Part RPG and part history lesson, Pentiment is one of those truly unique gaming experiences that I don't think has any parallel. The story is told through an art style modeled after the game's 16th-century setting, and you engage with all kinds of interesting characters as you try to uncover the truth behind a major overarching mystery. Through all of that, the game offers plenty of contextual information about the actual history of Central Europe at the time, providing insight into why you're doing what you're doing and why characters are the way they are. And like any good RPG, you get to make certain decisions that influence the world around you and can engage with NPCs in a way fitting for your character. The gameplay loop is fairly simplistic, so don't go in expecting a complex RPG system--think of it more like an interactive novel with some additional gamified elements. Overall, another big win for Obsidian!

A beautiful exploration of life and death, told through the macabre history of one family. It's a walking simulator that adds just a few extra dimensions to each chapter that really places the player into scene--there's one sequence near the end that particularly struck me with its unique gameplay. It's a profoundly tragic game, and yet I never felt beaten down by it. Not really the kind of game that has a lot of extra content or replayability, but it's such a striking story that you really only need to experience it once for it to stick with you.

A refreshing change to the usual formula, while maintaining the elements that define the Resident Evil franchise (yes, including an industrial/tech facility in the finale). Some might argue that the lean into action started a trend that caused the series to lose its way a little, but I think it strikes a great balance of exciting action and adventure and some of the scariest sequences I'd seen in a video game. One major drawback is the obnoxious companion quest that takes up a good portion of the gameplay, but it's more of an annoyance than a major impediment to progress. Otherwise, the game is great, with exciting locations, horrifying monsters, and plenty of firepower to blast through it all!

Like many games of its type, it has an addictive loop that will often have you looking at the clock one minute, then looking back to see that five hours have suddenly passed. There is a lot to this game that takes up your time, between managing your realm, dealing with your offspring, engaging in warfare, and maybe even assassinating political rivals! It's a robust, strategic experience that feels complicated at first, but ends up becoming quite intuitive once you get a feel for it. If you like history, you basically get to create your own history and influence the course of events across the Middle Ages. My one big knock against this game is that for a game called CRUSADER Kings... participating in Crusades sucks! In general, warfare with AI allies is often an exercise in frustration, so you do have to compensate for those shortcomings if you're hoping to take on a powerful enemy. Still, I've put a lot of hours into the game, and I'm sure I'll put in many more.

I don't know what it is, but I'm constantly thinking about this game after finishing it--even moreso than V, which is what it often gets compared to due to the job system. It's definitely the most challenging Final Fantasy game I've played, and sometimes it just feels like a game from the early 90s with artificial difficulty. But, I was just so drawn into the world and the story that I felt compelled to press on despite the hardships. The job system isn't as robust as later installments, but I think the simplicity of it actually benefits the game, as switching classes is really just a matter of swapping out equipment and getting a new ability or spell to take on whatever new task you have. I also have to highlight the OST, which I think is some of Uematsu's best work, especially for being so early in the franchise. Having recently played through several of the games I missed in the series, this is the one that I kinda just want to pick up again for another go!

I downgraded this from my original rating of 3 stars. I think this is a good entry for newcomers, and definitely has appeal for a younger audience--I liked it a lot as a kid. It has all the classic hallmarks of the Final Fantasy series and gives you access to the variety of classes that are common to the series... but that's also part of my problem with it. The story is a jumbled mess that has characters coming and going from your party constantly, and there are so many silly twists and meaningless "sacrifices" that it all just feels very trite. I don't know that it's necessarily any less coherent than some of the other entries, but the way it affects how the game is played hampers the experience. It's not the worst of the series by any means, and it was quite innovative for the franchise, but in hindsight it does rank on the lower end for me.

I found this game to have many moments of brilliance with a lot of tedium in between. Animal Well obviously takes a lot of influence from classic NES platformers and the Metroidvania genre, but I think it falls short of the best of those kinds of games and ends up just being okay at both. It's tough to strike the right balance of difficulty and fun, but a good deal of the difficulty in this game just felt tiresome to me. There were only a few sections that felt truly challenging, and everything else was just a test of my patience. In particular, exploration beyond the endgame felt like hitting my head against the wall constantly. That being said, when the game shines, it really shines. There are some clever moments here, particularly with the way items can be used, and the world of the animal well itself is full of interesting interactions with hostile, friendly, and even mischievous animals. Overall, I think the game mostly succeeds at what it wants to do, and I'm giving it a half-star boost because of the moments where it wowed me, but I hesitate to call it a truly great experience.

I admire what this game wanted to do. Having enjoyed the first one quite a lot, I think the basic "found footage" concept could be applied to any number of settings. A haunting rural landscape overtaken by a religious cult? I'm sold. The end result was not bad, but maybe not quite as satisfying as the first installment. The story gets a little muddled when it starts diverting from the main narrative. No spoilers, but there are several interludes that are sufficiently frightening and have plenty of thematic significance, but they feel a little far afield of your overall mission. Overall it just feels like an uneven experience that could have been more streamlined like the first. But, it's got plenty of frights, thrills, and heart-pounding chases if that's what you're looking for!

I know some people don't care for the walk-run-hide loop in games like this. You don't have any ways to actively defend yourself or really interact with the world in a meaningful way. But, something about this game just grabs me. Maybe it's the eerie setting, maybe the eccentric and frightening characters, or maybe just the bizarre mystery at the heart of it all. Honestly, it's all of that. I think this game has the perfect combination of those elements that kept me wanting to creep further and further into the demented asylum, despite having to constantly flee and navigate pitchblack corridors while dodging insane people. That, coupled with the resource management of your camcorder's battery made for a tense and sometimes terrifying experience.

An excellent example of keeping what works in a previous installment and fleshing out the world around it. This follow-up has the familiar puzzle elements of the first game, but adds a much more in-depth story and a cast of interesting characters that ties it all together. It continues to expand upon the philosophical questions of the original while not forcing the player to get too bogged down in it all. I think the puzzles may have been a little easier this time around, which is neither good nor bad, but I do feel like I had to sit with the first game a little longer. My one complaint is the lack of real fast travel options--walking around the different areas does get a little tedious when you're really just moving from puzzle to puzzle. Overall, though, if you like the first game then you'll probably dig this follow up.

I was so ready to love this game when I started, and I gave it two earnest, lengthy attempts years apart from each other... and I just couldn't keep my patience with it. There's a lot of good here: the historical setting is vibrant and informative, the variety of skills and activities offers diverse gameplay options, and the promise of a rags-to-riches story sets you off on a path to claim your place in this world. But it all just feels so tedious to me. The game has an intentional difficulty curve that represents your character's inexperience, and it takes a lot of practical work to become even mildly competent at the skills you need to progress. I'm certainly not opposed to challenging games, but I also want to have fun taking on those challenges. This game just feels like a chore throughout. It could just be a skill issue, but I'd rather work through something that feels more worthwhile to me and my limited time for gaming.