Bomb Rush Cyberfunk has been one of my most anticipated games for the last several years. However, with anticipation comes expectations, ones that often don't align with reality. It's easy to come up with a preconception of what a game should be, which when left unchecked can lead to one souring their experience. I would be lying if I didn't say that this wasn't the case for me and Bomb Rush.

Bomb Rush is too nice, too passive for me to feel completely invested. I often felt weightless as I drifted through the sprawling levels. If only there was one more mechanic added to the movement system, something extra to manage or manipulate.

Don't get me wrong, as an aesthetic piece Bomb Rush clears with top marks. I love the style, the music, the attitude. At the end of the game, one character says that "graffiti would be hella lame if it was legal", and I have to agree. I would just add that graffiti is also hella lame if its easy.

No More Heroes III is kept on a razor's edge between absurdism and mundanity. There are frequent, extreme tonal shifts and style changes. However, most of the game is spent fighting the same batch of enemies in the same batch of arenas.

Load a fight.
Kill the enemies.
Drive to another fight.
Find a generic collectable along the way for a dopamine hit.
Load a fight.
Kill the enemies.
Enter the boss fight.
Watch a cutscene about the conventions of role playing games.
Serialized TV outro.
Netflix.
Miike.
No More Heroes III.
Is it all worth it?

Considering the fact that I played this in a single setting, Citizen Sleeper is an incredibly strong narrative game that I definitely recommend. There are some strange pieces to the writing, such as how it seems that the game is allergic to using any contractions, but the stories that you go through and the prose both enraptured me. I was a little disappointed on the gameplay side however. I would say that the majority of my playthrough was spent without any threat from the different resources. I always had enough money, medicine, or time. A sequel was just announced, and I'm highly anticipating it. I think if both the writing and the gameplay are tightened up and expanded, this could be something really special.

Having writing be my current source of income has come with the adverse effect of making me enjoy playing games on keyboard and mouse less. While you can play Rusted Moss with a controller, it recommends playing with keyboard and mouse, and I think it's worthwhile to do so. The combination of your movement tools, alongside a very strong suite of engaging boss fights make Rusted Moss one of the better indie metroidvanias on a gameplay level. Unfortunately, when it comes to atmosphere, progression, and exploration I feel it falls a little flat. I feel like this game could've used one more major upgrade to your toolkit, maybe an alternative grenade or something.

This game has been languishing in my steam wishlist for as long as I've even had an account. I decided to do it a favor and give it, it's sequel, and as I would learn later it's prequel a shot.

It's clear that this game's primary platform is mobile. The game's ui is made large and with easily accessible buttons. One of the primary methods of interaction are what I call interface puzzles, where the game will ask the player to brush away some reeds, or sort through the trash by dragging and tapping.

I think the draw to this game is it's presentation and writing. The art is well done, and the entire game is voice acted. Both aren't entirely polished, there are some rough edges left behind, but not nearly enough to sour the experience. The game is amusingly written as well, it got a few chuckles out of me.

The big question then is whether the mystery is worthwhile. I would personally say that while the mystery was fairly simple, there were enough background details and a twist or two that made it fun to go for the ride.

I had a feeling that I would enjoy this, and it turns out that I was right! Tunic is a wonderful experience, and its quality seeps into every fiber of the game.

The combat has seen a good deal of criticism, and I honestly didn't really have any issues with it. I really enjoyed how the enemies and bosses pushed me to use all the items that I had access to, and practicing good spacing so that I didn't waste any stamina on blocks and dodges was also fun.

The manual is absolutely the star of the show. It takes a really good adventure game and turns it into something really special. The entire game feels extremely well considered, one discovery I made in the late game made me entirely reconsider the structure of the game, and how linear it actually was.

I'm going to be thinking about this one for a long time.

A good game shackled by the reputation of being a masterpiece, or being the profane icon of the medium's worst generation. While the story is simple, I appreciate it most when it focuses on sympathetic characters and their growing relationships. The ending especially works off this; turning what should be an unambiguous turn to evil into something I honestly understood the reasoning for. The gameplay is much the same way, a simple third-person shooter that shines when utilizing its unique mechanics. I only wish I was pushed to scavenge and craft during combat more, because it's really engaging in a firefight.

Also, Resident Evil 4 is just as "cinematic" as this game but people aren't ready for that conversation

Sifu definitely has it's issues, but it's a game that I ultimately had a great time with. You can read about most of the common issues in any other review of the game, the progression is underwhelming, the camera has issues, etcetera.

However, one thing that I wanted to highlight that really stood out to me was the games presentation. Sifu is visually gorgeous. I love how the game plays with color, each stage having a very distinct color scheme that it play around with. The stages also have wonderful set design. I think that the museum stage is absolutely the standout.

Just a great time overall.

Consider this a palate cleanser, something to play in order to realign expectations going forward. I enjoyed the characters well enough, the combat well enough, the platforming well enough, et cetera et cetera.

Especially since I'm heading into a couple major series binges to close out my year, it was nice to refresh my mind before diving in. Game is pretty unchallenging as well, even though I was playing on the highest difficulty. I guess some games just click.

Don't really have much to say if I'm being honest. Don't really see how anyone could have much to say.

An off white wall. A saltine cracker. It's not bad, or even mediocre. I just likely won't be thinking about this one much in the future. You don't notice the neutral tones often anyways.