This barely scrapes a third star out of me because of the sheer commitment to crafting an immersive Hogwarts experience. The Harry Potter books were a childhood treasure for me and it felt fantastic to play a game in this world. Unfortunately, the game itself was mediocre. If this were a new IP open world game then nobody would be talking about it. I finished it purely because I liked playing as a Hufflepuff who used dark magic. Dark magic usage and spell cooldowns in general are bullshit by the way. If you were really about that life you should be able to cast Avada Kedavra as much as you use the R2 attack.

I majored in religion and philosophy with a minor in classics, and New Vegas is one of my favorite RPGs ever. So this could not have been more up my alley. The art direction, concept, decision making, and story all work together harmoniously and make this an absolute delight for me. I loved it. But the pacing and controls are simply not good and hold me back from wanting to play it again. I suspect there are many who will either not try this or drop it after an hour, and that's a shame because it's an incredibly unique title. I'm glad there are people making games like this.

A Plague Tale: Innocence was a well made AA title with a unique setting that I primarily enjoyed for its sense of powerlessness. Requiem retains a bit of that but does lean more into Uncharted-esque gameplay. I'm a little sad to lose the intimacy of the first title but I do think this builds on the original in compelling ways. I am sure the ending turned some off but I am eager to see where the series goes from here. I continue to be impressed by what they're able to do with a relatively small budget. Good story, good gameplay, and moving character work throughout.

This was my favorite Sam Barlow game yet. I couldn't put it down. I will say that the meta-narrative and themes are pretty pretentious and highly inspired by David Lynch, so if any of that turns you off right away you can probably skip this title. But I think it's a phenomenal FMV game that uses and pays homage to cinema in compelling ways. Manon Gage is enthralling as Marissa Marcel, and I found myself really enjoying the experience of discovering more and more pieces of each film. This is barely a "game" so giving yourself over to the experience is key. Not a title for everyone but certainly a unique and fun experience for me.

I am abandoning this game, but I put enough time in that I feel confident enough to give a rating. I bought this because it was being hailed as this must play JRPG masterpiece. I could not get into it at all. The story started off bad and only continued to get worse through obvious plot twists and horrific voice acting. The combat is the only part I enjoyed and even that started to get repetitive pretty quickly. I was playing this while waiting for my delayed flight and ended up turning it off and reading a book instead. Not my thing at all.