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Alan Wake II
2023
"Alan Wake 2 is a game that shows what videogames are capable of"
Well, I imagine that a large number of people, when reading this highlighted phrase, will imagine a game that demonstrates cutting-edge technology, photo-realistic visuals, or even surprising performance. But definitely not the case where I wanted to refer to that kind of thing.
Alan Wake 2 tries to push the limits of what is possible to present and (only) achieve through a game. Using different multimedia formats to convey a plot, whether through meta commentary, live action cinematic cutscenes, different forms of interaction in the environment and fourth wall breaks, may not be a new thing. But it is certainly the game that comes closest to what was idealized by Sam Lake throughout his career, by playing with these elements in a coherent way, and delivering an experience that is unlike ANY other game I have seen playing videogames for more than 20 years.
And speaking of which, I believe that the most important thing in a game is the experience it gives you, and without a doubt, Alan Wake 2 is a game that cannot be explained. I could say that it is one of the best survival horror titles of recent decades, going head to head with classics like Silent Hill 2 or the original Resident Evil, or I could even say that it has one of the best and most ingenious plots and ways of tell a story that you can find in any medium. But it doesn't make sense, nothing I can say could do him justice.
Alan Wake 2 is a game that needs to be experienced above all else, and I hope everyone can give it a chance someday.
Well, I imagine that a large number of people, when reading this highlighted phrase, will imagine a game that demonstrates cutting-edge technology, photo-realistic visuals, or even surprising performance. But definitely not the case where I wanted to refer to that kind of thing.
Alan Wake 2 tries to push the limits of what is possible to present and (only) achieve through a game. Using different multimedia formats to convey a plot, whether through meta commentary, live action cinematic cutscenes, different forms of interaction in the environment and fourth wall breaks, may not be a new thing. But it is certainly the game that comes closest to what was idealized by Sam Lake throughout his career, by playing with these elements in a coherent way, and delivering an experience that is unlike ANY other game I have seen playing videogames for more than 20 years.
And speaking of which, I believe that the most important thing in a game is the experience it gives you, and without a doubt, Alan Wake 2 is a game that cannot be explained. I could say that it is one of the best survival horror titles of recent decades, going head to head with classics like Silent Hill 2 or the original Resident Evil, or I could even say that it has one of the best and most ingenious plots and ways of tell a story that you can find in any medium. But it doesn't make sense, nothing I can say could do him justice.
Alan Wake 2 is a game that needs to be experienced above all else, and I hope everyone can give it a chance someday.
Vamo combinar, era impossível um jogo que os criadores agradecem Marx e Engels quando são premiados por ele não ser 5 estrelas né? Que storytelling fantástico, que política viva
Baldur's Gate 3
2020
A masterpiece in every sense of the word, Larian have really outdone themselves with Baldur's Gate 3. Rooted firmly in DnD game systems and lore, it is a spectacular adventure from start to finish. The level of character expression through character progression/creation, dialogue choices, exploration, and combat is something that I haven't really encountered since well, Divinity Original Sin 2.
My playthrough was as a high-elf bard with a criminal background, and so as a result I ended up being a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. I could pass all persuasion/deception checks, a large pool of spells to utilize in and out of battle, and proficient with rapiers and crossbows as well. For your companions, each and every one of them has a compelling story arc (if they choose to stick around and you don't get them killed in battle). They may approve or disapprove of your actions throughout the game, but with all the variation of events there is high replay value even at ~100 hours in length.
This variation however can be hit or miss. While I have no doubt there are plenty of events I did not see throughout the game due to my choices (cool), there are some objectives that feel pretty obtuse. Either far out of the way, or requiring specific NPCs to talk to, needing to be done in a specific order, or just time sensitive. Some hidden stuff is all well and good, but some things almost feel like they require a guide to know how to do "properly". A fine line had to be walked for balancing long rests (which pass time in the world, but also restore all your character's health, spells, and trigger certain events).
