This game has occasional moments of corny/awkward writing and obnoxious design, but most of the time the game’s a total blast. They took the clunky mechanics from last time and added so much maneuverability and so many offensive options that this is one of the most fun action RPGs I’ve ever played. Disney stuff still has nothing to do with the story so the pacing is weird but I still find these worlds really fun. Story is definitely a bit over-convoluted ngl but it makes for a few really great moments, especially at the end of the game. What a remarkable step up from last time in every conceivable area

Going back to this after playing golden was interesting, the PS2 version definitely has a different atmosphere. The low resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio fit Inaba incredibly well, and I’m a big fan of the original assets as well, aesthetically I actually prefer this version. However this was also kinda a wake up call to make me realize that I never gave Golden enough credit initially for being a fantastic refinement that makes the game a lot smoother. That being said, no matter how you play it P4 is one of the best RPGs ever made, plain and simple. Incredible cast of characters, super fun combat and dungeon crawling, a super well written story, unparalleled vibes, a killer soundtrack, and the ability to bring massive emotions out of me every single time I play it. I love this game so much

This is a pretty cool and unique game, puzzles were interesting to solve especially in the last third, presentation is great for the DS, it checks all the boxes. The most notable thing here is the story, starts off pretty simple but quickly reveals itself to be much more complicated than it lets on. Despite a few brief moments where character actions/motivations didn’t completely make sense, this was actually pretty great and extremely interesting from start to finish. It ended up going in directions that I never expected but it all ties together quite nicely, very fun time and a pretty great mystery that never becomes stale or predictable. Tons of charm in every department, definitely a cult classic for a reason, glad I checked this one out.

I’ve always loved this game since I was a kid but playing it again years later with a more refined perspective has made me appreciate it in an entirely new light, this is hands down one of the best video games ever made and in my opinion as close to flawless as anything can realistically get. It takes the already amazing foundation of the original game and cracks it open even further leading to some truly beautifully constructed puzzles. It’s outrageously funny from top to bottom and that’s etched into every aspect of the games identity, so of course that means the dialogue which is incredible one again but it covers other areas from the level design to even the loading screens, there is legitimately never a dull second here. It’s so fast-paced too, with amazing moment after amazing moment from beginning to end. And it’s all topped off with this incredible ending, I could not stop smiling while watching it play out. Not a single thing I would change about this game, absolute masterpiece.

Unironically pretty great, I was pretty surprised by how quickly things go completely off the rails but it was so much fun to watch everything unfold so rapidly in such an absurd way. The soundtrack here is so charming and there’s clearly a lot of genuine effort placed into this area of the game, the gameplay itself is seemingly super simple but the freestyle mechanics are pretty unique and give the game a really interesting twist. Super short but a great concentrated shot of fun with near unmatched personality and energy

Honestly way better than I remembered from when I first tried this out a few years back, it’s still a Famicom game at heart so it’s nothing too crazy but this is a massive improvement from the first two. Everything is filled with so much more personality than we ever got before, so even though the story is basic it’s so much more entertaining than previous installments. The job system is pretty cool, takes what worked with the party formation system in the first game and expands on it a ton. Makes for some fun customization opportunities as well as cool puzzle solving that feels good most of the time. Final dungeon is unfortunately a pretty huge difficulty spike and it’s ridiculously long for no good reason, but thanks to the QoL improvements from the pixel remaster it’s nowhere near as egregious as it could’ve been. This was a big leap forward for the series in every way and I regret putting it off for so long

Still one of my favorite games… formulaic for sure but that doesn’t matter to me because of how much everything is elevated by being able to embody the best playable version of Spider-Man yet. Movement, combat, swinging, everything feels perfect in this game. It would’ve been a cool game regardless just because of that but attached to it is one of the best Spider-Man stories we’ve ever gotten. Perfect renditions of so many iconic characters, my favorite incarnation of Peter Parker, and a fantastic plot line that humanizes its villains super well and ultimately ends up pretty heartbreaking. Absolutely nailed this take on the character and the world, can’t wait for the sequel.

At best it’s pretty fun, at worst it’s obnoxiously repetitive and dull. The side content is nowhere near as good as the main game which is kinda crazy since the side content there already wasn’t anything that great. The story is nowhere near as good but it’s decent, there’s some fun moments in here especially with Black Cat. Some of the unique levels are pretty cool, some are very uninspired and boring. Lots of obnoxious damage sponge enemies alongside guys that hit way harder than they ever have any right to, pretty poor difficulty scaling but it’s not too egregious as the game is still generally pretty easy. It’s quite a mixed bag of content that’s never truly great, glad I never paid for this when it came out, but since it’s free with the PS5 version I didn’t mind it. It’s working off the very solid foundation of the original game so it’s still decently fun, but hard to be enthusiastic about.

