In 1998 my father came home with a copy of this game that he won at work (He worked for Microsoft at the time) and I remember looking at the big box in the car ride home (I was only 4 years old and my mom would bring me with her to pick up my dad) and just being fascinated. I played through it once with my mom when I was a little older, maybe 6 or 7 (I used to sit on her lap and play point and click adventures with her) and I remember it being such a blast. Fastfoward 20 years and these memories are so very special to me and so is this game.

This game to me represents a time where creativity flourished in the industry. Developers took risks and whether that was rewarded or not did not matter. It was a time of pure freedom in gaming. A freedom that the industry has long since lost sight of, save for a large handful of mostly indie devs. Idk call me old or short sighted but they just don't make em like this anymore. Sure the game isn't perfect. Klayman takes forever to get anywhere, some of the puzzles are eyerollingly obtuse, and there is some pointless back tracking. This however is met with a fun quirky sense of humor, beautiful stop motion animation work, and a charm that just wont quit.

10/10 Thank You The Neverhood

I have discovered that Death Stranding is my “cozy game”.

I don’t think I’ve gotten such fulfillment from a video game as I have with Death Stranding. The actions you’re taking in the game actually feel like they matter. You’re delivering these packages to people who are, well, stranded by themselves and they are actively relying on you. Whenever you fuck up by either tripping on a rock, not taking your time down a slope, or running into a B.T. infested area a little to fast, you feel awful. That responsibility that was on your shoulders weighs SO heavy after little mistakes like these.

Listen, I get how people don’t like this game: You’re just walking everywhere delivering packages… where’s the gameplay? How can you like this? Aren’t you bored? Nope, I’m absolutely loving my time spent in this game.

Let me ask this: When’s the last time you’ve seen a triple-A game take a risk? Take a change on something completely new? I’m not saying Death Stranding is absolutely revolutionary, I don’t think it is. However, its core mechanics are a new idea I haven’t seen in another game on this scale. Needing to watch your path while running in order to not trip and ruin packages, organizing your loadout for max efficiency, planning out your path either using the fastest route or a route that hits multiple locations, all of these things I love! There’s a lot of preparation you can do and, most of the time, it pays off. Add all the preparation to the acts of service you’re providing for those in need and that’s where I get my fulfillment from.

With all these interesting elements, adding in a batshit unique story that we still don’t have all the answers to make this a game right up my alley. Kojima knows how to build a world and knows how to make the player question certain elements that need explaining, but do they actually need explanations? I won’t get into the story at all here, but it’s a trip and extremely engaging. Plus, all the emails and documents you are able to read build the world incredibly well. Definitely recommend you read everything the game has to offer to get the most out of it.

Overall, I’d recommend this game to those with an open mind on their experiences. You won’t win over people who stick with what they like and don’t venture out past that, but if you find yourself craving something different with depth, this is the one for you.

Here it is, the big one. The one that either makes you love or hate this franchise and its fanbase. For once I'm actually going to agree with the popular consensus and say that Paper Mario 2 is pretty kino. I will admit, TTYD has some pretty notable flaws compared to the first game. Mainly that the backtracking is extremely obnoxious at points and, outside of most of the dungeons, the level design is noticeably worse than the previous game. EVERYTHING else is improved tenfold however. The story is more original, the new cast of characters are more memorable, the battle system is improved upon in pretty much every single way, hell the final area in the game, The Palace Of Shadow, is probably my favorite final area in any Mario game. Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door is a perfect example of a game that, for every 1 step backwards it takes, it also takes 3 steps forward