Hypnotica
2019
The new content is very rewarding and worthwhile, and the improvements to base Persona 5 feel logical
Electric and rewarding combat, stunning graphics, and a logical and rewarding expansion of the original's opening hours
The courtroom sections are really fun and exciting... but the investigation sections feel so tedious and overdrawn.
Honestly my favourite of the Sky Trilogy, the absolutely perfect epilogue
Yes it's a slow burn... but meet it on it's terms and it's an instant classic
2017
the fact that this was developed by THREE PEOPLE??
2019
As close to a perfect remake of a near perfect horror game one could ask for
A game that is unafraid to break conventions to try and create a new "detective" experience that works perfectly. Even the lo-fi aesthetic adds to the mystery.
honestly a really cute intro to LiS 2 that feels natural and makes sense in the context of the story... and it feels far more focused than that game ever did
2018
indie gem
This review contains spoilers
Talk about a downgrade... the first game in the series shocked me with how polished and unique it felt, with a story that was both exciting, serious and dramatic, and some excellent level design and combat encounters.
New Colossus seems to throw all that out the window. The levels in this game feel far far less unique and interesting, feeling like vignette's we've seen and visited in plenty of other games before, and full of convoluted and confusing layouts, and endless corridors. Seriously, so much of the game is spent in irradiated Manhattan and for what? Roswell felt like another generic underground base after the opening setpiece. New Orleans felt almost non-existent, and the impact of going to Venus felt severely lessened when it just felt like they were revisting the "let's go to space!" card from New Order
The game makes it very clear that it is two halves of a whole. Pre and post decapitation. Pre-decapitation feels like an entirely different game from the original, with BJ's limited health really forcing the player to be overly cautious almost to the point of cowardice. Yet the game insists to throw relentless waves of enemies at you regardless, a fact that is particularly egregious in the courtroom level, which feels almost impossible on the highest difficulty settings. A level which, doesn't even matter because it is LITERALLY JUST WISHFUL THINKING!
The decpatitation and rebuilding of BJ fell flat for some players, but it's maybe one of the only parts of this game that I truly enjoyed. It felt like for the first time, the game matched the level of shock and awe and insanity of the first game, in a moment that felt equal parts absurd, horrific and endearing. Having to choose one of 3 abilities to use for the rest of the game is a cool concept, but ultimately all of them felt like they were barely used, since the game couldn't rely on the player having any given one.
The other elements of the story however... Engel was SUCH an incredibly captivating and disusting villain in New Order, and I was so excited to see how she would be depicted here as the main antagonist. And yet... she manages to come across as incompetent and incredibly unthreatening, and the fact that we didn't even GET A BOSS FIGHT JUST A FUCKING QTE...
The overall tone of the story just veers too far into the unserious as well, reminding me of the change in tone from Saints Row 2 to 3. It's just a shifting of the emphasis in tone, but it makes such a drastic impact. The scene that pushed me over the edge was heavily pregnant Anya sliding across the ground and blowing up some nazi's, before stripping and killing a mecha dog with dual wielded assault rifles... just pure absurdity.
I really really wanted to like this game, but it feels like they lost touch with what made the original so captivating
New Colossus seems to throw all that out the window. The levels in this game feel far far less unique and interesting, feeling like vignette's we've seen and visited in plenty of other games before, and full of convoluted and confusing layouts, and endless corridors. Seriously, so much of the game is spent in irradiated Manhattan and for what? Roswell felt like another generic underground base after the opening setpiece. New Orleans felt almost non-existent, and the impact of going to Venus felt severely lessened when it just felt like they were revisting the "let's go to space!" card from New Order
The game makes it very clear that it is two halves of a whole. Pre and post decapitation. Pre-decapitation feels like an entirely different game from the original, with BJ's limited health really forcing the player to be overly cautious almost to the point of cowardice. Yet the game insists to throw relentless waves of enemies at you regardless, a fact that is particularly egregious in the courtroom level, which feels almost impossible on the highest difficulty settings. A level which, doesn't even matter because it is LITERALLY JUST WISHFUL THINKING!
The decpatitation and rebuilding of BJ fell flat for some players, but it's maybe one of the only parts of this game that I truly enjoyed. It felt like for the first time, the game matched the level of shock and awe and insanity of the first game, in a moment that felt equal parts absurd, horrific and endearing. Having to choose one of 3 abilities to use for the rest of the game is a cool concept, but ultimately all of them felt like they were barely used, since the game couldn't rely on the player having any given one.
The other elements of the story however... Engel was SUCH an incredibly captivating and disusting villain in New Order, and I was so excited to see how she would be depicted here as the main antagonist. And yet... she manages to come across as incompetent and incredibly unthreatening, and the fact that we didn't even GET A BOSS FIGHT JUST A FUCKING QTE...
The overall tone of the story just veers too far into the unserious as well, reminding me of the change in tone from Saints Row 2 to 3. It's just a shifting of the emphasis in tone, but it makes such a drastic impact. The scene that pushed me over the edge was heavily pregnant Anya sliding across the ground and blowing up some nazi's, before stripping and killing a mecha dog with dual wielded assault rifles... just pure absurdity.
I really really wanted to like this game, but it feels like they lost touch with what made the original so captivating
2017
If you focus only on casually playing through the game, and not really caring about the collection aspect, the game has the typical polish and incredibly smooth and varied platforming that has made Mario such a staple.
But if you dare to collect all the things in this collect-a-thon, prepare to be dissapointed. Using moons are the sole reward for any and every task, in all degrees of difficulty ranging from "complete this difficult gauntlet" to "sit on this bench", it extremely devalues the tougher challenges.
Additionally, there are so, so, SO many repeated moon tasks, across different worlds, which would make a great experience on a single playthrough, as it gives players more chance to encounter these cute moments, likely only once. But once you realise how many moons there are just hidden in a glowing spot on the ground, it immediately loses it's charm.
But if you dare to collect all the things in this collect-a-thon, prepare to be dissapointed. Using moons are the sole reward for any and every task, in all degrees of difficulty ranging from "complete this difficult gauntlet" to "sit on this bench", it extremely devalues the tougher challenges.
Additionally, there are so, so, SO many repeated moon tasks, across different worlds, which would make a great experience on a single playthrough, as it gives players more chance to encounter these cute moments, likely only once. But once you realise how many moons there are just hidden in a glowing spot on the ground, it immediately loses it's charm.
Just like every souls game before it, it has it's flaws, but it seems to get crucified for them a lot more than the rest. The DLC clearly took into account a lot of the base games flaws.
2016
I'm not as enamored with the campaign as some others were, but it was still a solid time with some great setpieces, and surprisingly enjoyable story
2013
Achieves exactly what it sets out to do, and creates one of the most meditative and peaceful interactive pieces of art I've experienced.