Jon_Arbucle
141 Reviews liked by Jon_Arbucle
Jack Jeanne
2021
they should award me a purple heart for 100%ing this holy shit
a pretty good time. the common route is really long but you do get plenty of unique scenes with your pined-for character along the way before reaching their specific route. the place i’m most divided on might be the rhythm gameplay— i liked about 70% of the songs, but i played this game over 6 times to get everything, and they don’t let you skip the rhythm gameplay at all! i feel like by loop 4 they should give you an immunity idol or something, the music becomes so grating and it totally pads the runtime. i have 70 hours in this game good lord.
i’ll probably write more sometime…
route ranking:
mutsumi > fumi > mitsuki > neji > kisa > yonaga > orimaki
a pretty good time. the common route is really long but you do get plenty of unique scenes with your pined-for character along the way before reaching their specific route. the place i’m most divided on might be the rhythm gameplay— i liked about 70% of the songs, but i played this game over 6 times to get everything, and they don’t let you skip the rhythm gameplay at all! i feel like by loop 4 they should give you an immunity idol or something, the music becomes so grating and it totally pads the runtime. i have 70 hours in this game good lord.
i’ll probably write more sometime…
route ranking:
mutsumi > fumi > mitsuki > neji > kisa > yonaga > orimaki
I experienced too much good stuff almost back-to-back and lost the spirit to play anything, so i decided to experience something bad to rekindle my passion for gaming.
and dear god, does this game suck
I mean it 100% seriously, it's borderline rock bottom writing. Tumblr, reddit, ifunny, whatever you call it IS EVERYWHERE. I love making "haha i want to die jokes" on daily basis, but MAKE IT STOP FOR ONCE. The edgyness STINKS, it is painfully blatant that it was written by zoomers in the worst way imaginable.
This game is a constant eyerolling simulator and it means something, when avid Drakengard 3 fan says that.
No wonder this game has recieved "fetish incest game" reputation, because of this horrendous script that makes it so damn hard to tell, whether it is poor yandere fetish material or actually interesting story about incestous manipulative abuse. There is potential for that, but game handles its topics with gracefulness of a fucking potato.
Execution of routes/endings also sucks, because you are required to either comply with unlikable abusive mother(Andrew finally grows some spine there, but parrents still die) or with unlikable abusive sister(Andrew keeps dickriding Ashley). Frankly the incest part is completely optional and you need to reconfirm it twice.
Outside of that, solid character portraits with annoying face expressions, gorgeous bacgrounds, pretty good point-of-click aspect and mediocre soundtrack.
Don't waste your time outside of pure curiosity.
and dear god, does this game suck
I mean it 100% seriously, it's borderline rock bottom writing. Tumblr, reddit, ifunny, whatever you call it IS EVERYWHERE. I love making "haha i want to die jokes" on daily basis, but MAKE IT STOP FOR ONCE. The edgyness STINKS, it is painfully blatant that it was written by zoomers in the worst way imaginable.
This game is a constant eyerolling simulator and it means something, when avid Drakengard 3 fan says that.
No wonder this game has recieved "fetish incest game" reputation, because of this horrendous script that makes it so damn hard to tell, whether it is poor yandere fetish material or actually interesting story about incestous manipulative abuse. There is potential for that, but game handles its topics with gracefulness of a fucking potato.
Execution of routes/endings also sucks, because you are required to either comply with unlikable abusive mother(Andrew finally grows some spine there, but parrents still die) or with unlikable abusive sister(Andrew keeps dickriding Ashley). Frankly the incest part is completely optional and you need to reconfirm it twice.
Outside of that, solid character portraits with annoying face expressions, gorgeous bacgrounds, pretty good point-of-click aspect and mediocre soundtrack.
Don't waste your time outside of pure curiosity.
Against all odds I completed this game when I was around seven or eight years old. Full Spectrum Warrior is a military tactics game focused on realism, to the point that a modified version of it was developed as a training tool for the Army. It's possible that I was born in a tube somewhere and the department of defense is looking for me at this very moment
Catherine
2011
one of the most thought provoking games ever, where every choice is the wrong one. it's frustrating, it's painful, it's beautiful.
Halo 3: ODST
2009
this is the darkest game ever made. not in subject matter but in the fact you need to keep the night vision on for 50% of it
Ninja Gaiden
1988
Ninja Gaiden is almost therapeutic once you're familiar with it and know how to play. It isn't an experience where you need to stop and think, it's all about getting into a rhythm and playing confidently. It can be incredibly frustrating to learn, but once you've got it down, few other games make you feel this bad ass. The entire thing becomes muscle memory after a while, it's like learning to ride a bike
the most memorable thing about this experience was after i finished it i grabbed my ps4 case for dishonored 2 off the shelf for the first time since i bought it 3 years ago and i opened the case and it was just dishonored 1. they gave me the wrong disc and i didnt even know. i replayed dishonored 1 and played the 2 DLCs for the first time in preparation to play a game i didnt even own. shoutout to the guy at the gamestop in tennessee i went to 3 years ago for putting the wrong fucking disc in my case.
