. This is by far the scariest game I’ve played in years, if not ever.

Last but certainly not least is the story. There’s not a whole lot I can say here is that it is fantastic. It’s mind bending, it’s meta, it’s goofy, it’s serious, it’s quite literally everything a fantastic story can be, all wrapped into one. Switching between two different campaigns on the fly was a fantastic and unique addition, and each one is so different that it was almost like playing two games.

I’m kind of all over the place with this one, but this game absolutely blew me away, and I really can’t properly explain how great it is. Just go play it.

I guess I just don't "get" Alan Wake. I bought Alan Wake 2 on high praise from some content creators whose opinion's I respect, and Epic Games gave me 1 for free, so I felt obliged to play it. I had played Control and its AWE DLC previously, but of course I didn't really understand the Alan Wake part of that story at the time.

The story in Alan Wake is pretty good, I enjoy the writing aspect tying in with the events and supernatural parts of the plot, although I do feel that they could have done more with it, such as having Wake react to the pages he finds during exploration. This all being said I don't think the story lived up to the hype that fans of the game give it.

Past the story this game just does not do it for me. In a lot of ways it feels like a resident evil clone that does not prioritize "fun." The levels are all huge sprawling linear paths that drag on for far too long. It also doesn't help that Wake feels terrible to control, and can sprint for a whole 10 seconds before getting tired.

The atmosphere of the world is nice overall, however it is all thrown away when enemies spawn, accompanied by a shock violin stinger and slow motion, with enemies saying nonsensical random lines.

The combat in this game has potential, however it just does not cut it. Having to shine your light at enemies for several seconds before you can damage them does not work for the most part, and just makes the core of combat dodging around until you can unload and kill an enemy. This is not helped by the "deemphasized aiming" as I like to describe it. You don't actually need to aim your shots, they'll just land if you're pointing in the general direction, taking all strategy out of the combat. The game seems to pretend it's "survival horror" but not once did I have to worry about my ammo consumption.

On top of the lackluster gameplay the enemy variety is also terrible, as it just consists of small medium and large dudes with melee weapons, inanimate objects, and birds.

When comparing this game to its kind of sequel, Control, it is clear that the devs really improved the gameplay aspect of their projects, so I am hopeful that I will enjoy Alan Wake 2 much more than I enjoyed 1.

Part 5 of my father and son 3D Zelda playthroughs

Skyward sword has always been the most decisive entry to the series, but the last two times that I've played through it I've come to really appreciate a lot that the game has done.

The dungeon, boss and gameplay quality in SS is top notch, with many best in series contenders for both dungeons and bosses. I've seen many complaints about the pacing in SS, although I feel this game is very well paced with back to back quality sections throughout. I will say that the only thing that really messes with the pacing is the imprisioned refights. I think if you're gonna fight a boss three times it should be a much more interesting fight, and SS is certainly capable of making better fights than the annoying imprisioned.

My only real major complaint with SS is Fi herself. When comparing her directly to Midna she is such a massive downgrade, and it sucks because I can envision how Fi could have had a lot of potential. All she needed was an arc. A big reason that Fi is so terrible is because she acts like a robot the entire game. Her constant "There's a 99% chance that the object in front of you is a rock" quips are genuinely infuriating. I think the game should have started her out as cold and robotic, but over the course of the quest she should have grown to become genuinely emotional and should have shown that emotion. I feel that Fi was a missed opportunity, and she could have rivaled Midna as a fantastic companion character.

This was my first time playing the switch version of the game, and I really enjoyed the improvements. The major aspect for me of course being full button controls. I think the usage of the right stick for sword movements was ingenious, and I personally enjoyed it more than motion controls. I felt that the game retained the magic of sword combat even with these input adaptations. This port is certainly the definitive way to play.

My son really enjoyed this game, and although he doesn't like it as much as TP, he really enjoyed it. I took extra care to explain the lore and story implications of this game, and he loved forging the master sword and ultimately facing Demise and witnessing the origin of Ganondorf.

