Stellar Blade is a game that knows exactly what it wants to be, even if it isn't the greatest on all fronts. While the combat and soundtrack are clear standouts, the story leaves a bit to be desired. Apart from these obvious points, I think there's more reason to speak positively about the game as a whole than there is to linger on the negatives.

Let's start with the great things about SB. The combat is exceptional. C'mon, there's a parry; of course it's a 10/10. You have this option to use burst and beta abilities while fighting, and while those abilities are fun and flashy, the game allows you to take a more “pure” approach. If you want, you can zero in on using parries to beat your opponent to the point of using a Retribution attack. Most people will be familiar with a critical attack after breaking posture, but there's something so satisfying about draining such long posture bars in Stellar Blade. Each strike of your sword or spark of your abilities is a beautiful light show as well. It's very much a rhythm game that will leave you in its dust if you can't match it in time. I found myself getting 1 or 2 shot by plenty of enemies when I missed an important parry or dodge.

Overall, the game's visual aesthetic isn't something I'm mad about. Some cyberpunk-style designs feel a bit uninspired, but the world is highly detailed and wonderful to look at. It feels like one of those titles that was meant to be on the PS5. I really loved when the camera work would turn super dynamic in the cinematics. I think all the boss fight executions were brilliant. I also loved alot of the Naytiba designs. They take inspiration from many forms of life and almost always provide some sort of nightmare fuel, which I love. One small bit about them that I adored was the flourishes on the boss type Naytibas. It gives a stylized look to them and gives them a sense of grace that contrasts their violent existence. I think the MAIN character design in general is a standout in this game. Many of those main characters are so much fun to look at. There are always standouts in games that have mixes of organic and mechanical. The freedom that allows is something I'm sure character designers love.

Shoutout to the costume designers for EVE. Every time I thought they were at their limit, I got a new one and GYATTTTTT. I'm not too high and mighty to acknowledge the fan service of this game. You caught me. I enjoyed it. Pretty sure the devs made her ass bigger when she's wearing certain outfits too. Yoko Taro would be proud and disgusted, I'm sure.

Now, the music. Holy shit, these are some FF16 type tracks. I won't name some bosses, but Belial and Karakuri were just exceptional standouts to me. Don't even get me started on Democrawler. Breathtakingly incredible. We get such a beautiful blend of instruments and musical mediums throughout this whole game. It's hard to focus during some fights, and I think the camp's theme will be burned into my eardrums for awhile. Overall, I'm so impressed with soundtracks like this. I can't see anything topping these tracks this year, but I'd love to hear someone try.

Shoutout to the final boss theme being a rendition of the main theme. We LOVE that shit around here.

The story and characters just fell a bit flat to me. I didn't feel much chemistry between EVE and her companions. Some characters seemed like they knew they were NPCs and took that assignment seriously. I felt like many emotions weren't there when they needed to be. I wanted to like the story more, but I saw the ending coming from a mile away. The only reason it isn't more of a knock for me, personally, is because there were a few nice twists in the lore that I enjoyed. It isn't horrible, and maybe I'm judging it too harshly, but it was by no means cinema.

Overall, I think this game is very much worth playing, even if for the combat alone. There are plenty of side quests and the platinum trophy is there for the taking. Another wonderful example of a game I saw the first teaser for ages ago, hyped up, and then happily received it when it finally released. That's a breath of fresh air anytime it happens.

By the way, are the incels still mad at this game? They said it got censored?? I can't imagine seeing the fan service of this game and thinking it isn't “good enough.” Imagine using your limited time on this beautiful Earth like that when you could literally load up Stellar Blade, play as a beautiful android woman, and SAVE Earth instead.

While I don't think this is my favorite Metroidvania I've played so far, I think it's best in its class.

Playing Hollow Knight after playing my first few Metroidvanias, rather than before, set my expectations in a strange place for the game. I've heard so much talk about it, and witnessed even more excitement for the ever-illusive Silksong. I went into it expecting a masterpiece of not only the genre, but of everything that constitutes a great game.