I really like this game but can people start shutting the fuck up about it.
Just a disclaimer, I never played the original so this was my first experience with the game. I've always been curious about it, and was even subscribed to the newsletter about this version for god knows how long, pretty sure that It would just never release. But now it finally did. Here's my thoughts.
I think, in part, that my appreciate of this game was set up for disappointment at the start. Over the years I was sure I'd love it and with all the good reviews, without knowing I put it up on a bit of a pedestal. And no matter what, in the end I wouldn't like it quite as much as I thought I would. And well, It's true. It didnt captivate me like I hoped, but thats honestly a silly thing to mention because I really enjoyed it nonetheless. There is a lot to like here. The normal, follow the narrator, Stanley freedom ending you can get in like 10-15 minutes yourself itself is pretty thought provoking. I dont really think the game ever surpasses that height, but thats not to say that the rest doesn't deliver. Theres plenty of charm and clever/funny moments. Plenty of fresh ideas. The new content is quite enjoyable as well, it serves as a good extension to the base game. I didnt get all the endings (I'll likely come back to this sometime), but i got a lot and did enough to get the Epilogue ending, which to me is basically the "true ending". I think theres some good meta commentary and whatnot on sequels here, and it feels like a good conclusion to the game, I feel satisfied and like I had a full, complete experience. I love the never-ending joke about the title screen
The game isnt perfect though. At a point, it can grow tired. The charm of the narrator can wear off and his droning can get grating. Theres even a good bit about this that addresses it, but that doesnt change the fact that it still made the game feel a bit monotonous at times. Also there recurring bit of ignoring and annoying the narrator gets old kinda quick. Nonetheless, the game was still entertaining at the base level of its premise, and all the options and "choices" make the occasional sloggy parts bearable.
All in all, It's a pretty clever and unique little game. It mentions Persona 3 and Firewatch which while pretty out of place was neat regardless.
Trophy Completion - 72%
Time Played - 5 hours 30 minutes (estimated)
Nancymeter - 88/100
Game Completion #49 of 2022
April Completion #18
I think, in part, that my appreciate of this game was set up for disappointment at the start. Over the years I was sure I'd love it and with all the good reviews, without knowing I put it up on a bit of a pedestal. And no matter what, in the end I wouldn't like it quite as much as I thought I would. And well, It's true. It didnt captivate me like I hoped, but thats honestly a silly thing to mention because I really enjoyed it nonetheless. There is a lot to like here. The normal, follow the narrator, Stanley freedom ending you can get in like 10-15 minutes yourself itself is pretty thought provoking. I dont really think the game ever surpasses that height, but thats not to say that the rest doesn't deliver. Theres plenty of charm and clever/funny moments. Plenty of fresh ideas. The new content is quite enjoyable as well, it serves as a good extension to the base game. I didnt get all the endings (I'll likely come back to this sometime), but i got a lot and did enough to get the Epilogue ending, which to me is basically the "true ending". I think theres some good meta commentary and whatnot on sequels here, and it feels like a good conclusion to the game, I feel satisfied and like I had a full, complete experience. I love the never-ending joke about the title screen
The game isnt perfect though. At a point, it can grow tired. The charm of the narrator can wear off and his droning can get grating. Theres even a good bit about this that addresses it, but that doesnt change the fact that it still made the game feel a bit monotonous at times. Also there recurring bit of ignoring and annoying the narrator gets old kinda quick. Nonetheless, the game was still entertaining at the base level of its premise, and all the options and "choices" make the occasional sloggy parts bearable.
All in all, It's a pretty clever and unique little game. It mentions Persona 3 and Firewatch which while pretty out of place was neat regardless.
Trophy Completion - 72%
Time Played - 5 hours 30 minutes (estimated)
Nancymeter - 88/100
Game Completion #49 of 2022
April Completion #18
Chrome Dino
2014
Pinnacle of gaming.
Dying Light
2015
Dying Light would be an ultra generic forgettable zombie game if it didnt have such great mobility and melee combat. In my book, melee combat is infinitely more satisfying than ranged when pulled off.
Dropkicking zombies off rooftops, setting traps and delivering beat downs with pipe wrenches makes for great single player fun, even if the story is as bland as it is.