Baldur's Gate 3 is a long adventure, but not a moment feels wasted. Each area is tightly designed and sprinkled with enough fast travel points and events where the player spends very little time just running around wasting time. Though the final act has its fair share of bugs, it is still a well crafted game that encompasses everything an RPG should be. The voice acting, the high-fantasy music, the atmosphere, the character and creature designs, the writing - BG3 is a treat that may just inspire me to give DnD yet another shot. In a year of plenty of tremendous video games, this is almost certainly going to be my game of the year.
My playthrough was as a high-elf bard with a criminal background, and so as a result I ended up being a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. I could pass all persuasion/deception checks, a large pool of spells to utilize in and out of battle, and proficient with rapiers and crossbows as well. For your companions, each and every one of them has a compelling story arc (if they choose to stick around and you don't get them killed in battle). They may approve or disapprove of your actions throughout the game, but with all the variation of events there is high replay value even at ~100 hours in length.
This variation however can be hit or miss. While I have no doubt there are plenty of events I did not see throughout the game due to my choices (cool), there are some objectives that feel pretty obtuse. Either far out of the way, or requiring specific NPCs to talk to, needing to be done in a specific order, or just time sensitive. Some hidden stuff is all well and good, but some things almost feel like they require a guide to know how to do "properly". A fine line had to be walked for balancing long rests (which pass time in the world, but also restore all your character's health, spells, and trigger certain events).
Baldur's Gate 3 is a long adventure, but not a moment feels wasted. Each area is tightly designed and sprinkled with enough fast travel points and events where the player spends very little time just running around wasting time. Though the final act has its fair share of bugs, it is still a well crafted game that encompasses everything an RPG should be. The voice acting, the high-fantasy music, the atmosphere, the character and creature designs, the writing - BG3 is a treat that may just inspire me to give DnD yet another shot. In a year of plenty of tremendous video games, this is almost certainly going to be my game of the year.
Alan Wake II
2023
As always, with a narrative heavy game like this it's tough for me to talk more in depths about the nuances of the story without getting into spoilers but I am going to do my best here as Alan Wake II has a lot to unpack. What I can absolutely say is this: Remedy continue to be masters of style, atmosphere, and story telling.
Alan Wake II is a massive departure from the first game in terms of how it looks, plays, and just generally feels. It is much more of a survival horror game this time around with proper grid-based, Resident Evil-ass inventory management. Enemies feel to be more of a threat, and in general we have a much darker and more terrifying tone than the first game.
Dark areas are dark and your flashlight feels more important than ever, as infrequent uses of street lights, safe rooms, and neon provide some semblance of relief among the atmosphere. For fans of the previous game Control, a lot of impressive visual tricks to mess with the player are used in this game, but do be warned that there is a liberal usage of old-fashioned hard-cut jump scares as well.
The game features two playable protagonists, Saga and Alan. Once both are properly introduced, the player can freely hop between them in safe rooms and play their stories in whatever order they wish. I could certainly see different players coming away with wholly different experiences depending on if they choose to prioritize one over the other, or keep an even balance throughout. Both characters have their own collectibles, with Saga pinning hers up on a corkboard and Alan using them to strengthen various gameplay abilities.
As for the narrative, it is a wild ride from start to finish. I can certainly see it being divisive (in full honesty, I am still not totally settled on this score) and at times it feels fairly cyclical. There were a couple of moments that I felt like Remedy was more "checking a box" for a thing that has to be in Remedy games now, but it all still serves a meaningful purpose for either the story or the player, and is executed well. Saga is a fantastic new character with her own quirks and struggles, and she had me every bit as invested as Alan himself. Overall, I am excited to see what the Final Draft and the DLC will bring, and what ultimately will be next in line from Remedy.
Alan Wake 2 is a work of art. It is bold, cryptic, and does not compromise on its own weirdness nor the messages it wishes to convey. It is definitely rough in some areas but still manages to be a charming package overall. I don't think I have played a AAA game so uncompromising since Death Stranding, and I hope we continue to get more crazy off-the-wall shit like this.
Alan Wake II is a massive departure from the first game in terms of how it looks, plays, and just generally feels. It is much more of a survival horror game this time around with proper grid-based, Resident Evil-ass inventory management. Enemies feel to be more of a threat, and in general we have a much darker and more terrifying tone than the first game.