An ocean as shallow as a puddle.

Dave the Diver is a game that seems to want to do literally everything that came to the developer's minds. There is a bunch of random nonsensical minigames throughout the game, as well as hundreds and hundreds of unique mechanics to interact with. This sounds like it could be a good thing, however every single mechanic suffers due to this design decision. No part of the game feels fully realized, Even the two big parts, the diving and the restaurant management, feel half baked. The gameplay loop suffers in a big way because of this.

That all being said, the game is fun, in a very simple way. The issue I have is that because of how shallow every mechanic is, this game would be much better suited as a 5-10 hour game. I rolled credits and dropped the game, and that was at the 33 hour mark. That is far too long for a game as shallow as this.

Dave the Diver also violently disrespects your time. The game may be 30 hours long, but it could have been much shorter with some very basic pacing tweaks. Pretty much after every single crumb of progress in the story, no matter how small and insignificant, the game makes you come back to the surface. This includes the part of the game where you're diving in the depths, forcing you to dive all the way down to the bottom of the ocean every time something minor happens in the story.

The game also treats the player like they're incompetent, with Dave basically narrating every little thing that happens.

While I had fun for the first 15 hours or so of the game, all of these things put together soured the experience by the end.

Many other reviewers say that this game outstays its welcome, and they're right.

Kind of a step down from the original.

Ghostrunner II in a lot of ways is more of the same. If you were itching for more Ghostrunner, this will scratch that itch. That being said this game isn't as "tight" as the original was. Movement is worse, combat encounters are more basic, and level design is much worse.

There is also some jank and other issues with this release, for example I had to bind my keys every single time I booted up the game.

I had a good time, but it wasn't anything special, especially when compared to the original. I know my review seems mostly negative, but I still give it a 4 because it is in fact more Ghostrunner, and Ghostrunner is fun as hell

This is the definitive version of my favorite persona game.

I originally played Persona 3 FES almost 4 years ago AFTER having played 5, 5 Royal, and 4 Golden. I tentatively felt that FES was my favorite of the bunch due to the story that I felt was much more impactful than the rest. However, the gameplay and presentation in FES were severely lacking compared to 5, my first persona game.

With Reload pretty much every drawback has been nullified. The style and presentation is just as good as 5. This game takes UI queues from 5, but of course with a theme more fitting to 3. The gameplay is even better than 5. Pretty much every aspect of the combat and persona system has been overhauled to make this the definitive version of persona combat.

The story has been expanded by adding a bunch of side content to the main cast of characters. This, alongside the new voice actors that are mostly fantastic, solidifies these characters as my favorite group of the series.

I have mixed feelings about the music. I like most of the original soundtrack more than the remade songs, although I think the new songs are still great, and they grew on me over the course of the playthrough.

My only major complaint with this game is a little bit of a nitpick. The intro cutscene with Yukari struggling to use her evoker while the MC is arriving in town. In FES this scene was chilling, in reload its completely neutered. It may seem like a small thing, but this opening scene sets the tone for the whole game, and it being significantly weaker starts this remake off on the wrong foot.

Overall the story and characters of 3 mixed with the style, mechanics and polish of modern persona makes this the best persona game

Part 4 of my father and son 3D Zelda saga.

Twilight Princess, while still a game that I absolutely adored, kinda stayed in the shadows when I think about my favorite Zelda games. Something about it didn’t stick in my head as much as all the other ones.

That being said I think if you look at this game more objectively that it is the best OG 3D Zelda, and it’s not really that close. Twilight Princess has the greatest story, characters, dungeons, bosses, and feel of any of the OG 3D Zelda’s. TP is also a powerhouse when it comes to charm and atmosphere throughout.

For some reason TP wasn’t as deeply lodged into my nostalgia engine as the previous 3. Although I truly believe that this game is fantastic, it just isn’t as special to me as the previous three for one reason or another.

As for my playthrough with my son, he absolutely loved this one. He said that this is his favorite, and having played each one back to back, and this probably being the best one it definitely makes sense.

