FromSoft's first open world game and they absolutely nailed it. I was initially worried that the move meant they would have to compromise on level design, but that wasn’t really the case here. Despite its vast and seamless world, the majority of it still has the same level of varied intricacy as the rest of their games. Like sprawling castles with detailed interiors and immense verticality, random caves you may stumble across that lead to massive underground systems, and of course plenty of unique bosses to fight.

That’s its biggest strength for me, the exploration. What sets it apart from many others is the complete lack of endless map markers or quests to focus on, rather just letting you get lost in a world with so much to see on the horizon that you can’t help but want to explore. And it rewards this curiosity by always having something worthwhile to find, whether it be useful items, boss encounters, or even paths to entire new areas. This also makes approaching difficult bosses a bit more manageable, as you can always just go somewhere else if you’re stuck and try again when you’re stronger.

And as a setting I loved The Lands Between. I’m not sure how much influence GRRM had over the world-building, but its mysterious lore is ever present all over and it’s wonderfully realized. It’s still as somber as From games have always been, but it also felt more grand given how open it is in comparison.

The only real gripe I had was the smaller catacombs you can find felt a bit too repetitive. Most of them look the same and some bosses are reused for them, basically serving as ER’s version of chalice dungeons which is eh. But I still enjoyed going through them so didn’t mind too much. Performance also seems… not great on most platforms, but I played the BC version on PS5 so was pretty much locked 60 for me. Hopefully they can iron its issues out for everything else.

But overall it’s yet another masterful game by From and now among my favorites. I’m excited to see where they go from here, cause it really did feel like a culmination of all their work up to now.

For me the allure of Zero Dawn as a new IP was the novelty of its world. Figuring out where the robot dinos came from, learning about Aloy and the tribal civilizations, the “Old Ones”, etc. Despite its flaws it effectively built up its sci-fi mysteries throughout and they were mostly given a satisfying answer by the end. Forbidden West continues from there and tries to expand more on Aloy herself and the people she encounters.

The gameplay is pretty much the same aside for some changes to combat and traversal. Fighting the machines is still really fun, and figuring out how to take on all the new variations is the best thing about the game. That said, combat with humans (which there’s a lot of) is still dull, and using melee isn’t much better than it was. They also claimed the climbing would be greatly improved and more free form in comparison, sort of? Honestly I thought it was somewhat worse since it could be really janky to control at times, though the addition of a glider was good.

I feel like the story in this one wasn’t as interesting without the intrigue of its world-building to push it forward. It does try to address Zero Dawn’s biggest flaw to me which was the characters, by making the cast more involved and giving you a base to interact with them between missions. But they still aren’t particularly memorable and the villains are especially boring here. At least the dialogue isn’t as stilted since the cutscene animations are far better than the first.

I did enjoy the side quests though. I don’t remember Zero Dawn’s standing out much at all, but these are more involving and have their own cutscenes akin to the main story, so actually wanted to do the majority of them. The other world activities aside for that (like errands and the generic outposts to clear) are still bland, though you can turn their map icons off and just ignore them at least.

Overall Forbidden West is a fine sequel. The visuals and music continue to be great and there’s better environmental variety. The ranged combat remains the highlight, and they improved on some of the first’s flaws like the side quests and animations pretty well. But it’s let down by how iterative it is, and it doesn’t really do much to justify its story imo.

With a rich and vibrant world with something to do everywhere you go, Elden Ring's open world is the best gaming has to offer. The scale of the overworld itself is mindblowing and finding out about the underworld that's seemingly just as large blew my mind even more. The world-building through storytelling makes the game's world feel extremely real and alive. There are 0 bad areas in this game. This game features what I would consider a strong lineup of high quality and fun bosses. The Godskin Duo and the Elden Beast were the only fights I disliked but everything else was peak. I also did not mind the few reoccurring bosses at all. The combat system is peak action RPG combat. Even after beating the game I still feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of this game's combat.