Dark areas are dark and your flashlight feels more important than ever, as infrequent uses of street lights, safe rooms, and neon provide some semblance of relief among the atmosphere. For fans of the previous game Control, a lot of impressive visual tricks to mess with the player are used in this game, but do be warned that there is a liberal usage of old-fashioned hard-cut jump scares as well.
The game features two playable protagonists, Saga and Alan. Once both are properly introduced, the player can freely hop between them in safe rooms and play their stories in whatever order they wish. I could certainly see different players coming away with wholly different experiences depending on if they choose to prioritize one over the other, or keep an even balance throughout. Both characters have their own collectibles, with Saga pinning hers up on a corkboard and Alan using them to strengthen various gameplay abilities.
As for the narrative, it is a wild ride from start to finish. I can certainly see it being divisive (in full honesty, I am still not totally settled on this score) and at times it feels fairly cyclical. There were a couple of moments that I felt like Remedy was more "checking a box" for a thing that has to be in Remedy games now, but it all still serves a meaningful purpose for either the story or the player, and is executed well. Saga is a fantastic new character with her own quirks and struggles, and she had me every bit as invested as Alan himself. Overall, I am excited to see what the Final Draft and the DLC will bring, and what ultimately will be next in line from Remedy.
Alan Wake 2 is a work of art. It is bold, cryptic, and does not compromise on its own weirdness nor the messages it wishes to convey. It is definitely rough in some areas but still manages to be a charming package overall. I don't think I have played a AAA game so uncompromising since Death Stranding, and I hope we continue to get more crazy off-the-wall shit like this.
Alan Wake Remastered
2021
As strange as it is to say about a game that ends with space oddity, I think that this Alan Wake might have been a little too subtle for gamers. Reading the reviews, they all say things like "This game is just a Stephen King rip off" but that's kind of the point. Wake is a writer that has had his career made from one series, focused on one singular character, this character almost becoming interchangeable with Wake himself. In his interview when he announces that the book he had just written will conclude that series, the audience acts as if he has retired from writing. Wake feels trapped in the shadow of his past work and because of that is unable to write. The reason that this whole game reads as one big homage, is because that is all Wake knows. Even his best friend Barry constantly taunts him with his own cardboard cutout, holding up the image that Wake so desperately wants to get away from. There are many other themes of creative interference throughout the story. Almost all of the antagonists are people that want to control creatives. They take Wake's, and other creator's stories and try to use them for their own goals, be it fame, or ending the world. The problem with any game that attempts to have themes as "deep" as these is that gamers don't care. Ironically the "we want to treat games as art" crowd never truly does.
Alan Wake
2010
Esse jogo é uma obra prima, um dos melhores da gen retrasada mesmo depois de 11 anos os graficos continuam ok as vezes é ate bonito a gameplay é boa pra krl uma das coisas que mais gostei.
E o Alan Wake é top 5 protagonistas dos games facil
E o Alan Wake é top 5 protagonistas dos games facil
God of War Ragnarök
2022
It should not be possible for a platform-defining AAA game in 2022 to have writing this good. Everything I know about the material realities of game production make me believe that anything this nuanced, this heartfelt, this willing to sacrifice "gaminess" in exchange for a truer and deeper story, should crumple like cardboard under the sheer size of teams needed to coordinate a game of this size and expense. And yet: here it is. A top notch example of writing not just for games but for storytelling as a whole, not just sitting in an 80 hour video game but earning the time it asks you to spend on it.
The writing is easily enough to make this game worth playing, but the rest of it is certainly solid enough not to turn a player away. The core combat systems are very strong, but they're hampered by the fact that the encounter design doesn't seem to know quite what to do with it. The player's moveset is built around a Dark Souls-style framework of asking the player to understand and commit to the wind-ups of their attacks in order to land powerful hits, but the battles don't seem to understand this. Enemies will teleport around the arena and only stagger unpredictably as though they're meant for a style of game much more like the original God of War series, effectively punishing the player at random for trying to reason through combat like the system seems to demand.
