An audio/visual masterpiece of storytelling. What Remains of Edith Finch is a tragic, yet consistently interesting narrative that spans multiple stories and generations, all presented with the most interesting interactive mechanics possible. Edith Finch is far more than just a "walking simulator," but if it was to be designated as such, it's by far the best I've ever played.

Sadly, the Xbox One port is just a wreck. Although the game is playable and you can finish it, the Xbox One port runs terribly; consistent frame dips, texture pop-in, and occasional wonkiness with the controls are all over the place. Thankfully, off and on performance doesn't really matter for a game that takes things so slow and doesn't require precise button inputs from the player, but a smoother experience would've been much appreciated. I'm sure the One X and eventual Series S/X versions will run much smoother (and possibly the PlayStation 4 and PC versions), but the One S version is rough.

Still as amazing as ever, but I think I should wait a little while before I play it again so it’s more fresh in my mind. I already replayed this earlier in June, but I decided to give critical mode a try since I beat Bloodborne and realized that I actually do like challenging games.

As for how this plays on critical, it’s fair and balanced for the most part, but the lack of the second chance perk until I hit level 49 made certain bosses a pain in the ass (especially Jafar who is normally a cakewalk). Still, if you’re looking for a challenge, I’d recommend it, but don’t let elitist assholes guilt you into not using drive forms or limits, since those are a big reason why this game is so fun.

Still my favorite game of all time, and I doubt it’ll be anything but that for a long time.

Final Fantasy VII has become such a special game for me. I played it when I was younger and of course back then I loved it too, but it hit harder now that I'm older. It's sort of strange in retrospect really. Just one day in September I decided to replay it on a whim and I don't regret it at all.

I've seen people say that this game is dated and to be quite frank I don't see it all. That was made clear to me during the opening sequence of the game when you see Cloud jumping off the train and fighting Shinra soldiers for the first time. As well as blowing up the reactor with the members of AVALANCHE and escaping via the trains. This game just feels so ambitious and cinematic in spites of hardware limitations. There were several little moments throughout the game that moved me dearly due to its cinematic feel.

Midgar was the perfect setting to start the game with. How I see it is that Midgar is the natural progression from kingdom settings in previous JRPG's. Midgar is a Capitalist nightmare where Shinra HQ feels like a corrupt government, hell its even stated they ARE above the officials of Midgar. You see the effects of Shinra through the towns you visit throughout the game. How its ruined both the environment and the lives of the people living there. The feeling of defeating the evil modern empire of Shinra is an entirely fulfilling one. So if anyone tries to tell you that the game isn't politcal, don't listen.

The main selling point as to why FF7 is one of my favorite games and has had a profound impact on me is how much humanity it has. FF7 has the perfect cast of characters. I hate how narrow minded readings of Clouds character can be dismissing him as an "emo edgelord" when that really isn't the case at all. Cloud is a very human character and is the victim of trauma and suffers from PTSD. For spoiler reasons I won't delve into, we see the person Cloud truly is. If he's a little moody then that's fine, thats part of being human. Cloud proves that you don't have to have a stoic badass for your video games.

All of the other characters are incredible too, given their own depth and emotional arcs throughout the game. Tifa figuring out her relationship with Cloud, Barret confronting his past and trying to become a better man, Red XIII confronting his lineage and becoming a hero, Yuffie wanting to reclaim the honor of her village by destroying Shinra, the grand yet hopeless ambitions of Cid, Vincent wanting revenge on Hojo, Cait Sith's strive for redemption, and then there's Aerith. Aerith is one of the most attachable characters ever. There's this sense of pure good within her and when you see her you'll always be glad to see Aerith. Aerith isn't the kind of perfect where she's boring, thankfully. She has so much life, often acting mischievous even. Constantly wanting to have a good time which leads to some of the best parts of the game, most notably if you take her to a date at Gold Saucer. All of those factors still make THAT scene still feel incredibly tragic, even if its been referenced and joked about so many times.

I really am grateful that I've replayed this game because its become one of my absolute favorites. Everything about it from the music to the storytelling will always leave an impact on me. I will treasure this game now and forever.

The manipulative nature of the narrative and how it's told is entirely the point. Legacy as a manufactured curse. The player explores a symbolic mausoleum dedicated to the grief felt over generations, weaponized to induce and propagate the cycle of mental illness and the futility of that struggle. It's uncompromisingly pernicious, containing laser focus and wonderfully composed sequences of death played out through the lens of magical realism. I adore it for its relaxing if off-putting features even if it reeks with the stench of utter defeatism.

Definitely a tighter and more consistent experience than Sunshine and definitely 64, but I’ll admit that I did miss the more open stages from those two games.

Still, as far as linear games go, this is excellent and so much fun, even making me tear up during a few moments. Also, I gotta say this has one of the best scores I’ve ever heard in a video game, and I’m like 90% sure that’s why I was crying during the parts I was.

Awesome as hell and should be played by everyone who can.

Fun game, the combat mechanics are great, it’s visually stunning (especially the lighting) and seems to handle the culture depicted quite well, but unfortunately extremely weak story wise. Most of the characters being absolutely uninteresting despite having their own storyline for some, saying nothing substantial about its themes of honor and family. Also providing us with some quite repetitive activities (like running after foxes) and extremely forgettable side quests (except the mythic tales that were mostly very enjoyable).