Part 3 of my father and son 3D Zelda saga

To those who know the development of wind waker it’s no surprise that this game has its fair share of issues. From rushed development, to cut content and frivolous padding. I believe that on an objective level that wind waker is likely the worst 3D Zelda.

As I get older I get and the further away I stray from the nostalgia of my childhood the issues with this game become clearer and clearer, and I distinctly have had a diminished reaction to this game over time.

All that being said I do feel I have the most nostalgia for this game, and I think it’s because my mind is going back to how this game made me feel when I was a kid.

Playing through with my son, however, allowed me to relive that childhood through him. While wind waker has its issues and limitations, none of that matters to a kid.

My son adored everything about this game, from the artstyle, to the tone, to the palpable sense of true adventure. To a kid wind waker hit different, because a kid doesn’t know about the limitations of games, or problems with development. All a kid knows is that there’s a vast, open ocean and an entire world to save

As I grew up, without even realizing it, I became jaded towards wind waker. I believe that wind waker only works with a fresh and imaginative mind.

I will always love wind waker for what it gave me at the time of my initial playthrough

Part 2 of my father and son 3D Zelda saga.

MM is my favorite game of all time, and replaying it after 5 years doesn’t change that for me at all. As much as I love all of the Zelda games, every one is more or less the same on subsequent playthroughs. Not Majoras Mask, however.

Each time I play MM I discover new things, I meticulously optimize my cycles for maximum dandori (Majora’s mask can absolutely be played in the spirit of dandori).

This playthrough was very satisfying simply due to the levels of efficiency I achieved throughout. That’s part of what’s so special about MM, is that replaying it is always worthwhile because like modern games like outer wilds, one of the strongest upgrades you can get is knowledge.

My son enjoyed MM probably about as much as he enjoyed OOT. He was always super pumped when we got a mask, and he told me he thought the transformation masks were awesome.

I hope that my son will play this game when he’s a little older so he can further appreciate it more in the light of how I do.

Only slight hitch in this playthrough was playing this on the promotional GameCube release. This version lags like crazy, and I had two crashes that each lost me several hours of progress. I think next time I play I’m going to install an emu and the hd texture pack. (Still better that the 3ds version)

Don’t remember the dates but in 2024 my son (5) and I began playing through the 3D Zelda games, of course starting with Ocarina of Time.

The last time I had played the OG 3D Zelda’s was in 2019 just after my son was born. 5 years may have been the longest period of time in my entire life I went without playing OOT

One of my earliest memories in life was playing OOT with my mom when I was around my son’s age. My son had been into other games, but at 5 years old I felt he was now old enough to begin to appreciate these games.

I believe he did appreciate the game, he got super invested throughout, although he does have trouble focusing on longer sessions. Just like me his favorite parts are the bosses.

My completionist streak seems to have worn off on my son, as he was insistent on getting to 20 hearts.

I hope that this playthrough can be as memorable for my son as my playthrough with my mother was when I was a kid

As for the game, still holds up. Still fantastic

A game about one choice.

Oneshot is short and sweet, a game about a young child who is transported to a dying world and is tasked with saving it.

All of the character development for Niko and the world building is in service of making the final choice that much harder.

Besides that there is not much to the game. I had a good time, and it didn’t take too much of said time

I had heard great things about Pizza Tower, but it still managed to surpass my expectations. This is truly one of the greats of 2D platformers.

Every single level in Pizza Tower is unique in theming and mechanics. There are some very creative and fun ideas on display throughout the game. Collectibles in each level are a little sneaky but overall very manageable to get. Almost every powerup in the game fundamentally changes your movement and how you need to approach a level.

The bosses are challenging, but have patterns that can be learned with a couple of tries, making going for P Rank on bosses addicting.

The humor and artstyle is wacky in the most perfect way. And the music is phenomenal throughout.

My only lament is that I suck to much at the game to every get all of the P Ranks :(