The encounters also lean heavily on fights with multiple enemies to dial up the difficulty. Although there are a fair number of (delightful!) fights with particularly tricky single enemies, the more challenging fights involving groups almost uniformly suck. Again, the combat system doesn't seem to be designed for this: enemies can freely attack even when they're offscreen, meaning that any commitment the player makes to attack the enemy they're focused on can just get broken by a projectile or mob slamming in from nowhere.
The right hand doesn't seem to know what the left hand is doing, which is honestly what I expect everywhere in a game this size. The fact that the combat works as well as it does given that is still impressive, and the fact that the writing is straight up excellent is nothing short of a miracle.
The writing is easily enough to make this game worth playing, but the rest of it is certainly solid enough not to turn a player away. The core combat systems are very strong, but they're hampered by the fact that the encounter design doesn't seem to know quite what to do with it. The player's moveset is built around a Dark Souls-style framework of asking the player to understand and commit to the wind-ups of their attacks in order to land powerful hits, but the battles don't seem to understand this. Enemies will teleport around the arena and only stagger unpredictably as though they're meant for a style of game much more like the original God of War series, effectively punishing the player at random for trying to reason through combat like the system seems to demand.
The encounters also lean heavily on fights with multiple enemies to dial up the difficulty. Although there are a fair number of (delightful!) fights with particularly tricky single enemies, the more challenging fights involving groups almost uniformly suck. Again, the combat system doesn't seem to be designed for this: enemies can freely attack even when they're offscreen, meaning that any commitment the player makes to attack the enemy they're focused on can just get broken by a projectile or mob slamming in from nowhere.
The right hand doesn't seem to know what the left hand is doing, which is honestly what I expect everywhere in a game this size. The fact that the combat works as well as it does given that is still impressive, and the fact that the writing is straight up excellent is nothing short of a miracle.
God of War Ragnarök
2022
"Hoje seremos melhores"
God of War Ragnarok, uma sequencia fantastica que além de melhorar tudo que ja era bom em seu antecessor, traz coisas novas que funcionam perfeitamente e ainda por cima entrega o melhor jogo da franquia, com uma das cargas mais emocionais que ja vi na mídia gamer (com uma historia, narrativa e PRINCIPALMENTE os seus personagens incríveis e bem desenvolvidos) uma obra prima, facilmente segundo melhor jogo do playstation e o verdadeiro GOTY 2022.
God of War Ragnarok, uma sequencia fantastica que além de melhorar tudo que ja era bom em seu antecessor, traz coisas novas que funcionam perfeitamente e ainda por cima entrega o melhor jogo da franquia, com uma das cargas mais emocionais que ja vi na mídia gamer (com uma historia, narrativa e PRINCIPALMENTE os seus personagens incríveis e bem desenvolvidos) uma obra prima, facilmente segundo melhor jogo do playstation e o verdadeiro GOTY 2022.
God of War
2018
GOTY OF WAR !!
Gráficos
⬜140p
⬜Aceitável
⬜Bom
⬜Ótimo
✔️Perfeição
⬜Cada frame foi pintado por Da Vinci
História
⬜Historia?
⬜Historia MEEH
⬜Uma história legalzinha
✔️Uma história digna de prestar atenção
⬜Melhor que a vida real
⬜Feita pra arrancar lagrimas ( HISTORIA LINDA )
Jogabilidade
⬜Injogável
⬜Ruim
⬜Aceitável
⬜Jogabilidade bacana
✔️Jogabilidade excelente
Complexidade
⬜Jogos da galinha pintadinha são mais complicados
✔️Fácil de entender
⬜Fácil de aprender, difícil de dominar
⬜É daqueles jogos que as pessoas ficam estudando
⬜Precisa de, no mínimo, 2 doutorados
Dificuldade
✔️Você Escolhe.
⬜Da pra zerar dormindo
⬜Fácil
⬜Médio
⬜Jogando sozinho é quase um Darksouls, mas em grupo se torna muito mais tranquilo
⬜ Difícil
⬜Você vai precisar de 8 mãos pra jogar isso
Tempo de jogo
⬜Jogo pequeno
⬜5h
⬜10h
✔️30h
⬜60h
⬜ 100h+
⬜Você começa, seu neto termina
⬜Sem tempo determinado.