I liked the story, even if it seemed a bit dense at times with all the bugs whispering gibberish into my ear. I'm the guy destined to become the new John Hollow. I'm pretty sure that's obvious, so I'm not marking this as a spoiler. Okay, cool. I was led astray so many times by NPCs who, it seems, you talk to in the first 10 minutes of the game and then have to revisit in the 90th percentile??? Obviously a bit of an exaggeration, but the layering of side quests and their progression is definitely the most complicated out of most games I've played. I don't think that's a bad thing either. I think it's done well enough and more of a reason to be more present when playing the game if you care about the story and its characters a lot.

I think it's easy to sometimes get swept up in the monotony of running back and forth throughout MVs. I touched on this in my Blasphemous reviews; it's incredible how there's a point around 40% percent through these games where you're slow, and the map is big. You're aware of countless areas that are unexplored, but you're lacking the abilities to get to them. This was me more than ever on HK. I loved exploring the map, but I think it's incredibly punishing. I can't imagine someone new to MVs having fun platforming on this game in the beginning. Granted, I'm not the greatest platformer in the world, but I'm certainly not the worst. See below.

I DID NOT FINISH PATH OF PAIN. FUCK THAT. FUCK THE DEVS. SICKOS.

The art direction is extremely cohesive. I didn't feel like anything in the game was out of place. From the sprawling backgrounds, to the enemy design, and the animations, I loved the way this game looked. The environments transitioned color pallets beautifully. I adore when a game isn't afraid to go all out with the colors while still keeping with their aesthetic. The orange of the infection is burned into my brain like one of the blobs was the sun and stared at it too long. Oh, and who knew so many amazing designs could be based around bugs? Looking back, it sounds so obvious because they're like the naturally gifted knights of the animal kingdom. They're quite literally born with armor over their bodies. If any of the bugs in HK were human-sized, I think we'd be doomed.

Combat is great and so are the bosses. I think the weapon upgrade system is balanced, as it incentivizes exploration and challenges the player to fight more bosses. Magic seems OP as hell, as usual. Magic users have tiptoed the line of baby gaming for far too long. It's time we banned all uses of magic from games. But seriously, the balancing of spirit when it comes to magic and healing is well done. Healing? What's that? Seems like they only put it in the game to use outside of combat. You definitely don't want to use it in a boss fight. I think the boss is coded to go ape mode when you start channeling spirit. Once you figure that out, I think you enjoy the combat even more. It reminds me of Sekiro in a way because you have to dance with the boss at a certain rhythm. While there is no parry (kinda) you still have your jumps and dashes to guide you across the dance floor.

The music hit all the notes. It was somber, energizing and grand. I sometimes felt like I was walking the pews at a funeral or receiving a medal for being the people's champion. I especially loved the Mantis Lords track. Inject that shit into my veins. It's incredible to me how so many studios can create such distinctive sounds for their games. Video game soundtracks are a genre of art that is probably the most ignored by the public. Anyway, listen to and appreciate more OSTs. If you're reading this on a video game review site, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that.

Overall, I loved Hollow Knight. Like with any title, there are small annoyances, but they pale in comparison to the radiance displayed during the high points of this game. I fully understand why Silksong is longed for. I fully understand why HK holds a special place in the hearts of many, as it now does mine. As always, I'm thankful to exist during a time when I can experience games like this. There's so much beauty in playing a game you always knew about but never gave a chance.

What a game, man.

There are many aspects about this game that I loved for similar reasons that I went over in my review of the first game. Feel free to check that out if you think I'm missing the point on anything.

With that being said, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the people who dedicated so much time to creating the art for this game. Not only are the sprites and backgrounds more detailed than ever, but some cutscenes are also animated in a beautiful style that is mostly stripped of heavy shadow work on character details. The movements are graceful and the tone of them reflects the themes of the game. As a fan of animation, I loved seeing this addition.

