i'm ready to admit that the "ancients" trilogy (origins/odyssey/valhalla) is probably my favorite cycle in the AC franchise. been playing these games since AC1 in my 360 and i've never been as engrossed as in these sprawling open worlds of the last few years. truly massive experiences that succesfully immersed me in the past and made me feel like an active participant in every manner of historical events.

altough odyssey remains my favorite, valhalla comes as a close second. i simply adore its characters and the almost episodic structure of the narrative. gameplay feels like a nice blend of full-rpg with stealth based AC shenanigans. combat feels layered but easy to learn. eivor is a great addition to the series canon (cecilie stenspil's voice! godlike) and it was so fun to create meaningful relationships with the people of ravensthorpe... one sister-in-law in particular.

lots of love to all devs who helped bring this to life.

a game betrayed by its own ambitions, there's certainly a lot in RE6 that's frustrating. the split narrative sacrifices almost any cohesion in the story, the gameplay elements from one scenario don't always translate well to the others (i found myself constantly wishing that Chris and Sherry had unlimited ammo from the get go, or that some of their enemies were regular zombies), or how the overabundance of QTEs has aged poorly.

...but i still found myself loving it, for some reason? i finished Ada's campaign yesterday and i've already restarted Leon's (the best one) today. it's weird, for all its flaws, there's a certain charm to RE6 that often gets overlooked in the big picture.

i'm a big fan of scary, survival-horror, "lock you in a place with a bunch of nasty monsters" Resi, don't get me wrong (RE2R ftw, always), but there's something to be said in favor on big, action-oriented setpieces, "the prologue has you flying/crashing a helicopter in the first 10 minutes like it's goddamn Uncharted" Resi.

this game has a very specific brand of fun that i happen to be into, and it stills looks and plays great.

probably my biggest "i get it now" moment as a gamer tbh

every second of this is iconic, and i say this as someone who tried the original RE4 for about an hour before gently shelving it away as a game that had probably not aged as graceful as it could have. but now... now i get it, yeah.

y'all were right. Resident Evil 4 really is that game.

really sad that this is volition's last game. not because it's bad, but because i had a ton of fun with it. performance issues on the ps4 and a lack of endgame content aside, it had a really likeable characters and a more sincere writing than i remember earlier saints rows having.

i remember earlier this year seeing gamers marvel at how the same team that developed the RE3 remake were responsible for the RE4 Separate Ways campaign, and i got reminded how most of them have absolutely no notion that the people who make games are professionals doing jobs, and if everyone got laid off at the first fumble, there would be no room for improvement - ever.

anyways, thanks for the good times Volition. ya'll will be missed.

i feel conflicted about AC Origins. on one hand, it's a beautiful, massive and brave vision of what AC could become. on the other, it feels a bit too ambitious for its own sake. the world feels so big that the sheer scale seems daunting, but at the same time we're given very little incentive to actually interact with said world. an overabundance of mediocre sidequests quickly makes you realise that the best option is to actually boost your level and focus on the main quest. the combat is fun to engage with once you actually have the tools to do so, but its semi-RPG systems don't quite come together as well as they could.

that being said, Bayek is one of my favorite characters in all of gaming and to see that the creed started out of two parents' unbearable grief was one of the most audacious lore choices this franchise has ever taken and i love it so much.