I think Kirby and the gang are really cool characters that are unfortunately limited by this weird game design. These 2D Kirby games just feel too easy, and it's not because the lives are basically infinite, or that Kirby can fly over everything in the level - it's because the difficulty curve found in the majority of games is simply gone here. The game doesn't get any harder as it progresses, and that makes it all get stale and boring fast. The story is solid, but everything about this game is as generic and safe as possible. Forgotten Land was the new bar and I expect everything to come after to meet that level of fun. This game gets a pass though because, you know, it's 12 years old.

I don't know if I can explain it well, but there's something wrong with this game. I usually love roguelikes, and there was a good amount of time that I thought I loved Dead Cells, but as I keep doing run after run, I've noticed my enjoyment deteriorate drastically. The enemies are so lifeless and undynamic, the progression system (in which I mean the items that you slowly unlock) feel completely useless an uninteresting, the variety in levels is too much to the point that I get confused on what the "standard" path is supposed to be, and all of these factors make the repetitive gameplay hard to endure. I like Dead Cells - it has so many well polished aspects to it, and it has the essence of an amazing game, but the sum of it's parts prevents me from wanting to replay it constantly, unlike the hallmarks of the genre.

Half-Life as a franchise is cool as fuck. I can't think of any other company other than Valve that's able to put as much thought and detail into it's world to this extent. The level designs blow my frickin mind at how they balance such an immersive and natural-feeling atmosphere with epic set-pieces and a raw sense of genuine exploration. The original Half-Life's best understated feature is how it makes you feel like a hero. It's not the feeling of your typical schlocky action hero played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson; Half-Life makes you feel in your soul that despite your limitations, and the daunting task you're faced with, the adventure you're on is the most important thing in the world, and there's absolutely no way you're gonna back down. Inconsequential freedoms the game allows the player to do sells this feeling even more, such as the ability to lead and rescue civilians caught in the mess. There is absolutely no consequences for rescuing people OR becoming a serial killer and mowing them down for fun, and it's that level of immersive freedom that really makes Half-Life special. For me, the original Half-Life stands to be a technical feat in pairing a high-quality story with a carefully perfected location to harbor the action.

Half-Life 2 brings you right back to that. There's no question to be had at this point that you, Gordon 'mother-fuckin' Freeman, are a hero and inspiration to the not-so-free world. What Half-Life 2 does is the admirable way to go about making a sequel. Whereas Half-Life confines you to march through the endless halls, tunnels, deserts, and sewers of Black Mesa, Half-Life 2 opens the lid on the world and gives you a car with a gun strapped to it for safe travels. You explore a richly defined world with new characters that fight by your side, new enemies that terrorize you in unique ways, and new weaponry that defines the game as a whole. The Gravity Gun is such a batshit crazy thing to put into a game like this, but it's not only the best weapon in the game - it's the single funniest tool in a video game since... well if it came before everything else, I guess I can't say "since", but... oh you know what I mean, I don't need to make a comparison, it's more or less the funniest tool in any video game.

While the less-confined world negates the feeling of heroism in some ways, the large interconnected world featured in Half-Life 2 is on the exact same level of quality as it's predecessor. Every location and set-piece you come across weaves into the story and gameplay beautifully, mastering what makes a game like this fun and exciting. The only thing I can begin to dislike about this game, is it's final chapter. It's very good, with exciting story twists and a fun gauntlet to get to the end, but the ultimate climatic final showdown was unimpressive. I'm sure that Half-Life 2: Episode 1 & 2 will satisfyingly continue where this game left off (Hell, maybe I'm being a bitch for not playing the following episodes before reviewing Half-Life 2), but from where I stand, the "final boss" wasn't a strong end to to this game, and I was really hoping for a lot more considering how highly I think of the game as a whole. I liked the whole ending, but it just felt a bit lacking. G-Man's cool though, I love that scrinkly little guy.

I appreciate the FUCK out of this game/franchise, and it blows my mind to think about every innovation it brought to gaming as a whole. Anyways, I'll shut up now and go play Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and 2. To give it a score for you score lovers, I'd generalize it at an 8/10, but if you zoom in closely, it's like an 89/100. Actually, I'll round it to a 9/10! If you ask me to pick which Half-Life game is better I will explode because they are both equally great.

I still prefer Persona 5 for it’s refined gameplay and flashy visual style, but I’m extraordinarily happy that this was able to surpass my expectations. The central characters are fantastic and have P5 beat, while the side Social Link characters are noticeably weaker. Adachi was a little too obviously the killer, which is a little disappointing, but the true villain twist made up for it by being so well integrated into the narrative and equally unpredictable. The dungeons got stale and repetitive, but went by pretty fast so I didn't mind at all. The story was simply GOLDEN, but this franchise doesn't seem to miss with these stories. It says a lot that I burned through this whole game in only a months time! Not even TOTK has that luxury!

This is once again a top ten game for me, and I can't wait to play P3 Reload when that comes out!