It's nice to step into the shoes of the Penitent One again; this time with more weapons and a dashing set of traversal techniques. As a parry man myself, I couldn't stop maining Ruego. The beauty of this game is that you could likely clear it by just using your favorite, singular weapon, apart from when you need a certain ability from another. The gameplay caters to almost any playstyle and doesn't feel stale in the slightest. The traversal changes are welcomed with open arms as you acquire a double jump, and the ability to chain your movements with the environment via certain weapon procs. The studio improved upon the first game in all the ways I imagined before playing it.

As always, I think so much of the magic of this game comes from the music. It drives you through each section and boss fight in a way that feels primal. The string work is unbelievably good. Carlos Viola deserves an award for his work.

My only gripes are a few instances of projectiles being thrown at me like I'm being nuked by a Cold War state. Just relax with the damn miasma balls. Jesus. Another one would be the navigation in a couple areas of the map. They weren't THAT bad in hindsight. I think they mostly pissed me off at the moment.

I can't recommend Blasphemous 2 enough, especially to someone who enjoyed the previous title or loves Metroidvanias. I'm thankful that I gave them a shot, because I never thought I'd enjoy a side-scrolling game like this in my life. I know this might sound ridiculous, but giving games like this a try has left quite the impact on me. You never know what you're missing. There are so many games or experiences out there in life that we discount based on our powerful preconceptions. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is resist those voices and push back hard. There's so much out there to enjoy if you just look a little harder and take a chance.

Blasphemous ignited a roaring fire within me that increased my love and appreciation for both gaming and life in general. The fire was always there, but it feels more visceral than ever.

Hades was my first experience with any sort of rougelike/rougelite game. To be brief, I think it's a masterpiece on all levels, and a title that could stand the tests of time if it were stacked against games made 20 years down the road.

The long story is that it does everything right.

The art direction? God damn. You could run through the Underworld 1000 times and still notice things about each level that are beautiful. From the trinkets in Zagreus' chambers, to the backgrounds of the stages. Even the gods are created with such care that you can't imagine seeing them any other way. One bit I always came back to way the team's use of color theory. I find it difficult to think of another game that can use such an amalgamation of colors to create such a cohesive setting for a game. It's not often you find so many colors being used while them all complementing each other, especially with how vivid the hues are. Even before the game came out, the studio had a trailer released with some beautiful animation at the forefront. Spencer Wan of Grackle spearheading it with boards and two colossi, Chengxi Huang and Weilin Zhang blessing us with their action-packed animation work. Long before I would ever play the game, its art and world drew me in. I'm only sad I never experienced it sooner.

The characters have their own idiosyncrasies and pull from Greek history is tasteful ways. Apparently all the gods were British too, so that's fun. I never felt like any character was a different version of another. An added layer to this is that you could walk into a chamber and be so excited to be greeted by a certain god, or disappointed with the options of another. The dice-roll of the chambers is fun from both a power-up and character interaction stance.

One more run...one more run...one more run. As I said, I was completely unfamiliar with the rougelike formula before playing Hades. I felt myself going through a rollercoaster of emotions as I obtain ideal power ups for most of my run, then slowly become humbled when the tail-end of my attempt is soiled by the worst boons I've ever seen. Even so, hacking and slashing my way through the underworld never presented a dull moment. The challenge was there as well. I struggled quite a bit at first until I started to fully understand how to combine boons and certain blessings. That's the beauty of the game, though, yeah? Playing it enough to understand what combinations make you more powerful or provide you with the optimal advantage against whatever enemies give you the most trouble. I loved how it eases you into the game and doesn't bombard you with every facet at first. I think that would dissuade many new players. The game is considerably challenging as well. I know that's part of the formula, and escaping the underworld should be no easy feat, but it's hard to recommend Hades to someone who doesn't have the tenacity to stick it out until they understand the mechanics.

I also think the sound effects and music are worth mentioning because they further pull you into each interaction. They range from relaxing harp(?) work to a raging cacophony of guitar shredding. It seems like most of the music gets its backbone from strings, which I found nice. Darren Korb was the lead composer and blew it out of the water. The intro song alone is burned into my eardrums. It's one of the tracks that calls forth all the memories of the game with a single riff.

