"Why do you wish to save the world?"

Pleasure cannot exist without pain - the seemingly impossible task of viewing sorrow as a reprieve from joy, instead of the other way around, in order to save yourself from what would surely be a flat, insensate existence; and to deny such a core part of the human experience would subject yourself to a form of disdain we (evidently) haven't even fully diagnosed yet. We have to move on, we have to... even if it's objectively going to suck. You know that feeling you get when you just know you're playing a new favorite? God it's been so long. Was not expecting such mature stories about how hard it can be learning to co-exist with your own emotions, feeling lost in the world until you're reminded of the things that intrinsically connect us all. Despite sharing obvious similarities, this is everything that Pac-Man World: Re-Pac wanted to be. Reminds me of the brand of old-school magic I found in - of all places - Balan Wonderworld's good moments, though there are elements from many of the best 3D platformers in here. What with such colorful storybook art design (the enemies look like Squishmallows and are called "Moos"), effervescent characters, lovable music, and occasionally brain-melting puzzles. My one major complain about the otherwise fun set of moves here is how stupidly specific the wind bullets have to be in order to function, but otherwise I loved pretty much every minute of these. I definitely like the second game more than the first, but they're both wondrous adventures with some of the greatest levels (and feats of platforming therein) in the history of the genre.

Good and special game. I've seen what I need to make a judgment.

The sum is definitely greater than the parts here. Basic 3rd person shooter mechanics, simple maps, and generic enemies add up to a multiplayer experience that will be hard to beat this year. But what really makes this game something special is its take on the "games as a service" model.

With an overarching free progression track supplemented by monthly premium paths on top of an already paid game, I can totally understand why someone would be put out by the sell of Helldivers 2. In practice however, premium currency is quickly and freely given and the items you can purchase with it are largely cosmetic only contributing to additional gameplay variety at times. Nothing here is pay-to-win. I paid for the game itself and nothing more and never once did I feel like I was missing out on something or that anything was attainable only with my credit card. The truly commendable part of the game's model, though, is how alive it is as a warzone. Arrowhead have made something that feels more akin to a tabletop game master controlling a board than a developer providing a content drip feed.

The game has a great aesthetic and the dev leaned in hard to social media and community engagement to push that aesthetic. Sure a brand awareness win is great but this game created brand advocates. That's big. The question is whether that advocacy lasts throughout the year or if it's already winding down as other games fill backlogs.

I'll be back for sure. Can't wait to see what new factions and locations will mean for the game. This one is in the rotation.

I adore the aesthetic and I think some parts of this game are really really creative and fun but as for the game itself...I just couldn't completely get into it. First of all, I don't really like how Yoshi feels all that much. It's a little slippery. Secondly, a lot of the level design was really frustrating and stressful, not being helped by the weird checkpoint placement. Enemies also sometimes fly straight in your face from off screen, which is quite annoying. Speaking of, getting hit in this game is insanely annoying. Not only does Baby Mario immediately start shouting the most ear-destroying horrible cry known to man (yes it IS as bad as everyone says), he also seems to always fly straight up to a point where Yoshi can't physically reach him. Unless there is an even more annoying spot (like immediately above lava or spikes), in which case he will of course make a beeline there instead. Maybe I'll like it more on an eventual replay, but for now, since giving it an average score would feel weird, I'll rate it "I liked it".