Shocklingly ahead of it's time.
There are so many little moments of absolute genius when it comes to conveying horror through gameplay. The hallway that's a slow descent into the nightmare, the elevator with a mysterious 4th floor that wasn't there before, a bathroom that secretly teleports you, etc...

If anything I would say that feeling is a bit undermined by how easy the game can be, with controls that allow more movement than Resident Evil's and a melee option that floors 80% of enemies you end up having so many resources you are never really challenged or put in a tight spot.

And the presentation, just plain beautiful, there is so much texture and detail on every corner, an atmosphere so dense you are simply transported into the game. It also helps how masterful the camera work is, static on the right places to fully capture the scenery and moving to create shots that a lot of horror films wish they could accomplish. Just something great.

Thief is one of those games that changes the very way you perceive space, there is so many little things that make it one of the most real experiences you can have in games even with polygonal graphics and low resolution textures.

Thief 2 is the same game but with vital differences in the aproach to levels and mechanics, to the point where it justifies itself as a sequel.

Even then, despite the undeniable quality of most of its levels, more consistent and bigger, I still find Thief 1 to have more charm.

There is a point where some of that weird, amateur approach really benefits Thief and it's not there in Thief 2.

Also some of the additions don't stand out enough, like vine arrows, that on paper are a step up from rope arrows but it's so vague about where you can place them that it ends up being more of a hassle than rope arrows.

What can I say that I already didn't, still as cohesive and smart as before, with the added advantage of how well it does optional content, Pro is incredibly enjoyable and just what the game needs, better than 5 difficulty seeting that are the same.

Mercenaries is also shocklingly fleshed out, it could be its very own game.

Still lacking on bosses though, with the exception of Krauser all of them are very dull if you come at them with the minimal preparation.

Little can words do to embody what this games feels like as a whole. No answers, only questions.

One of the biggest, most thought out worlds in an any RPG, not only videogames?
Some of the most humane, deeply flawed and earnestly made characters?
One of the most orignal gameplay systems in a long time, of which, for once, you can say there is no other?
The most vast narrative landscape in a game, with hundreds of variables that truly make no playthrough the same?
Gorgeous art direction so deep in aqualera it feels like the world is full of life?
An inmaculate use of sintax, color theory, and design that can make the simple act of reading as engaging as the best action games?

I could go on, but the essence of it is that it has one of the most sound political views in any piece of media, full of understanding and knowledge of society that it could feel like it goes in no direction, but as I see it. Disco Elysium is a poem against war, decay and selfishness, as far as one playhrough can tell me, that's the biggest constant in all the illnesses that plague its world and characters, that comes in different forms and shapes and its your biggest enemy in the game.

Outstanding puzzle game, a bit pretentious with the use of common philosophy, trying to say something about... life?

Nonetheless, one of the best uses of first person shooter conventions out there, somehow requiring a certain amound of precision and reflexes while having geniusly designed progression and mechanics. Your head is always in motion, taking full consideration of your surroundings in a way few games achieve.

And the artstyle, completely monochrome and still managing to have a flavour of its own, almost ethereal, inmersing you in that world of visual plays on perspective. Intelligent.

Probably the purest example of what "arcade" as an approach to gameplay actually means. It doesn't only pack as much of the experience with new twists, mechanics, ideas, level dynamics, enemies, set pieces, and approaches to its pacing; but also does it the quickest, I don't think a single cutscene lasts more than 3 or 4 minutes, you can even skip all the small hints to tell you a change in the environment, such is the commitment to pure gameplay.

And at that it still doesn't deviate from what Resident Evil is, the resource management, clean screen, focus on strategic combat, environmental efficiency and solid art direction (even if drab at times).

If anything I'd say the one thing it doesn't take enough from the other games is the way it handles saving, checkpoints and even typewriters are so common there's barely any stakes in failure unless you're going for some self-imposed challenge; takes away that element of tension that made you consider your actions. Arcade without the coins and Resident Evil without limited saving, kind of a walk in the park if I'm honest.