As was the Labyrinth of Ancient Greece, Hades is a meandering game that forces the player to battle the powers of gods, heroes of old, and many other wretches of myth along the way. It's a game I'd have no problem replaying down the line, and I'm deeply excited for its sequel.

What a game....

Right off the bat, I have to give massive kudos to the artists who worked on this game. Pixel art is difficult when it isn't moving, so the sprite work on this game is legendary. From the specific killing blows for each enemy, to the pixelated cinematics for cutscenes and power-ups, I find the visions this game paints hauntingly beautiful.

The story is built upon powerful religious themes like guilt, sin, death, rebirth, and many other cardinal pillars. They not only speak to them in dialogue, but they also permeate throughout the world of Cvstodia in the forms of attacks, side quests, and the very architecture you dash through. I'm not religious myself, but I'm always fascinated by stories that twist doctrine and put you in the shoes of the player at the center of it all. As The Penitent One, you must face the wrath of the beings who command the world around you. Those very beings are testing you as they did the ones before you. To you, the player, this is everything. You're penitent now, but have the will to rise atop the mountain of ash. To the bosses of the game, you're just the next slave to dawn the mask.

The environments in this game are outstanding. They have depth to them that reminds me of how Disney used to paint and project their backgrounds in their old films. There's a marvelous display of color and care in each section of the map, from the snowy mountain passes to the poison drenched sewers. Apart from the backgrounds, even many characters and objects in the foreground are a joy to look at. The enemy and boss design is pretty sweet as well. I didn't walk into one of the main boss fights and think they looked boring, apart from one in the late game. I love when art teams create weird shit. Give me more grotesque and warped depictions of people.

I also loved the music and overall sound work. Even when roaming the platforms between areas, there were noises that kept your attention rooted in the game. Mobs making noise; character dialogue haunting your eardrums. The hub music is so catchy. The boss fight tracks are incredible, especially for a smaller scale game. There was a lot of orchestral flair to the music, with a ton of string work. You can tell that they drew a lot of inspiration from Spanish music. You feel like the hero. Many of the tracks echo the themes of the game, giving you a sense of rising to the heavens. There's an ascension about them.

Overall, I really loved this game. It was a unique take on platforming genre. Obviously you're moving in 4 directions, but the themes and direction of the game are what truly matter. I'm happy I hopped into Discord one day and watched one of my friend's as he played it. I can't wait to dive into the sequel.

There's a massive checklist to fulfill when it comes to making a Spider-Man game that is up to the ever-changing standards of modern day gamers. Insomniac aced it with Spider-Man 1 and only improved upon each aspect of the game when they released Miles Morales.

Spider-Man 2 is, at least until we get a third installment, the blueprint for what fans expect from a web-slinging adventure.
From the first moment, you're thrust into an MCU-style cinematic battle between one of the great villains and both the spida guys. The swing is even more refined than the previous titles and has a speed about it that immerses you even more. The wingsuit is a welcome addition as well, helping you traverse NYC with even more style. The movement mechanics are pretty standard for anyone who played first two games.

The combat felt pretty good. There's seemingly no end to the combos you can do with your abilities as both Peter and Miles, especially as you progress through the game and unlock more. You can also be as stealthy as Max Fisher if you want. There are some encounters that feel repetitive but overall, I think that's just the nature of any game that has side quests like collecting Uncle Aaron's old tech. The worst part is entering the hideouts and listening to those muddy water garage door beats in the background. I think Insomniac created an amazing gameplay loop and even though it isn't the most novel anymore, players know that they can expect something refined with a few twists.

