Whilst I love this game I don't think it quite recaptures the feeling of the original, but also doesn't do enough to stand itself up on it's own merits. Nevertheless, the best way of describing this game is 'Silent Hill 2 does Silent Hill 1'. The story of this game meshes very well with the original and heather is an interesting new kind of protaganist with plenty of personality. This, like Origins, gives you a lot of reasons to replay it, but this game feels like it's about half the length that it is, mostly because a lot of the game is kinda forgettable. This game does improve on combat with more weapon variety and contains some of the best writing and characters in the series.

To be clear, the only other kirby game I have ever played is the port of Kirby's Adventure on the 3DS.

This was fun!! I really liked it, I kept thinking about how brainless and simple the gameplay is, but then I had to remind myself that there literally isn't anything wrong with that and not every game has to be Bloodborne or God of War. It does affect my playing of the game, however, the fact that 90% of the game could be beaten by a blindfolded lab rat does mean that I'll probably forget this game exists and that I played it within the next month, and that's a shame, because it's a really fun and engaging time that's paced really well and knows when to shake things up and how to have puzzles that keep your brain in the game without ever having to have you actually think. This sounds negative, but I assure you, I'm just unbearable.

The moment I realised I did actually more than just 'like I guess' this game was when I realised the credits had rolled over two hours ago and I was still playing. On that note, during the post-game is where it goes wacko mode. There's a specific fight (hint - butterfly) where I was suddenly kicked into actually focusing on the fight, and it was a cool moment, and I'm glad it was saved for the post-game as it wouldn't have felt right in the main game.

The music is uplifting and suitably over-the-top, as well as just good listening. The art design is mixed, sometimes being a bit boring but other times being perfectly balanced between detail and atmosphere whilst still keeping it cartoony and simple. The copy abilities are varied enough and fun enough, but I'm not asking for each one to have a full 180 move moveset, but maybe more than just... tap and hold, would be nice. (beware hyperbole, before I get angry replies)

I really liked this game, I really can't think of anything 'objectively' wrong with it, however because the gameplay is so simple and basic I am genuinely sure I'm going to forget it exists within the month, which is a major issue.
Recommended.

Made the mistake of playing the PS+ trail knowing full well I can't afford it.

Genuinely one of the best feeling games in a year of great feeling games, between this and Neon White I'm being spoiled in my love of fast paced twitchy action games with complex yet buttery smooth movesets.

I WILL be getting this ASAP and it WILL be one of my top games of the year, I already can feel it.

I wrote up a whole review of this yesterday but for some reason Backloggd removed it?
Anyway,
First thing is first, what's up with Gerry?
Gerry, one of the main characters in this game, is a character who appears in the original Jurassic Park movie. In the one scene he is in, the triceratops scene, he is very prominent as 'the old guy with the baseball cap, sunglasses and hair comb mustache'. In this game he never wears a baseball cap or sunglasses, appears to be twenty years younger and is clean shaven, and this game takes place on the exact same day as the movie. In interview, one of the writers was asked about this and they said 'he shaved it between appearing in the movie and appearing here'. Even if I am to believe that he shaved in the middle of the day, at work, without checking on his daughter, that still doesn't explain that we see him BEFORE as well as after he goes to be in the movie. In a seperate interview, the same writer was asked what this is about. All the writer had to say is that it must've been a fake mustache.

But what did I actually think of the game? Well, there really aren't more plot holes than the movie itself has (why is Gerry just allowed to bring his daughter to the island?) It' doesn't take away from the experience. I'll be honest, this game isn't that bad. I'm usually pretty eager to turn my nose up at Telltale but the writing here was alright, the characters were enjoyable enough and none of them were boring. I was always interested to see where the story was going and the gameplay was just ok, honestly other than it just being a little less well laid out on the controller I kind of preffered the gameplay here to the walking dead. As little evolution as Telltale has in their games it's strange that there's good stuff here that is removed in later games (the 'standing still' minigame, being able to talk to people at any time instead of specific moments).

It's not perfect, it runs terribly on the PS3 and could easily be one of the worst optimised games I've ever played, the story is far too slow and could take up two thirds of the time and, most of all, this just doesn't need the gameplay. The only reason having the gameplay makes any sense at all in later Telltale games is beacuse the decisions you make influence the outcome of the narrative, but here that's just not a thing. There is, by my estimation, about two choices that affect about one line and if a character is present at the end of the game, but other than that there's nothing. What this leaves me with is the overwhelming feeling that if this was just a six-episode animated series I'd instantly call this a hidden gem, but as it is this is just a fine interactive experience.
I definitely recommend this to fans of Jurassic Park but don't think I could recommend it to anyone else, at all.

