Ectosum
The Best ending I could have wished for mt favorite franchise
Beautiful love letter
2017
Playing as Sasuke Uchiha was really fun
This review contains spoilers
A fun experience with some low times, but that sticks the landing really well.
The game opens with a cheesy, but intriguing sequence, followed by a strong opening level that is genuinely scary. A special note during this section is the sound design, the game tricks you into a sense of hyper-awareness by playing small sounds in the environment, to the point that I would get scared by my own footsteps.
After the first dungeon the game truly opens up, and while it is fun to revisit the areas in the VIIIAGE, this is when the game is at its most awkward moment. At this point, Ethan is incredibly powerful, and you are encouraged to confront enemies head-on. At the same time, the game still tries to hold on to some horror elements and the result is unfortunately a awkward and incoherent experience.
In the end, however, the game fully accepts itself as an action game and that is when all the different weapons and mechanics can truly shine. Plus the Chris Redfield sequence was just a ton of fun and I was smiling throughout.
There are a lot of complaints that could be leveled, such as the bosses being damage sponges that really don't threaten the player, the AI being pathetically predictable and easy to manipulate, and the puzzles being just out of place and completely killing the mood most of the time.
That being said, I feel this was an experiment to see how the first-person camera would fit in a more action-oriented experience, and though the results were mixed I feel very confident in Resident Evil 9, whatever that ends up being.
The game opens with a cheesy, but intriguing sequence, followed by a strong opening level that is genuinely scary. A special note during this section is the sound design, the game tricks you into a sense of hyper-awareness by playing small sounds in the environment, to the point that I would get scared by my own footsteps.
After the first dungeon the game truly opens up, and while it is fun to revisit the areas in the VIIIAGE, this is when the game is at its most awkward moment. At this point, Ethan is incredibly powerful, and you are encouraged to confront enemies head-on. At the same time, the game still tries to hold on to some horror elements and the result is unfortunately a awkward and incoherent experience.
In the end, however, the game fully accepts itself as an action game and that is when all the different weapons and mechanics can truly shine. Plus the Chris Redfield sequence was just a ton of fun and I was smiling throughout.
There are a lot of complaints that could be leveled, such as the bosses being damage sponges that really don't threaten the player, the AI being pathetically predictable and easy to manipulate, and the puzzles being just out of place and completely killing the mood most of the time.
That being said, I feel this was an experiment to see how the first-person camera would fit in a more action-oriented experience, and though the results were mixed I feel very confident in Resident Evil 9, whatever that ends up being.
2021
Every once in a while you play a game where you can feel the developers' passion oozing out of every spot, I am happy to say that Psychonauts 2 is one of these games.
The characters are charming, the writing is witty and fun, and every level is filled with a level of detail and interaction that I feel it would take me years to unpack all.
It is honestly hard to review it because so much of the game is just so masterfully done. The one miss, though, lies in the gameplay. The game was fun and very polished, but neither the combat nor the platforming hit the mark where everything just starts flowing together and you become completely immersed. It is a nitpick, and it surely will not apply to everyone though.
I cannot recommend this game enough, it is a very accessible experience that I think almost anyone can take some enjoyment out of
The characters are charming, the writing is witty and fun, and every level is filled with a level of detail and interaction that I feel it would take me years to unpack all.
It is honestly hard to review it because so much of the game is just so masterfully done. The one miss, though, lies in the gameplay. The game was fun and very polished, but neither the combat nor the platforming hit the mark where everything just starts flowing together and you become completely immersed. It is a nitpick, and it surely will not apply to everyone though.
I cannot recommend this game enough, it is a very accessible experience that I think almost anyone can take some enjoyment out of
2021
When going into Scarlet Nexus I was expecting a simple button-mashing anime game with a crazy anime plot. While this was true for the first moments, there was a point in the game where everything just clicked.
The most surprising part is just how fun the gameplay can be. At its best, combat is extremely exciting and I found myself using almost every ability I had. Animations are flashy and over the top making, you feel like a cool and edgy anime character with psychic powers. It was genuinely a lot of fun.
The gameplay outside of combat was mostly great. Sidequests are all from the fetch quest variety with very little substance, but there is also almost no penalty for just skipping this part of the game. What fuels the gameplay out of combat is the bond mechanic with your team. By giving your team gifts you help decorate their spot in the room as well as unlock bond events which vastly develop their character. By the end, I was feeling some attachment to almost every party member, and characters like Kagero and Gemma are incredibly fascinating.