Áudio, músicas
⬜É melhor jogar no mudo
⬜Aceitável
⬜Muito boa
✔️Épica
⬜Mozart escreveu junto com Beethoven
Bugs
✔️Nunca vi nenhum
⬜Pequenos bugs (Quase nada)
⬜Pode ficar irritante
⬜Jogo parece que foi feito pela Bugsoft
Publico
✔️ Crianças
✔️ Adolescentes
✔️ Adultos
Compensa Comprar?
⬜ IT'S FREE
⬜ Preço justo
⬜ Compre se tiver dinheiro sobrando
✔️Espere uma promoção
⬜ Caro demais não recomendo
⬜ Mais fácil você queimar seu dinheiro
Pay to win?
⬜ Armas coloridas dão um dano consideravelmente maior
⬜ Apenas cosméticos
✔️ Sem microtransações
⬜ PAYTOWIN
Gráficos
⬜140p
⬜Aceitável
⬜Bom
⬜Ótimo
✔️Perfeição
⬜Cada frame foi pintado por Da Vinci
História
⬜Historia?
⬜Historia MEEH
⬜Uma história legalzinha
✔️Uma história digna de prestar atenção
⬜Melhor que a vida real
⬜Feita pra arrancar lagrimas ( HISTORIA LINDA )
Jogabilidade
⬜Injogável
⬜Ruim
⬜Aceitável
⬜Jogabilidade bacana
✔️Jogabilidade excelente
Complexidade
⬜Jogos da galinha pintadinha são mais complicados
✔️Fácil de entender
⬜Fácil de aprender, difícil de dominar
⬜É daqueles jogos que as pessoas ficam estudando
⬜Precisa de, no mínimo, 2 doutorados
Dificuldade
✔️Você Escolhe.
⬜Da pra zerar dormindo
⬜Fácil
⬜Médio
⬜Jogando sozinho é quase um Darksouls, mas em grupo se torna muito mais tranquilo
⬜ Difícil
⬜Você vai precisar de 8 mãos pra jogar isso
Tempo de jogo
⬜Jogo pequeno
⬜5h
⬜10h
✔️30h
⬜60h
⬜ 100h+
⬜Você começa, seu neto termina
⬜Sem tempo determinado.
Áudio, músicas
⬜É melhor jogar no mudo
⬜Aceitável
⬜Muito boa
✔️Épica
⬜Mozart escreveu junto com Beethoven
Bugs
✔️Nunca vi nenhum
⬜Pequenos bugs (Quase nada)
⬜Pode ficar irritante
⬜Jogo parece que foi feito pela Bugsoft
Publico
✔️ Crianças
✔️ Adolescentes
✔️ Adultos
Compensa Comprar?
⬜ IT'S FREE
⬜ Preço justo
⬜ Compre se tiver dinheiro sobrando
✔️Espere uma promoção
⬜ Caro demais não recomendo
⬜ Mais fácil você queimar seu dinheiro
Pay to win?
⬜ Armas coloridas dão um dano consideravelmente maior
⬜ Apenas cosméticos
✔️ Sem microtransações
⬜ PAYTOWIN
Elden Ring
2022
This review contains spoilers
The first two thirds of Elden Ring is masterful and would have easily earned five stars if it stood on its own. While it has flaws here and there, it's a downright brilliant integration of the logic of a Souls game into an open world that feels like it's bursting with life and fascination at every turn. The game shows you the most badass thing you've ever seen in your life, over and over again, hour after hour, then periodically breaks your heart for good measure. It takes all the cool build customization stuff from Dark Souls 2 and 3 and makes them even cooler, overflowing with exciting combinations of weapons and spells.
Everything beyond the capitol, though, feels half-baked. While a few of the endgame bosses are exciting in the way FromSoft fans have come to expect, many more feel like they lean into an aspect of Dark Souls 2 that was better left behind: difficulty for its own sake. The joy of FromSoft games is the curve from a challenge feeling impossible to the achievement of mastery over it, and that curve seems direly mistuned for many of the later bosses.