Ok negatives first:
So I didn't feel the sense of scale here the same way as in some of my favorite titles from the series, outside of the big battles with evil pac man there is never that feeling of going on an epic odyssey that you get from games like BOTW or Wind Waker, but that's really just a 'vibes' qualm.
A personal problem is that I just don't like motion controls, there were times where I forgot I don't like them here, and the precision sword fighting felt really fresh and different, but I'd be lying if I told you there weren't times where I saw an enemy and got sad because I knew I'd have to put in effort. This game feels like it's being crippled by some inherent and unavoidable jankiness that really drags the gameplay experience down kicking and screaming. It raises up the combat to a pretty unique place but every other element of gameplay either feels lesser than it's predeccessors or sadly sticking to the zelda formula, which I will talk more on shortly.
Despite it's cool combat though, and my biggest problem with the game, is that it doesn't feel like it does anything unique outside of some minor control quirks, it feels like it does very little to progress the series in a franchise where every game has felt like a total reinvention. Even Twilight Princess, which I myself said felt like they were just trying to make Ocarina 2, felt like it really shook things up; outside of a few minor things this feels like it's trying to just fit into the 'legend of zelda' box and sit there comfortably. There were times whilst playing where I thought to myself "this feels like the primary development philosophy was 'how can we make this feel like a zelda game'" which I haven't got from any other titles in this series. And sadly, even when replicating the zelda formula it stumbles. There are things this game uses to try and structure itself, being easily one of the most linear titles out of the 3D zelda offering, but it continuously feels lopsised and disjointed. The evil pac man encounters feel far too scripted and not like a real threat, the dungeons are different lengths and scattered in a strange order, in general this game flounders with both it's controls and structure.

But, of course, there's a caveat to all of this, what I just said seems like a scathing, positively scathing review of this game, but you have to understand that these points are only taking this game in comparison to other Zelda titles. There are no truly bad games in this series and this is no exception. In fact, I can see myself replaying this in a few years now that I know what to expect; and so:

Let's talk positives;
The story was engrossing and compelling, it's not the best the series has to offer but it's got a lot of great characters (groose is a highlight), and Zelda's place in the story is interesting, I just wish she was there more. Moreover, I absolutely loved Ghirahim, he's a lot of fun and feels like a refined version of what Zant became when they decided to actually make him a character in the last third of Twilight Princess. Sadly, unlike twilight princess, zant is clear throughout that he is working for Ganon whereas here it's treated almost as a terrible surprise.
Also good is the watercolor-inspired art design, it's bright and recognisable and, whilst I wish there was more to look at in some areas, really makes the game pop. This is present nowhere more than the time crystals, which perfectly intersect art design and gameplay by allowing for hugely imaginative puzzles and encounters, and whenever I had to use one it was a joy.
Whilst I think the overall structure of the game was poor, the internal structure of each section felt great, and progression within them was always perfectly met and countered.
The beetle; the only major new item addition and it's a doozy, I love me a game that gives you a little drone and this is no exception. Dropping bombs on enemies, cutting spider webs and hitting time crystals was always satisfying, even using it to just grab rupees was a joy.
Production quality; from the cutscenes to every single gameplay section there was a more consistent level of production quality here than I've seen in maybe any other game ever, there's no bad skyboxes, no filler areas, no exposition not worth animating. It's a little thing but it shows a lot of care.
Motion controls; I know I said i don't like motion controls, and I don't, but it'd be dishonest of me not to give props to how well-realised these ones are, even if they are far too pervasive for me.
The combat; Yes, I'm saying it again, I love the combat here, it's not super complex or 'deep' (depending on your definition) but it's compelling and you really have to think at times. I wish every game in this series had combat this engaging.
And Groose; what a fun little guy, these games need better tertiary characters because Groose is now the bar I will judge them by.

Overall this is a great looking game with a great combat system and not much else to offer, missing the handhold just one rung short of being great.

Unlike it's predecessor, I actually finished this one during this replay, this is largely just the first one again but with some really strong improvements that change things for the better in both the open world and missions. The karma system is still basic but this game is a lot better at trying to tempt you to do evil things, whilst venorating the benefits of being good.

Sadly it loses a lot of the charm and character of the production design that the first had, the live action video on the TVs, the art design, the look of the world, but this isn't neccessarily a downgrade in that respect. Really glad I've played this one again, it was one of my first console games and the nostalgia I had when playing this was really something else.

Overall a great, if only just, experience. Mostly the small indie production pushes back against the huge scale this game is going for. The detective gameplay is hard to get on board with at first, it's a bit more involved than some other detective games, so it can take some time to get used to. There's a lot here, though, lots of customisation options, lots of interesting places to go, the game captures a great atmosphere.
Everything here is perfectly good enough, and it comes together into a satisfying enough package.