The story is also a lot of fun, as long as you are ok with anime non-sense. There were a lot of exciting set pieces and interesting character interactions that breathed life into every chapter. However, the latter part of the game is a bit unfocused and I could feel the developers struggling to tie the knot on the story. It also has a clear sequel bait which I would love to play.
Speaking of the latter part of the game, that is the weakest part of Scarlet Nexus. Some of the levels in the endgame are so long, running for over an hour. Enemies, especially the annoying ones, start repeating over and over again, making battles kind of a chore, to the point that I just started using Kagero's ability to completely skip most encounters. At first, every new area had brand new enemies which need different strategies to be taken down, I only wished the game could have kept up with this flow until the endgame.
A personal complaint is also regarding the level design of the endgame areas. The game has a unique post-apocalyptic "brain punk" vibe which sets it apart from other anime games. This leads to very unique areas that also feel uniquely organic to navigate through. At the endgame though, areas start feeling less like places in a post-apocalyptic world and more like a video game level. It just doesn't feel natural to navigate and the actual design starts becoming dull really quickly.
That was a lot of complaining, but somehow Scarlet Nexus managed to land the jump despite stumbling by the end. I was sad to say goodbye to the characters, the last bond episodes almost always put a big smile on my face, and the final boss was an incredibly exciting fight that made me jump off my seat at one point. The game does try to bite more than it can chew, but if you like anime games, especially the combat, and you are interested in the aesthetics I would 100% recommend it.
The most surprising part is just how fun the gameplay can be. At its best, combat is extremely exciting and I found myself using almost every ability I had. Animations are flashy and over the top making, you feel like a cool and edgy anime character with psychic powers. It was genuinely a lot of fun.
The gameplay outside of combat was mostly great. Sidequests are all from the fetch quest variety with very little substance, but there is also almost no penalty for just skipping this part of the game. What fuels the gameplay out of combat is the bond mechanic with your team. By giving your team gifts you help decorate their spot in the room as well as unlock bond events which vastly develop their character. By the end, I was feeling some attachment to almost every party member, and characters like Kagero and Gemma are incredibly fascinating.
The story is also a lot of fun, as long as you are ok with anime non-sense. There were a lot of exciting set pieces and interesting character interactions that breathed life into every chapter. However, the latter part of the game is a bit unfocused and I could feel the developers struggling to tie the knot on the story. It also has a clear sequel bait which I would love to play.
Speaking of the latter part of the game, that is the weakest part of Scarlet Nexus. Some of the levels in the endgame are so long, running for over an hour. Enemies, especially the annoying ones, start repeating over and over again, making battles kind of a chore, to the point that I just started using Kagero's ability to completely skip most encounters. At first, every new area had brand new enemies which need different strategies to be taken down, I only wished the game could have kept up with this flow until the endgame.
A personal complaint is also regarding the level design of the endgame areas. The game has a unique post-apocalyptic "brain punk" vibe which sets it apart from other anime games. This leads to very unique areas that also feel uniquely organic to navigate through. At the endgame though, areas start feeling less like places in a post-apocalyptic world and more like a video game level. It just doesn't feel natural to navigate and the actual design starts becoming dull really quickly.
That was a lot of complaining, but somehow Scarlet Nexus managed to land the jump despite stumbling by the end. I was sad to say goodbye to the characters, the last bond episodes almost always put a big smile on my face, and the final boss was an incredibly exciting fight that made me jump off my seat at one point. The game does try to bite more than it can chew, but if you like anime games, especially the combat, and you are interested in the aesthetics I would 100% recommend it.
2021
A proper Metroid revival for modern times. From what I have seen of Samus Returns, that game was experimenting with a lot of concepts that would later be refined in Dread.
Metroid Dread is a game that always pushes you out of your comfort zone. It always presents you with a new ability, a new limitation, a new area to explore, or a terrifying enemy to defeat. This creates an incredibly engaging gameplay loop that hooks you in and doesn't let go.
There isn't much to complain about from the gameplay part. The level design is masterfully crafted in a way that I never actually got lost, while still maintaining the feeling of openness. The boss encounters are big and bombastic, serving as a perfect reward for mastering the game's mechanics. I also cannot emphasize enough how just as the player is starting to get a rhythm for the loop, the game completely flips everything on its head.