The story and characters were fun, but I think a little underwhelming when it truly matters. I thought I had the whole Venom thing figured out at one point but it turned out differently than I thought, and I'm glad. Venom is coveted by so many so it's hard to introduce him in a way that everyone will love. Peter and Miles were great when they interacted. There are a lot of heartfelt moments that I think are written in a believable enough way. Peter and MJs relationship is constantly strained by the existence of Spider-Man, so it's interesting to watch Peter also try to be there for other friends in his life, and Miles. I liked the story and think the setup for SM3 was perfect. There are small things here and there that made me cringe or laugh when maybe I shouldn't have, but it's whatever. I don't think stuff like that should take away from the game as a whole if it's otherwise amazing. I can't wait to see the villains in the next game. I think it'll be special, based on their teasers.

The art and its direction are incredible. There are so many suits to choose from, and the city feels more alive than ever, with the smallest details shining through. Personally, I love a good classic suit like TASM or the Stark suit, but hey, if you want to be SM 2099 or some other Terminator looking spider, there's a suit for you. I think that's remarkable. The cutscenes have so much life to them, graphically. The action cuts are great, but I always think games like this could benefit from being a little more creative or adventurous with the compositions. I'm not asking for some Wes Anderson arthouse shit, but c'mon.

Overall, SM2 is another spectacular addition to the SM franchise and a game that could be enjoyed by people of all ages. Insomniac has truly nailed the formula, in my eyes. But, no matter how good their games are, there's no fucking way I'm buying those Mile Morale's Adidas. They're smoking Grade A crack if they think that suit being in the game was worth whatever payout they got for it.

Godspeed, SPIDA-MAN.

Lies Of P is yet another soulslike in the long chain of games that strive with all their might to be a fraction as good as anything FromSoftware makes. With that being said, I think the team over at Neowiz completely delivered on each promise they made with the first trailer they ever released.

The story of Lies is engaging and cohesive enough to keep you interested in the characters and history of Krat. While this game is inspired by Carlo Collodi’s original Pinocchio story, which has a certain darkness surrounding it, it isn’t a 1:1 retelling. It takes the interesting parts like puppetry, characters like Jiminy Cricket, cleverly renamed Gemini to line up with the astrological nature of the game, and spins them in a way that makes for quite an exciting game. I loved the cosmic elements that have a sort of Disney-esque nature to them. Wishing upon a star, the power of ergo, etc. It lifts the game up in a way and removes it from the puppet strings that hold it to Earth. Then again, maybe someone wouldn’t like that but this is coming from me, whose favorite part of Bloodborne is the cosmic horror elements.

The environment and character teams popped off with this one. Whole some might say they just copied BB with the city area, I think the level design is great and super fair to the player with how roundabout it is and with the secrets to be found. If we’re just talking fidelity, I think it’s top notch. Textures look incredible and the character models/costumes are gorgeous. There’s a lot of opportunities for bloom and ambient light in the game and I think they take those and capitalize on them well. I didn’t experience any graphical issues or anything similar. It always ran smooth and was pleasing to the eyes.

I think where P really shines is in the combat. We all know that the key to a good soulslike is in the weight and feel of your weapon. This game also utilizes Bloodborne’s dash/dodge mechanic and has a wonderful variety of weapons to use. In that same spirit, it takes the parry system we all know and love from Sekiro and puts its own spin on it. Sekiro is still superior in my eyes; the holy grail of combat, but P does what it does well enough. There’s a very clear vantage to some weapons and how long they take to do a charged heavy because of how you actually have to stagger an enemy with it, but I don’t think it limits you too much on weapon selection. The combat is super well rounded in general so long as you can learn the mechanics and put them to good use.

Throwables are kinda busted as well.

Again, like Sekiro, we have a prosthetic as well. Personally, I didn’t find myself using it as much as the aforementioned but it did have a time and place. Certain enemies are more susceptible to elemental damage and some of prosthetics are simply fun to use and good around with, like the puppet string.

Lastly, the grindstone. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I’m not mad at durability being a part of the game but it’s just annoying sometimes. I would dock the score for it though because I still think it’s fair. The damn acidic status effect is brutal though. To lose both health and durability and try to find a time to heal and repair is like being caught with your pants down on a bridge that’s collapsing, and looking up to see an ICBM headed towards you.