Honestly this was better than I remember! The gameplay is a pretty decent improvement off the original which I already liked a lot. I think the side content is actually better and more original, really appreciate the removal of the towers and the way the crimes are reworked. Combat wise I think Miles’s Venom abilities are great way to distinguish himself from Peter while still keeping things engaging and fun. And that’s the biggest thing I want to give this game credit for, it has a pretty distinct personality when compared to Peter’s game and I really appreciate that. Unfortunately, they really dropped the ball with the story imo. It’s pretty good on paper but in execution it’s so rushed and I found myself unable to form any kind of connection with much happening on screen, super disappointing coming off of the original game which had an emotional powerhouse of a story. Very mediocre on that front, but a ton of fun everywhere else, honestly I’d say I enjoyed playing this more than the first.

Had pretty high expectations with this and they were totally surpassed, this is a really fantastic sequel that innovates and expands on the original game’s ideas in the perfect way while trimming the fat and making for an immensely smooth gameplay experience. I didn’t realize just how much better traversal would feel here, you can move unbelievably fast at points and it’s super impressive. The added movement options and ability to disable swing assist made me have so much fun with the movement in this game, it’s some of the best traversal I’ve ever seen across the entire medium. Combat is also a pretty solid upgrade, they finally struck the right balance between gadgets and abilities to make it satisfying and even a decent amount harder than the first game without resulting to obnoxious damage sponge enemies. The bosses are way more fun this time too, more dynamic with much more interesting move sets. The action setpieces here are truly remarkable, this game is just proof that Insomniac is now the best in the industry when it comes to these. The story doesn’t hit the same emotional peaks as the original, but it’s still a really great Spider-Man story with what might be my favorite incarnation of the symbiote yet. I love this version of the world so much and I love that Insomniac is still interested in taking creative risks with the storytelling. This game made me like this version of Miles a lot more too, he really comes into his own here. Having a game where you’re constantly switching between two distinct Spider-Men is so much fun, I seriously loved almost every second of this. Well worth the wait, one of the best games I’ve played all year.

Never been the biggest fan of 2D Mario, but this is a great time! The creativity bleeding through the levels in this game is definitely the reason it’s been drawing so much praise. These rarely change much of the actual gameplay, much of the game is still quite vanilla in that sense, but presentation wise it’s constantly surprising and has a ton of charm. The wonder seed transformations are easily the highlights of the game and are so much fun to seek out. The badges are a bit of a missed opportunity imo bc you can only equip one at a time and I can’t help but feel that really limits Mario’s potential moveset, and the level design doesn’t do much to encourage consistently experimenting with these either, but for what it’s worth Mario still does feel really good to control no matter what you have equipped. I don’t agree with this game being compared with the all time greats of the genre like Rayman Legends or Tropical Freeze, but I absolutely can recommend this game as a remarkably solid 2D platformer that never really gets stale.

For years now I’ve never been able to get into roguelikes, but this is the one that finally clicked with me. I’ve played through the game a couple times at this point and each time I’ve had a different set of mysteries to explore, different events/endings in the mysteries that I did repeat, different character builds, and a totally fresh experience each time. The game can be a lot to take in at first, the UI is pretty dense and it can make for some information overload, but once you get into the rhythm of it all you realize it’s not actually all that complicated. The best part of the game by far is the aesthetics, the whole game looks ripped straight out of a Junji Ito manga with tons of Lovecraftian elements and it makes it super easy to get immersed in play sessions. The mysteries I’ve gotten have all been really interesting too, and I’ve even found that there’s some crossover in between stories to make this horrific town even more well realized. The RPG mechanics and combat can be unforgiving if you don’t know what you’re doing but they do a good job of keeping you on edge the whole time, and since one playthrough is only around an hour long messing up isn’t too big of a punishment. This is a super creative horror game that’s genuinely unlike anything I’ve ever played and I can definitely see myself coming back to this in the future

Just about the most “classic” you can get from this era, this game finally strikes that golden formula that makes for a good balance of story and gameplay. The customization from III is lost but battles are now way more involved which is cool, and the story/gameplay play into each other way more than was ever possible before. The story is not that good tbh but it’s got some really good moments. The whole thing is just so comfortable to slip into and get absorbed in, very accessible and fun. Pales in comparison to what comes later but it’s still a game I like a lot, more than I should honestly, it’s equal to III for me.

So glad I got to squeeze one last banger in the year

This game is SO much fun, seriously regret putting this off for as long as I did. Never played any of the Jet Set Radio games but this game makes me want to, movement feels insanely good and there’s such a strong addictive quality that led me to fucking around way more than I needed to, probably could’ve rushed through the game in almost half the time it took me to beat it. The sense of style is pretty insane, this thing has sixth gen written all over it and I love it. Pretty amazing soundtrack too I was really surprised to find out it’s almost all licensed music. One of the most slept on games of the year for sure