This isn't merely sour grapes: in other games, I came to to adore the very bosses I struggled most with. In Elden Ring, although I did eventually beat every boss, the lategame ones that posed the most challenge left a bitter taste in my mouth rather than the rush of victory I'd hoped for. Every win felt like I'd just rolled the dice enough times to avoid this or that unanswerable attack or camera hazard.
There is a challenge, I think, in designing bosses that remain engaging even for players who have explored everything in the game and are at an arbitrarily high level, not to mention players who have six previous FromSoft games under their belt. One approach for these fights is to throw out moves that require reading hundred-millisecond tells or executing frame-perfect dodges, but in leaning so heavily on the execution of the fight it minimizes the reward for learning it.
That's why I play these games: to learn to speak the language of a boss and to end up engaged in a dance that, by the end, feels almost cooperative. While there were fights in the latter third of Elden Ring that felt that way, they were few and far between, outnumbered by the fights that visibly could have been so much more fun than they were.
This game very clearly came in hot, and could have used a bit more time in development. Patches are already landing, and it leads me to wonder if the final portion maybe didn't get the attention it normally would have and if perhaps it may yet be improved. I hope it will, because I would love to feel the unmitigated love for this game that I do for other FromSoft titles.
Everything beyond the capitol, though, feels half-baked. While a few of the endgame bosses are exciting in the way FromSoft fans have come to expect, many more feel like they lean into an aspect of Dark Souls 2 that was better left behind: difficulty for its own sake. The joy of FromSoft games is the curve from a challenge feeling impossible to the achievement of mastery over it, and that curve seems direly mistuned for many of the later bosses.
This isn't merely sour grapes: in other games, I came to to adore the very bosses I struggled most with. In Elden Ring, although I did eventually beat every boss, the lategame ones that posed the most challenge left a bitter taste in my mouth rather than the rush of victory I'd hoped for. Every win felt like I'd just rolled the dice enough times to avoid this or that unanswerable attack or camera hazard.
There is a challenge, I think, in designing bosses that remain engaging even for players who have explored everything in the game and are at an arbitrarily high level, not to mention players who have six previous FromSoft games under their belt. One approach for these fights is to throw out moves that require reading hundred-millisecond tells or executing frame-perfect dodges, but in leaning so heavily on the execution of the fight it minimizes the reward for learning it.
That's why I play these games: to learn to speak the language of a boss and to end up engaged in a dance that, by the end, feels almost cooperative. While there were fights in the latter third of Elden Ring that felt that way, they were few and far between, outnumbered by the fights that visibly could have been so much more fun than they were.
This game very clearly came in hot, and could have used a bit more time in development. Patches are already landing, and it leads me to wonder if the final portion maybe didn't get the attention it normally would have and if perhaps it may yet be improved. I hope it will, because I would love to feel the unmitigated love for this game that I do for other FromSoft titles.
Elden Ring
2022
Joseph Anderson made an excellent video on this game, so for the sake of brevity I'll just refer you to it, while adding some short comments of my own below. Video here
The first 20-30 hours really are magical, and the force of that experience can't be denied. Seeing fantastic new areas and enemies, taking in the massive scope of the world, getting lost somewhere unfamiliar, spotting some distant location on the horizon and realizing you can actually go there, if you can figure out a path. It evokes Dark Souls 1's best moments, and I wouldn't begrudge anyone for loving the game from this alone.
The legacy dungeon design is characteristically impressive but still feels like a regression in some aspects. The sheer size and complexity of many dungeons is breathtaking, the ambition really shines through here. Jumping lets you traverse the environment in lots of creative and organic ways, and interacts well with the aforementioned complexity. Unfortunately however, nothing here really comes close to DS1 classics like Sen's Fortress in terms of considered design. The Stake of Marika is a fantastic addition, but its potential is largely wasted, as instead of leaning into it to make bonfires more scarce and important, bonfires appear at the same or higher frequency than previous games. For some reason fast travel is allowed within legacy dungeons, which kills a lot of the tension of exploration and the risk of losing souls. Shortcuts feel less important and traps feel less deadly.
It's also far too easy to run past everything in the open world with the horse, with only a few exceptions. A hostile landscape with enemies and hazards at every turn should not feel like a walk in the park to traverse. It was only after making a second character that I realized how badly this murders the replayability. Fast travel serves as yet another bandaid fix here, reprising its usual modern FromSoft role.
