When I criticise anything I try not to weigh the pros amongst the cons. I try to trust every intention of the creator/artist and consider how much it affects or resonates with me. Dark Souls is the perfect example of why I view art and media like this.

If you call this game perfect you're lying. A lot of it feels objectively fucking stupid. But how often do you get something as outstanding and influential as Dark Souls. The environments are like nothing I've seen before in video games, nor is the tone or the storytelling. I love the janky combat and the icky graphics. The builds can range from complex enough to satisfy a dedicated run, and simple enough to carry a casual to the finish line.

The first time I approached the notoriously difficult final boss, I figured I'd try to parry all his moves (despite having no experience with parrying or its timing) and to my surprise I parried all his moves with ease and beat him first time no stress. This may sound like bad boss design, but I felt rewarded for thinking outside the box, and it only happened because Dark Souls allows those type of things to happen. The combat and bosses are hard but rarely overpowering, they can best you quickly but you can best them just as quickly, you can outsmart almost every obstacle or even luck or cheese your way through it.

For every part that may be completely unfun is compensated for all the times I've thought about the game and realised how thankful I am for its existence. It's flawed but I don't care because it means too much to me.

While I think the gameplay and story are both really great, I think the atmosphere and tone of Nier is really what delivers it as a pretty unforgettable game. The confidence in providing desolate environments void of any soul or hope, and the writing that is so devastating it makes you mad, can only ever be appreciated. There are so many moments, specifically in Route A, that hit me like a ton of bricks. None of these moments are really crazy either. Like following that guy with the white flag through the hauntingly familiar desert city ruins, or stumbling upon the amusement park for the first time, it makes me understand why NieR: Automata's mostly simple story had such an impact on so many.

the whole time I played MGS was unpleasant and was filled with PS1 era cruelty and frustration. When I didn't realise my controller died mid cutscene and I failed the torture scene and had to redo the previous 2 hours (you know the really cool part where you backtrack to get the sniper ifykyk) it made me want to shave my head and act like a vigilante on the streets.

I think after that point I realised MGS is a fantastic and genre-defining point in gaming history and I don't regret playing it for a second.

Creatively there's nothing exceptional or special about this game. It follows the same layout and design of every modern AAA open world game, and the story's obsession with militarised tech and police surveillance feels so very detached from the tone I'd associate with the humble Queens-native.

But what sets it apart is that its one of the absolute best cases of a modern AAA open world game I've ever seen. The combat is simple but so cool and exciting. Movement is fast and flashy but so easy to control. While a lot of the side content is very repetitive, its organised to effectively that its hard to resist chugging through it all. The NYC we're given to explore is potentially one of the most true to life examples of a game map based on a real location. New York is one of my favourite places and having played this right after a trip there I had so much fun just exploring and noticing all the real-life landmarks and details.

It's not at all a unique or groundbreaking game, but its one that I found super hard to put down. Spiderman delivers on almost everything it sets out to achieve and does nothing more than simply be an exceptionally fun game.

I'll take a game with a bunch of imperfections and shitty systems if it has the charm and atmosphere that makes Skyrim such a mesmerising game. Even if many open world games have since been more technically impressive and flawless, there's something about this game (and Oblivion) that no other game can replicate. I think Skyrim's dominance and universal praise early in its lifespan has left a lot of hardcore gamers feeling sour about it, but there's definitely a reason it still sells like crack amongst its many remasters. I don't think the community of people who love to mod the fuck out of it are the ones keeping it alive either. If you leave the internet bubble there's still a massive fanbase for Skyrim's base game and demand for more of what it offered beyond funny tellytubby marge simpson nae nae mods.