Very few of the sidequests in this open-world lifestyle sim are of any real value. And most of the time you'll spend in Rainy Woods will be tied up in fetchy side content that gives you only a marginally better understanding of the characters and the world. The controls are stiff and the graphics don't really stack up against the majority of Playstation 3 games. But all that said, 'The Good Life' is one more fascinating and trippy sci-fi horror fantasy comedy story from Swery65. I became very invested in Rainy Woods, Naomi Haywood, and the personalities around her. I think Swery is best known for his character building and dialogue writing, but his games also tend to have really interesting stories. The story of 'The Good Life' is so oddly specific that it's a marvel anyone would have thought it up. And it has a point to make too, about celebrity culture, social media, and alternative facts. I'll follow Swery where he goes, because even if the game is janky as all hell (and it often is), you are guaranteed to have a unique experience.

'It Takes Two' is just about as bad as a game can be while still having outstanding play controls. May and Cody are probably the two most obnoxious video game characters of all time. And you know how long cutscenes can be annoying even on a good day? Well, how about an endless parade of 5+ minute cutscenes wherein two awful characters berate, gaslight, accuse, and abuse one another? This game is about divorce but it handles the subject with all the depth and grace of 'The Santa Clause.' If a toxic couple are forced to spend some captive time together, they will fall back in love, right? Right?! Because the game's understanding of human relationships is so shallow, I presumed that I was the wrong audience. Maybe this was MEANT for children. But that feeling slips every time the characters drop a curse word or do something darkly, depressingly violent.

Despite the tight control and some fun co-operative play concepts, 'It Takes Two' is culturally tone deaf, juvenile in its storytelling, and is ultimately a chore to play. I dreaded every time my play partner suggested we get back to finishing it. I understand this has won game of the year awards, but I know only four people who have played it and none of them liked it. So take that for whatever it may be worth.

I didn't have a great time playing 'Jurassic World: Aftermath' and that's mostly because I find this kind of game grating. Similar in structure to 'Alien: Isolation,' 'JWA' asks you to stealthily perform very simple (minigame-esque) tasks on computer terminals while being hunted by ever-present velociraptors. The tasks themselves aren't fun, and so it's certainly not fun having to wait two minutes to perform the task while hiding under a desk from a velociraptor that won't go away. I really like the art style here, but I really wished for a greater variety of dinosaur encounters. You really only get the one (raptor stealth) repeated ad nauseam. Shame that I've been turned off to 'Part 2,' because the trailer for that shows pterosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex, and Triceratops all on the attack. Why not any of this in 'Part 1?'

'Life Is Strange,' when at its best, is a driver of empathy. I never quite clicked with 'LiS 2,' so I'm glad to report that 'True Colors' won me over completely, and did so in ways that no previous installments had. I think that, in Alex Chen, 'True Colors' has the strongest protagonist in the series. The game does an excellent job of peeling back the layers of her history to help you understand who and why she is. I am utterly convinced that, in Haven Springs, 'True Colors' has the most interesting and evocative setting of the series. The story here is so particular and unusual that it becomes more believable as a result. I don't think the surprises land quite like [redacted] did in the original. And none of the romance options here burn quite like Chloe and Rachel did in 'Before The Storm.' But this is an absorbing, emotional piece of fiction that had me shedding tears like no previous game in the series.

This game is just crazy fun once you (quickly) become the most powerful being in the ocean. Don't be discouraged in those early moments when you can easily get bit in half by an alligator. You'll soon be swallowing those damn things whole. There is very little variety in missions, but the game doesn't overstay its welcome so I was never bored. Not even remotely. Once you're a big, fast, powerful predator, traversal and combat are both joyful experiences. I do like Chris Parnell as a performer but the narration here is too snarky for my tastes. Considering this is a game where the player character is a shark, 'Maneater' is set in a surprisingly well-realized world. And the 'framed as a reality show' story, silly as it gets, does work.

'Deathloop' is tedious, repetitive, and not nearly as funny or as clever as it thinks it is. First off, the dialogue made me instantly hate every character. Reminded me of 'Sunset Overdrive,' another game where I even hated (especially hated?) the player character. Everyone in 'Deathloop' speaks in the same excessively obscene, nihilistic voice and it grated on me so severely, that I would mute the game whenever I had to repeat scenes.