For all the game's virtues, the feeling I'm left with at the end is bitterness, which is probably why this is still on my mind. I'm bitter that I can sense an awareness of the typical open world pitfalls but somehow the game still falls into them. I'm bitter that I can't trust FromSoft to learn from its mistakes here, especially in the combat. I'm bitter that the enjoyable level design almost feels squandered by the other elements. I'm bitter that the daring spirit of Demon's Souls, the willingness to wildly experiment and defy expectations, has floated away like a soul leaving a corpse. But most of all I'm bitter that the game really does reach the lofty heights of Dark Souls 1 at times. It climbs the mountain, ascending higher than even the old mentor, until, with a confidence bordering on absentmindedness, it loses its grip and plummets down, down, down into the abyss.
"…But even so, one day the flames will fade, and only Dark will remain. And even a legend such as thineself can do nothing to stop that." - Hawkeye Gough
The first 20-30 hours really are magical, and the force of that experience can't be denied. Seeing fantastic new areas and enemies, taking in the massive scope of the world, getting lost somewhere unfamiliar, spotting some distant location on the horizon and realizing you can actually go there, if you can figure out a path. It evokes Dark Souls 1's best moments, and I wouldn't begrudge anyone for loving the game from this alone.
The legacy dungeon design is characteristically impressive but still feels like a regression in some aspects. The sheer size and complexity of many dungeons is breathtaking, the ambition really shines through here. Jumping lets you traverse the environment in lots of creative and organic ways, and interacts well with the aforementioned complexity. Unfortunately however, nothing here really comes close to DS1 classics like Sen's Fortress in terms of considered design. The Stake of Marika is a fantastic addition, but its potential is largely wasted, as instead of leaning into it to make bonfires more scarce and important, bonfires appear at the same or higher frequency than previous games. For some reason fast travel is allowed within legacy dungeons, which kills a lot of the tension of exploration and the risk of losing souls. Shortcuts feel less important and traps feel less deadly.
It's also far too easy to run past everything in the open world with the horse, with only a few exceptions. A hostile landscape with enemies and hazards at every turn should not feel like a walk in the park to traverse. It was only after making a second character that I realized how badly this murders the replayability. Fast travel serves as yet another bandaid fix here, reprising its usual modern FromSoft role.
For all the game's virtues, the feeling I'm left with at the end is bitterness, which is probably why this is still on my mind. I'm bitter that I can sense an awareness of the typical open world pitfalls but somehow the game still falls into them. I'm bitter that I can't trust FromSoft to learn from its mistakes here, especially in the combat. I'm bitter that the enjoyable level design almost feels squandered by the other elements. I'm bitter that the daring spirit of Demon's Souls, the willingness to wildly experiment and defy expectations, has floated away like a soul leaving a corpse. But most of all I'm bitter that the game really does reach the lofty heights of Dark Souls 1 at times. It climbs the mountain, ascending higher than even the old mentor, until, with a confidence bordering on absentmindedness, it loses its grip and plummets down, down, down into the abyss.
"…But even so, one day the flames will fade, and only Dark will remain. And even a legend such as thineself can do nothing to stop that." - Hawkeye Gough
Elden Ring
2022
Play Lego Island
Outer Wilds
2019
Some games are recommended because they’re perfectly polished, others are recommended because they iterate on the systems people already like, but Outer Wilds doesn’t meet either criteria. There are times I got frustrated, times I tried correct solutions that didn’t work, and times I was pretty bored, but I still recommend it. The reason why is because of a third criteria that’s hard to find in large-scale exploration games: total originality. I value the experience of discovering Outer Wilds’ uniqueness more than I value the comprehensiveness of my recommendation, so to keep it short and spoiler-free, it’s a first-person spacefaring adventure about uncovering the cause of a natural disaster. You’re not given any direction on how to accomplish this, you just hop in your spaceship and head out to whatever planet looks best to you. There’s no hand-holding or patronizing tutorials, you’re expected to go and explore just for the joy of uncovering a mystery. All the triumphs, the beautiful moments, they’re all earned by your diligence, and success isn’t just handed to you. While being left to your own devices can make the times you’re stuck feel a little agonizing, the payoff at the end is easily worth it. If that sounds even remotely interesting, please give it a try. If there’s any game that deserves a chance to surprise you, it’s this one.