A true passion project that had me hooked all the way through. I cannot wait to see what adventures are still in store for the universe's deadliest bounty hunter.
Metroid Dread is a game that always pushes you out of your comfort zone. It always presents you with a new ability, a new limitation, a new area to explore, or a terrifying enemy to defeat. This creates an incredibly engaging gameplay loop that hooks you in and doesn't let go.
There isn't much to complain about from the gameplay part. The level design is masterfully crafted in a way that I never actually got lost, while still maintaining the feeling of openness. The boss encounters are big and bombastic, serving as a perfect reward for mastering the game's mechanics. I also cannot emphasize enough how just as the player is starting to get a rhythm for the loop, the game completely flips everything on its head.
A true passion project that had me hooked all the way through. I cannot wait to see what adventures are still in store for the universe's deadliest bounty hunter.
2021
Despite the average score, the game is truly a remarkable experience that I do recommend for anyone interested by the premise
The highlight of the game is definetly the presentation, I've seen nothing like it in recent years. The wonderfully vibrant environments and charming character design gave life to the world of Cris Tales in a way that very few RPG are able to replicate.
Unfortunately, the rest of the game isn't as consistent. The main gameplay loop feels somewhat archaic. The comination of Crisbell slow walk speed, and random battles with long loading screens results in me often prefering to not explore the gourgeous environments and just rush to wherever I need to go. Also, since party members don't earn exp when they don't participate in battle, meaning that I had very little incentive to actively switch my party members and ended up just sticking with my go to team. Lastly a lack of auto-saves made me lose quite a lot of progress a couple of times, including having to redo a very long boss fight during the end of the game due to a softlock.
The core mechanic of manipulating the past and present does feel underused. I very rarely had the correct party members with the right spells to abuse this mechanic and losing a turn to initiate time travel means that most of the time I prefered to just do damage. However, I do have to stress that in the moments where it did work it felt very satisfying.
Lastly, the narrative did have a lot of captivating moments and I can say I enjoyed the main cast quite a lot. Some plot point do feel a bit rushed and/or unexplained, but that is a staple of the genre. My biggest gripe with the story is that the latter end of the game has a lot of padding, making us revisit old areas in a very repetitive and unintuitive manner. The padding definetly soured the really cool concepts that the game was presenting to me.
Again, not a perfect experience by any standart, but it is a very charming game. When the gears click and you feel yourself in Crisbell's shoes there truly is nothing like it, even if that happens only few and far between.
The highlight of the game is definetly the presentation, I've seen nothing like it in recent years. The wonderfully vibrant environments and charming character design gave life to the world of Cris Tales in a way that very few RPG are able to replicate.
Unfortunately, the rest of the game isn't as consistent. The main gameplay loop feels somewhat archaic. The comination of Crisbell slow walk speed, and random battles with long loading screens results in me often prefering to not explore the gourgeous environments and just rush to wherever I need to go. Also, since party members don't earn exp when they don't participate in battle, meaning that I had very little incentive to actively switch my party members and ended up just sticking with my go to team. Lastly a lack of auto-saves made me lose quite a lot of progress a couple of times, including having to redo a very long boss fight during the end of the game due to a softlock.
The core mechanic of manipulating the past and present does feel underused. I very rarely had the correct party members with the right spells to abuse this mechanic and losing a turn to initiate time travel means that most of the time I prefered to just do damage. However, I do have to stress that in the moments where it did work it felt very satisfying.
Lastly, the narrative did have a lot of captivating moments and I can say I enjoyed the main cast quite a lot. Some plot point do feel a bit rushed and/or unexplained, but that is a staple of the genre. My biggest gripe with the story is that the latter end of the game has a lot of padding, making us revisit old areas in a very repetitive and unintuitive manner. The padding definetly soured the really cool concepts that the game was presenting to me.
Again, not a perfect experience by any standart, but it is a very charming game. When the gears click and you feel yourself in Crisbell's shoes there truly is nothing like it, even if that happens only few and far between.
Such a heartwarming story, recommend 100%
Super heartwarming letter to Persona 3. It is held back by a general lack of content and massive amounts of DLC. Still, if you are a Persona 3 fan it is still worth a purchase, just don't expect a terribly long experience.
very aggressively mid
A horrible story for Fire Emblem standards, but really good difficulty curve and map design.
A hidden gem of the Wii U
2017
A mobile game with a surprising amount of polish and passion put into it. Very enjoyable for any Fire Emblem fan
2011
RIP