Dropkicking zombies off rooftops, setting traps and delivering beat downs with pipe wrenches makes for great single player fun, even if the story is as bland as it is.
Dying Light
2015
Tried this since its currently free on the Epic Games store, and played a few hours but just couldn't get into it. What I did like was the parkour stuff which felt smooth most of the time and was a fun way to get around. I also liked that you level up the different skill trees independently of each other, such as doing parkour give you xp for the agility tree and killing zombies nets you xp for the combat tree. It was fun and I liked that when I leveled up I didn't have to choose which tree to invest in with a single skill point.
As for negatives, the story just felt very generic and that they were trying really hard to be edgy. You also get presented with morally ambiguous choices, but the game doesn't let you make any, as it plays out in a very linear fashion. The gameplay started out good but quickly just became frustrating. Weapons break after a several swings and you can only repair them a limited amount of times which means you can't get attached to specific weapons. And even when you upgrade the durability of weapons, it doesn't improve it by much. A lot of the gameplay design also feels ripped straight out of Far Cry as the game feels really unoriginal. Even the animation that plays when you loot enemies is exactly like the one in Far Cry 3 with the same money icons even.
The missions also get repetitive and there's a lot of, interact with this object otherwise more enemies will spawn in, which is just such outdated mission design. About the point I stopped was when I was being swarmed by human enemies who were all hitting me at once, while an NPC was screaming at me on the radio to hit the switch. At that point I was pretty much done.
As for negatives, the story just felt very generic and that they were trying really hard to be edgy. You also get presented with morally ambiguous choices, but the game doesn't let you make any, as it plays out in a very linear fashion. The gameplay started out good but quickly just became frustrating. Weapons break after a several swings and you can only repair them a limited amount of times which means you can't get attached to specific weapons. And even when you upgrade the durability of weapons, it doesn't improve it by much. A lot of the gameplay design also feels ripped straight out of Far Cry as the game feels really unoriginal. Even the animation that plays when you loot enemies is exactly like the one in Far Cry 3 with the same money icons even.
The missions also get repetitive and there's a lot of, interact with this object otherwise more enemies will spawn in, which is just such outdated mission design. About the point I stopped was when I was being swarmed by human enemies who were all hitting me at once, while an NPC was screaming at me on the radio to hit the switch. At that point I was pretty much done.
Mario Kart DS
2005
used to not like this one very much outside of mission mode and rob and assumed people were just nostalgic for it, but god this game is so fucking fun when you learn how to snake well
beautiful, amazing, and mesmerizing game. i hardly even feel equipped to talk about it much past surface level comments, but flower sun and rain is maybe the game that embodies "kill the past" the best to me. it's funny, it's thought provoking, and the way it ties into the silver case retroactively makes me like the silver case more. it's one of those games that resonated with me so heavily that i literally have nothing i can say about my time with it without it being a jumbled mess but i love it all the same.
fsr also has great vibes and an amazing soundtrack as well that really elevates everything that much further for me. sadly, the game is only available in english for the nintendo ds, but the presentation is so downgraded in every conceivable way and is how most people are going to play it until the inevitable remaster. i personally played with pcsx2 rendering to a desktop crt with a translation guide on another window and that visual and auditory boost was well worth it, especially with how short the game really is, but i understand how that might not be ideal for everyone. regardless of how you can or can't play fsr, as much as these are all great games i sincerely think that the initial kill the past trilogy of the silver case, flower sun and rain, and killer7 is worth checking out just for it alone, and i hope one day the remaster comes out so more people will play it and i can recommend it to people more readily
fsr also has great vibes and an amazing soundtrack as well that really elevates everything that much further for me. sadly, the game is only available in english for the nintendo ds, but the presentation is so downgraded in every conceivable way and is how most people are going to play it until the inevitable remaster. i personally played with pcsx2 rendering to a desktop crt with a translation guide on another window and that visual and auditory boost was well worth it, especially with how short the game really is, but i understand how that might not be ideal for everyone. regardless of how you can or can't play fsr, as much as these are all great games i sincerely think that the initial kill the past trilogy of the silver case, flower sun and rain, and killer7 is worth checking out just for it alone, and i hope one day the remaster comes out so more people will play it and i can recommend it to people more readily
trials and tribulations is one of the few games that is exactly as good as everyone says it is. every case is a banger, the main cast is at its best, and the overarching narrative is amazing. i was worried going into it that it wasn't going to have been worth it to have slogged through justice for all to get here, but my eyes were glued to the screen throughout those last few cases. absolutely spectacular showing, though i do worry that a game like this would be pretty difficult to follow up.