I loved the boss fights in this game but holy hell, there was one in the last game that was one of the toughest skill checks I’ve ever encountered in a game. Trying to keep this spoiler free but they basically Fkying Thunder God you like the 4th hokage and the attack patterns are something else. Definitely the hardest boss in the game for me if you go off the number of attempts it took me. Along with this, I think there’s a bit of boss bloat in the late game. Some unneeded fights that are there for the sake of padding in my opinion. A fair example that less is more.

EDIT: Just want to mention the gank fights in this game as well. Completely unnecessary and I think it takes the fairness of something like O&S and tried to make it as unbearable as possible.

I don’t hear many people talking about the music for this game. I think the tracks are phenomenal. There are also the record artifacts you can find which have some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. They make the search for them worth it.

In liked all the characters. VA work was believable and engaging for the most part. Some people were a bit flat in moments but overall, beautiful work.

Last but not least, the endings. I did the Real Boy ending and Jesus Christ, not what I expected. It got so dark so quickly that I nearly gasped at the reveal. Definitely didn’t expect a sequel to be lined up either but I’m interested regardless.

Overall, a wonderful game that delivered what it promised to us back during the first reveal and subsequent trailers. A strong soulslike and one of the best made to date. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a challenge and a game with both beauty and darkness.

621, I've got a review for you.

As someone who has never played an AC game, but loves everything else FromSoftware makes, I wasn't sure what to expect from this game. I don't think I was alone in that.

Nevertheless, I was super excited to jump into the game after seeing trailer and trailer and finally seeing how fast-paced and immersive the gameplay looked. It delivered on every level I hoped for.

The gameplay rewards players who have situational awareness and are able to truly inhabit their AC. With choices to skate, jump, hover, and more, AC6 allows its players infinite movement possibilities so long as their weapons don't overencumber them. You can assault from the sky with missiles or skate into the face of the enemy and shove a pile driver down their mechanical throat. There are near infinite weapon combinations to choose from. The magic of the game and, by extension, the freedom of the gameplay comes down to how you construct your AC.

After you're done tweaking your setup, you're free to explore the massive landscapes that Rubicon has to offer. I felt similar feelings welling up in me when I played FFXVI. The scale of this game is preposterous. Towering megastructures in the distance, unbelievably large mechs that shake the earth when they step.

WORM.

The world lacks a bit of detail in certain areas when you look too close, but I don't think the miniscule matters much in this case. Beyond the metal and machines, you can see a beautiful skybox in a lot of instances as well. The deep red and pink hues of the Coral seemed to have allowed the devs to express a lot of emotion in the landscape.

There's a good variety of enemies to fight as well. If I'm honest, once you get the controls down, they're just cannon fodder. It's pretty easy to mow them down. Some of the AC fights definitely hold you up, though. The AI for them is surprisingly advanced and keeps you on your toes more than any other FS NPC has done in the past. Your camera is constantly getting broken. Was that just me?

The boss fights are fucking crazy. Most of the arenas didn't catch my eye as much as previous FS games, but I think the scale and majesty of the fights makes up for it. The skill checks, pre-patch, felt stronger than any other game I've played. There was any early game boss that reminded me a lot of Genichiro from Sekiro. The fight wasn't the same, it just said, “If you can't get better and beat me, I guess you'll have to uninstall the game.”

They range from fellow ACs with lightning-fast movement to machines of old Rubicon, revitalized by the power of Coral and the will of the Rubiconians.

The story is abstract at first, but I believe it lays itself out well in the later acts and in subsequent playthroughs. It seems like you need to beat the game multiple times to experience the true ending and get the picture of the full story in frame.

All I'm saying about the story is that you better choose wisely, especially later on. Of course, you're free to make the same heartbreaking mistake that I made.

Last point, I'll make is that the voice acting is superb. I think it says a lot about the game when you can express so much emotion through dialogue without ever showing a character's face. I loved the VA choices.

Thanks for reading, buddy.

I've always been fascinated by the Final Fantasy series, but growing up, I never had the means to play them. Because of this, the series wasn't able to solidify itself in my memories as it did for many other people.