Speaking of repetition, I guess you can expect it in a time loop game, but even still, I think this was needlessly repetitive. For one example, you need four passwords to access a hangar. So you go to one area, find and charge two batteries, start two generators, flip a switch. Then leave that area, go to another, find the building now accessible from the flipped switch. Go in, hunt for the password. Leave the area. Loop the day. Time for password #2! So go back to that one area, charge the two batteries again, start the two generators again, flip another switch. Then leave that area, go to another, access the building now accessible from the flipped switch. Find the second password. Leave the area. Loop the day. Two down, two to go! Is this fun? Not to mention, fail on any of these steps and you need to restart the entire process.

And whose brilliant idea was it to have Julianna randomly pop into these stealth missions to not only try to kill you but also to call everyone's attention to your position. Like, who thought this would be additive in a stealth game like this? On top of it all, because massive progress may be lost by dying in a loop, game-crashing bugs are completely unexcusable. And yet they plague the PS5 version of this game to the point where the game is nearly daring you to abandon it. Add the bugs to the decidedly last-gen visuals and the whole package feels like it was dumped into market before it was ready.

I'd forgive it all if there were likable characters or if the story clicks into place and becomes something that transcends the trail of clues you uncover. But there weren't. And it doesn't. I anticipate the clever comebacks to my opinion, like 'get good' or 'you didn't understand it.' But the game isn't hard. Certainly not the puzzle that it should be, instead the game holds your hand along the one path you must travel to the credits. And I fully understand the story and didn't find it interesting. The concept of a time loop game is a good one, but not like this. Not like this. Two stars for the halfway decent play controls.

'Ghost of Tsushima' was my favorite game of last year, and this is an excellent expansion of the story, the game systems (horse combat!), and the world. I really like Jin as a character and enjoyed learning more about his past. I didn't love that you're trapped on Iki Island until you finish the expansion quests. And if you're a stealthy player of the original, know that you'll need to be more aggressive here. There are very few hiding spots on Iki Island. On PS5, the game is stunningly beautiful. All told, this is an excellent expansion of an excellent game.

'Village' is the second in this third (presumed) mainline trilogy of 'Resident Evil' games. There is the original (+2) static-camera trilogy of 'Resident Evil,' '2,' and '3' (+ '0' and 'Code: Veronica'); the over-the-shoulder trilogy of '4,' '5,' and '6'; and now the first person games of 'Biohazard' and 'Village.' Having played all but '0' and 'Code: Veronica,' I think 'Village' stands aside 'Biohazard' as the best of the series. If I have any criticism, it is that Ethan doesn't stand out among the big personalities of this series. But I otherwise love how 'Village' expands the series formula. The settings are outstanding, each "house" touching upon a different subgenre of horror (from vampire castle, to haunted house, to killer dolls, to abandoned factory). Setting aside the confounding, nearly broken, timed lycan invasion at the start of the game, the systems are elegant here; the gameplay fun as all hell. I'm disappointed that this wasn't made available in VR, but with the release of 'Resident Evil 4 VR,' I'm hopeful that there is a future for VR in 'Resident Evil.' 'Village' is in the very top tier of 2021 games.

Here is a 'Metroid' game that is fun enough, interesting enough in its storytelling, and elegant enough in its systems that I was willing to keep playing until I reached 100%. In 'Metroid Dread' gameplay, Samus is the ice cold, acrobatic badass she has been at least since the fantastic, and surprising, 'Metroid: Other M.' 'Dread' is an improvement on the recent 'Samus Returns' in nearly every way, though I perhaps most appreciated the diversity of boss battles here. There are a few midbosses that are recycled and could easily have been cut to punch up the pacing. 'Dread' may be a bit more difficult than the other more recent 2D Metroid games, but even still, it provides very little challenge to complete.

The DLC chapters of 'Control' do more to upgrade Jesse's skillset and costume closet than they do to move the story forward. I find the lore of 'Control' to be a bit inpenetrable even before 'The Foundation' and there is no more elegance here. 'The Foundation' is fun to play, just as is all of 'Control,' but from a story perspective, it is inessential. That said, 'Jesse Faden Starring in Swift Platform,' a side mission buried here in a DLC chapter, is maybe the coolest sequence in the entire game.