I really appreciate how hands-off this game was with the storytelling. I love how it just drops you into the world with no tutorial and nearly no directions. I already feel kinda nostalgic for the beginning of the game when I was just trying to get out of limgrave. There weren't many cutscenes to mess with the immersion. Every cutscene came at a completely appropriate and relevant time.

This game is without a doubt a masterpiece. I will never forget my first playthrough experience. I look forward to continuing to explore the world of Elden Ring. This is a game I would recommend it to anyone.

Usually when I complete a game I let my thoughts sit for a bit in order to come to a full, unbiased conclusion. But for Elden Ring, my thoughts have been concrete since the second I entered the Altus Plateau - so I can safely say that that this is not only the best souls game I’ve ever played, but the best game I’ve ever played period.

After 95 hours, I became the Elden Lord and concluded the best gaming journey I have ever been through. Sure I still have a few bosses to go and DLC (that’ll only reaffirm the top 1 spot) to look forward to, but the experience from the start of the game all the way to the credits will never be matched.

Elden Ring feels like a culmination of every idea and mechanic put into the Souls series from what I’ve seen so far - topped off with the freedom and exploration of Breath of The Wild. All of this is able to create the best, most alive, and most realistic world in gaming. Elden Rings world is so vibrant and full of life; there is never an empty area or place that feels lacking from the rest. Even the smallest areas will be full of things to do, mini dungeons to complete, and bosses to fight. So much care and effort was put into this world and it really shows when compared to most of the lackluster AAA open world games that are releasing today. It’s a breath of fresh air, one I haven’t gotten since BOTW - it feels really nice to play an open world game to completion without ever feeling tired of repetitive side objectives and exploration that feels auto generated. The world is easily the highlight, but I can’t praise it without mentioning the story and lore written by the humble George R. R Martin. I’m not gonna act like I fully understand the story, but what I do know and gathering from the stuff I don’t even understand, it’s pretty easy to say that the world building here is immaculate and really furthers my take that this is the best world in gaming - and possibly ever. Side quests do not feel like side quests; optional activities that feel restrained and separate from the main story, but instead feel like branches of a much larger story and path. So many memorable characters brought to fruition with stellar voice performances really brings these quests home.

I’ve said my praises about the world and story which are already enough to showcase my love for the game, but I can’t leave out the gameplay. I’ve only beaten Sekiro and Dark Souls 3 + played a bit of Bloodborne, Dark Souls 1, and Demon Souls so I think I have quite the understanding of how the souls series functions from a gameplay standpoint. And because of this understanding, I can gather that Elden Ring is the best rendition of the Souls formula yet. The combat is so unique, so creative, and filled to the brim with possibilities when it comes to builds and how you tackle the game. The difficulty plays a big role in this as well - with Elden Ring being the hardest game I have ever beaten. It’s challenging but fair, and sometimes a little tedious but not very often, so the overall difficulty is super consistent and fun. There were so many bosses in the game that took me what felt like ages, but even then I had a blast learning their patterns and beating them (even if I pussied out a lot and used summons). The sense of accomplishment that comes from the bosses is really something that drives the entire series home for me - it is what makes the games so fun yet in the end is such a small piece of this vast series.

Elden Ring is nothing short of a masterpiece - it is everything you could ever ask for in a game and more. It will easily go down as one of gamings greats and I cannot fathom how far the inevitable DLC will push this agenda.

It was strange that Nintendo would pick up an M rated property, especially one that is as sexualized and gory as Bayonetta. The original game put Platinum Games on the map as a great hack and slash developers. The game was bombastic, fun, hard, fast-paced, and very memorable. The flashy combat and memorable personality and style of Bayonetta herself made her one of the most popular and well-known characters of the last generation.