I dabbled with the original FF7 at a later date and then played the remake when it came out. I know this isn't a FF7 review, but playing that game and experiencing the way Square gave a beloved game new life was the catalyst for my excitement over FF16.

To start off, the music and combat of this game are the stars of the show. The combat is engaging and can be unpredictable. Despite this, you're able to use any of the Eikonic powers you obtain to cater to however you want to play. You want to focus on staggering an enemy? The options are there. You want to deal massive damage and make many fights be over before you take a few breaths? You got it.

The hack and slash genre is known for being chaotic. FF16 delivers that with the awe and flash of a firework show. The particles from Eikon abilities dance like lights in the distance while you activate each ability. You can even choose Eikons whose colors complement each other if you're looking to boost the aesthetic even more. The game is beautiful at base, and all the FX work that was done to it accentuates that even more. The environments are heavily detailed for what seems like no reason, but I love looking at them. Each arena matches its fight as well.

The boss fights are some of the most colossal and magnificent instances I've ever played in a game. You're skating around the arenas as a human or a Kaiju, trampling the planet. I have a hard time thinking of any game I've played that is comparable.

With all these fights comes the soundtrack. Orchestral, haunting, and most notably, inspirational, each song is catered to the moment perfectly. You feel powerful as a wielder of the flame. You feel immovable as a Dominant. Awards aren't everything, but this game truly deserves recognition for the amazing soundscape that was crafted.

As for the story, I loved the themes and characters. It takes you on a journey of pain love, redemption, and many other notches along the rollercoaster. I loved the relationships between the characters. Nobody felt hollow. I think that has a lot to do with the voice acting as well. I give a 5-star performance across the board for the whole cast.

My only gripe with the game is that the story has a few lulls between the main moments, which is why I took off half a star. Normally, I wouldn't care too much, but when a game like this has such massive highs, those extended low points bring your momentum down. I also wouldn't mind if those moments were a bit more interesting. Regardless, each slow moment makes all the climactic ones doubly worth it.

I loved this game. It made me smile and brought tears to my eyes. I can't want for the next game. It can't be a fantasy to believe this isn't Square's final game in the franchise.

Also made me cry. Everything about the first game, but better.

The controls and abilities are all more streamlined, allowing the player to pick up the pace of both exploration and combat even more.

The art team really outdid themselves on this because wow, what a beautiful game to experience. The FX and backgrounds are especially beautiful. I love the way that the game has you backtrack when you get new abilities. Classic formula, but the pace of this game makes it fun to go back through old areas to find new paths and items.

I can't recommend this game and its predecessor enough.

Never played a Metroidvania before. This game made me cry lol.

Beautiful story, art, and music. I loved the progression of the game, even if it can be a little slow at first. As the upgrades come, the pace picks up and running throughout the game is such a pleasure.

Would highly recommend this to someone who is averse to platforming-type games.

I’m writing this review without taking the initial performance issues into account.

I think it’s safe to say that Survivor and FO are not only two of the best Star Wars games ever, but also some of the best entries to the series in general.

I do believe the story of Survivor falls off in the third act and requires a bit of mental gymnastics to try to understand, but the gameplay is still 10/10 through the slog. The good part is that it doesn’t last long. I think the writers could have put themselves in the shoes of the character a bit more in order to understand if the decisions truly make sense with the given context. I, like many others, don’t think they make sense.

Still, the lightsaber combat and customization is unparalleled. Sound design is top notch, even going so far as to incorporate different hums for each saber color. That’s a small but amazing treat that I believe feeds into the world building in a nice way. The combat stances give many different ways for players to approach battles and use the Force how they see fit.

The planets don’t feel empty despite being large. There’s normally a item in that little crevice over there, so don’t be afraid to explore the extra mile.

Overall an amazing game with small flaws that someone like me is easily able to look over in the larger picture. I can’t wait for the third installment and will continue to buy more of the single player SW games so long as they keep coming in this fashion.