Terry Cavanagh does it again.

On the vein of VVVVVV and Super Hexagon; this game is brilliant on almost every aspect while being charming, a warmth you don't find often and he captures here just like in VVVVVV.

The progression, better than most Roguelikes, manages to not frustrate by sepparating what other designers would make a single tiring run for each character a series of rather small segments you can practice or even skip if you only aim to complete the main story, it never tries to pressure you, what a game by turns does best.

And the combat, what a genius and effective system, so many variations with just the right amount of depth, if you thought card games already did it all and you haven't tried Dicey Dungeons, you'll be shocked.

I'm a fan of old shooters, they make my brain cells fire in every direction and I find aspects of their design that could be learned from modern games.

Hence why this game feels so odd to me, it shows itself as embodying everything that made the Build Engine era of games great while rejecting their most unique aspects. The compact and experimental level design, enemy variety, freedom to get lost, difficulty, etc...

And I understand these are flaws for many people, but at least for me and many that enjoy these games for what they are and not the memory of them, this sands down the edges too much.

A final note, even if the general gunplay is good, the reloading mechanic is uncalled for, I can see it had the purpose of making fights more tense by not being able to always shoot (you deal a ton of damage even on hard difficulties) but you can ignore that obstacle by simply spamming the dedicated reload button, making it more of a nuisance.

Though, it's still enjoyable, I will be going through it in depth to really understand it, something it does share with old school shooters is that the true experience comes after you are familiar with its secrets and maps.

Edit: About a month later I've done about everything in the game, went through all the secrets and explored every level, I did not get 100% as a trophy because the game asks you to kill every enemy in a level, even if high difficulties increase the amount of them to the point where they bug out and you can't kill them.

I've come to really appreciate the game's level design, at the same time that the combat becomes so simple due to the lack of enemy variety and the fact all your guns deal so much damage and get so much ammo that the only reason to constantly change is to spice things up yourself.

Still a good time, can't wait for Aftershock.

This is pretty much a rushed continuation to Resident Evil 2, where it was supposed to be Code Veronica X but ended up being a rushed job by the man who made Hunk on RE2, a frustrating challenge mode.

Well, RE3 follows on that line, only letting you choose between "hard" or "easy", clearly stating that this is a challenging game.

Most of the time you're sufficient with resources, never letting you have less than necessary, this wouldn't be an issue if the game didn't make an emphasis on being an struggle, Jill's last stempt at survival.

It also suffer from lackluster enemy encounters, ofter relying on the new dodge mechanic,which doesn't have enough room on the enemies to learn their patters, often being frustrating.

Also a way linear game, using rehashes from RE2 or 1, with barely any innovation.

If anything the pre-rendered saves it, since they're so full of detail, love, that you have to stand still to appreciate them.

Very honest (if obnoxious at times) reflection on death as a whole.

In Night In The Woods (which would be better called Possum Springs) everything has an end and it never shies away from it, the normalist, drawn out approach to every day being its own little aventure hammers the point that life is not stopping for you and you must value every second.

Structure wise I would say it loses strenght around the 4th chapter, where everything it was doing before gets dropped for a more linear narrative that's not as compelling as the ussual day to day in the game.

Star Of Torment my beloved....

I really appreciate a shooter so dedicated to no or almost no hitscans, also constant enemy variety, each chapter having something completely different.

But suffers from being too long, and the insistence on superfluous platforming sections, which seem to be a way so you have to time better the soul mode, a very good mechanic that makes combat really frantic, but that's limited by all the time-sinkers.

Maybe if there was a way to use the soul mode that allows you to go faster, like you can do underwater with the axe, it would make a good skill ceiling where smart use of the soul mode is essential on a high difficulty, like Devil Trigger on DMC, but it's only worked as a get-out-of-jail card on slightly difficult encounters.