Bayonetta 2 tries to capitalize on that, but on Nintendo’s home consoles. Thankfully, none of the sex appeal or gore has been toned down which is a huge shock and was what most people were expecting — more of a teen rated experience or heavily censored. What we get is the same sexiness, blood, and guts from the original. Now, I was never a huge fan of Bayonetta’s story is its a bit convoluted. I didn’t quite understand the story until towards the end, but Bayonetta is an Umbran Witch who is the Left Eye of God and the Right Eyes (Lunar Witches) are part of some sort of prophecy. The Aesir God is trying to destroy humans (it’s heavily Norse based) and Bayonetta is trying to stop said God from doing so. There are a couple of new characters thrown in, but I didn’t care much for the story. It’s a confusing mess honestly.


What is great though is the combat and there’s plenty of it. Light and heavy attacks combined together with a ranged attack make for some of the best combat this side of Devil May Cry. Bayonetta is so agile and looks so good bouncing around on the screen and the controls are incredibly responsive. The key to the battles is the Witch Time dodge mechanic that’s used right before enemies strike. It’s so satisfying to get into a rhythm of slowing downtime for a couple of seconds and attacking. Each enemy has its own attack pattern and you quickly learn when to dodge and slow downtime to build up your Witch Time which is then triggered to unleash heavy attacks. This tight combat system isn’t very deep, but hard to master especially with new moves to purchase. I found myself noticing that you must master this dodge technique or you won’t get very far. It’s the only way to really dodge attacks., but because you have to heavily rely on it that forces you to master it which can make it a core part of the combat system.

The combat goes a little further with Torture Attacks that are optional instead of unleashing your Umbran Attack. These are small quick-time events and awesomely brutal death scenes for the demons and angels. Bosses have their own unique Torture Attack that triggers at the end of battles. Speaking of bosses, I have to say I think there are too many here. Almost every level is either a boss only or consists of multiple bosses from main to mini-bosses. I also think for the short length of the game there are too many enemies here. A new enemy is introduced at nearly every level and they don’t really mix them up much. With so many new enemies you just start to learn their attack pattern and you may never see them again outside of the mini-bosses.


Outside of combat, Bayonetta doesn’t do much. The levels are highly linear with only one way to really go. You can explore a couple of side paths for hidden items that unlock costumes, weapons, and more. There are Muspelheim missions which are challenges spread throughout the game that grant Moon Pearls (Witch Time upgrades) and hearts (life upgrades). There are Remembrance challenges that require you to gather pieces of a chest before time runs out, and these are nice little distractions. There are a couple of levels that have you power a mech and fly a plane, but they are short and not sprinkled in enough. The game doesn’t feel as varied as the first one and I quickly found myself just mowing down boss after boss waiting for something new to happen.

I loved unlocking Nintendo themed costumes, mixing up my weapons to create a unique playstyle, and watching Bayonetta never gets dull, but it just didn’t feel as memorable as the first game, something felt off. It somehow felt too repetitive towards the end and I became exhausted with the onslaught of bosses, with some repeating multiple times throughout the game. There are co-op Witch Trials which are nice and all, but the core game just doesn’t feel as memorable despite how great it is.


The game looks amazing though and is still one of the best looking Switch games to date. The framerate is up there at 60 or close to it with no slowdowns. Textures and models look fantastic and the art style is just beautiful and really makes Bayonetta stand out on its own artistically. I did feel some environments kind of blurred together, but overall it’s a treat to look at. Bayonetta 2 remains one of the best games on Switch, and hack and slash games of this caliber are far and few between.

I've been playing Pokemon games all my life. Yet this is the first time since X/Y where it felt like an ACTUAL step forward in some meaningful ways. And yet, Arceus still drags its feet in others.



Story - Hell naw

The main series of games have barely had any semblance of a story. Black/White/Platinum tried their best, but even then, oof. Arceus is no different, except it forces this God-awful story down your throat at any chance it gets. To many times, will the game be halted just for some NPC you barely remember the name of starts giving you a test of how fast you can spam the A button to get back to the game. It feels like there's two stories that got ripped apart and slapped together to try and find some meaning. No one is surprised that it does NOT do what they think it does.