Outer Wilds
2019
Outer Wilds is the only game I can think of where within its first moments, I knew I was in for something very, very special without really understanding why. The title screen is already so inviting, with its gentle acoustic glow fading in over a collage of shimmering stars. The game opens, I wake up on my back, looking up into the sky to see something explode in the distant orbit of a giant, green planet deep in space, and my imagination is immediately captured. I feel an intangible warmth as I speak to my fellow Hearthians and wander our village, a sense of wonder and anticipation as I walk through our peoples' museum, learning about things that I realize I will inevitably have to face or utilize in the adventures ahead. All this before even seeing my ship, let alone blasting off with it into the far reaches of space.
The expectations and tone of Outer Wilds are set up pitch perfectly in this opening. On the whole, the game captures the innate desire we all have to learn more, to reach out for what's next, even if we have no idea what it is we are searching for or why we seek it. It's the only thing Outer Wilds relies on to lead players forward. There are no objectives or goals, no waypoints to show you where to go next; there only those which you create for yourself. What drives us forward is the need to understand the world(s) around us, or at least attempt to understand. Is there a more human desire than that?
Outer Wilds is a masterpiece for its many balances: of warmth and intimacy with the melancholic loneliness of space; a constant sense of wonder with an equally constant fear of the unknown; its charming, colorful art style with its hard, scientific approach; its reverence for the teachings of both classical and quantum physics; its personal, micro-level character stories set against the fate of the universe. The list goes on. And that's without even mentioning the game's emotional linchpin: Andrew Prahlow's incredible score, a healthy mix of folk, ambient and post-rock that is a delicate tight-wire act in and of itself, managing to capture both the vastness of space and the intimate glow of a campfire without compromise.
Whatever feelings Outer Wilds brought out of me in its opening moments were only further heightened and more deeply understood as I began unraveling the mysteries of its clockwork solar system, spiraling faster and faster towards an ending that left me in awe of everything that came before it and soon yearning for other experiences that could fill the black hole that the game's sudden absence left in place of my heart. Outer Wilds is not only a perfect game, but also one of the medium's purest expressions of its most inspiring possibilities. If only I could breathe out a sigh of relief and wake up on Timber Hearth for the first time again.
The expectations and tone of Outer Wilds are set up pitch perfectly in this opening. On the whole, the game captures the innate desire we all have to learn more, to reach out for what's next, even if we have no idea what it is we are searching for or why we seek it. It's the only thing Outer Wilds relies on to lead players forward. There are no objectives or goals, no waypoints to show you where to go next; there only those which you create for yourself. What drives us forward is the need to understand the world(s) around us, or at least attempt to understand. Is there a more human desire than that?
Outer Wilds is a masterpiece for its many balances: of warmth and intimacy with the melancholic loneliness of space; a constant sense of wonder with an equally constant fear of the unknown; its charming, colorful art style with its hard, scientific approach; its reverence for the teachings of both classical and quantum physics; its personal, micro-level character stories set against the fate of the universe. The list goes on. And that's without even mentioning the game's emotional linchpin: Andrew Prahlow's incredible score, a healthy mix of folk, ambient and post-rock that is a delicate tight-wire act in and of itself, managing to capture both the vastness of space and the intimate glow of a campfire without compromise.
Whatever feelings Outer Wilds brought out of me in its opening moments were only further heightened and more deeply understood as I began unraveling the mysteries of its clockwork solar system, spiraling faster and faster towards an ending that left me in awe of everything that came before it and soon yearning for other experiences that could fill the black hole that the game's sudden absence left in place of my heart. Outer Wilds is not only a perfect game, but also one of the medium's purest expressions of its most inspiring possibilities. If only I could breathe out a sigh of relief and wake up on Timber Hearth for the first time again.
Outer Wilds
2019
this game made me less afraid of death. there is no higher review i can give it.