Gameplay - Finally, some fucking food

The introduction of the Agile/Strong styles is a simple yet very welcome change to Pokemons iconic simple combat system. It's different enough to add that extra layer of surprise. To many times was this put into use where the tide of battle didn't go the way my 20+ years of series experience taught me it would. It really kept me on my toes.

The speed of the live battles has to be my favorite part of the game. You simply see a Pokemon, get in a battle, and you're out. Super fast. The rest of the games have SO much time dedicated to "watching." Until now, the rest of the games have it so there was a cutscene for going in the random encounter, throwing out your Pokemon, attacking, watching it faint, gaining the XP, and going back to the overworld world. That shit took long to type, imagine playing it EVERY single battle? I can't ever go back to the old way at this point. Arceus perfected the flow to battle. All the experience gained happens after the battle while you're already on the move again. A little downside to this change is that moves no longer felt great to learn. To many times did it happen where I missed that some of my members learned a new move.

That being said, the battles are super fun, and even better once you get into a trainer battle or a Noble fight where it turns into an action game with dodging.

But here comes that trademarked GameFreak step back..where have you hidden the trainers Game Freak??? They really gave us the best combat system of the series and 10 trainers to battle to test it out with.



The Open World - Some Good, some Bad, lots of Ugly

The words "Open World" and "Pokemon" to be made for each other when you think of them. The journey of Pokemon needs those open plains, seas to cross, and mountains to climb to feel like an adventure. Arceus didn't give me the open world I wanted. But it gave me the one I expected.

The world is shockingly beautiful...in motion. Stopping to smell the grass only invites the opportunity to notice how low the resolution is of said grass. Every corner of this game just isn't up to snuff for where I want the series to be at. It's not terrible by any means, but I just wanted more.

But, visuals aren't the end of the world. Traveling across this land is amazing. A simple tap of a button, and I'm bolting across the grass or flying through the air, or maybe scaling the side of a mountain. There's pokemon every 2 seconds. They were not shy of littering this world with creatures to fight and collect. Even the scarier Alphas are spread out pretty nicely. They are a great challenge that keeps me CONSTANTLY switching out my team. I couldn't stick with the same 6 like normal this time around. I always had to dedicate half the team to countering the area I'm in. The want to explore is always very inviting, and they made it incredibly easy to do so.

...here comes another "but"



BUT!...



Once AGAIN...THERES NOTHING THERE!



You'd think this being a prequel with the GOD of Pokemon on the box, there would be lots to explore. But NOPE. A whole lot of rainbows, with a whole lot of nothing at the end of them. What could of been an interesting discovery of something like, Unknowns, gets turned into a scavenger hunt. And not a fun one at that. What could of been an amazing mystery of mythical Pokemon, is just an encounter. This was the game that could of really dug into the adventure and journey aspect that we always wanted, and they just dropped the ball so hard here.



The Pokemon - The animals have arrived

It feels like a joke, but Pokemon Snap had been the time I've had with a 3D Pokemon game. The sole reason for that is very simple. The life that Bandai gave the Pokemon, is all I ever wanted. They acted exactly like I wanted them to. Like animals.

Arecus picks up on this pretty well. Some Pokemon will act logically. They will be spooked when you run towards them, or run when you try to capture them. Some ever straight up attack you instead. These interactions are all great and give the game so much life. I do wish there was a bit more Pokemom involved. The number of Pokemon was great from a collcting point of view. But theres only so many times I can run up a hill and expect to see something new only to be greeted with more Carnavine.

I'd like them to expand on this in future titles. Having some Pokemom travel in herds would be amazing to see. Even turning a corner and watching a Heracross and a Pinsir fighting would be phenomenal. The more they act like animals, the deeper you fall in love with this world.



Closing thoughts - an ACTUAL step in the right direction

I might have seemed a bit critical, but I really did love the game. I've beaten in twice now, and it's safe to say that it overtook Sword/Shield for my favorite 3D Pokemon game in the main series. To many times have we as fans said, "Yeah, this game might not be everything we hoped for...but wait until the NEXT game!".

But Legends really did set up the series to shine as bright as you'd expect if they continue on this path.