Justintiger9
2018
This review contains spoilers
So close to perfection.
In terms of gameplay, I would say this is the best SM game yet, barring only Miles Morales. The web-swinging has been implemented with such love & care, and the combat is in a league of its own, despite taking cues from the Arkham games.
There are no words for how frustrated I feel at this game's story. Not because it's bad, instead far from it. My frustration stems from how close it came to greatness. All the ingredients were there, but sadly the recipe was not carried out to perfection. Interestingly, it's all the small things that add up to taint it. First, the good. All the main characters were amazing. Well cast, well written. Very impressed. The pacing is brisk and enjoyable. The story bits starring MJ & Miles serve their roles well, providing a difference in perspective, albeit with underwhelming gameplay. Cutscene presentation is top notch, most of the time. Here's my problem. Towards the end of the game, I can feel the lack of nuance in handling the story beats, and that impacted the emotional moments negatively. For example, after Aunt May's death, we are shown the antiserum station, then her funeral. Then, a 3 month time jump, MJ & Peter kissing. Credits roll. What? It's like they chopped off the tail end of the game. Nothing to show Peter coping with Aunt May's passing. Not enough to show MJ helping Peter through his grief. Nothing to show the fallout from the Sinister 6 wreaking havoc on the city. Miles revealing his powers to Peter, Peter showing Miles his powers, fade to black without a single word from Miles. Etc, etc. Like I said, I think a lot of nuance was lost, and that's a crying shame, because with a better crafted denouement, the emotional payoff could have been so much more potent and satisfying.
(As a side note, I'd like to give a shout out to Naughty Dog for being masters of this nuance I'm talking about.)
All in all, I do like this game. It takes its place right next to the Arkham series as one of the best superhero games of all time. Hoping that Insomniac will do a bang up job with the second game's story, to truly achieve the heights we all know it can.
In terms of gameplay, I would say this is the best SM game yet, barring only Miles Morales. The web-swinging has been implemented with such love & care, and the combat is in a league of its own, despite taking cues from the Arkham games.
There are no words for how frustrated I feel at this game's story. Not because it's bad, instead far from it. My frustration stems from how close it came to greatness. All the ingredients were there, but sadly the recipe was not carried out to perfection. Interestingly, it's all the small things that add up to taint it. First, the good. All the main characters were amazing. Well cast, well written. Very impressed. The pacing is brisk and enjoyable. The story bits starring MJ & Miles serve their roles well, providing a difference in perspective, albeit with underwhelming gameplay. Cutscene presentation is top notch, most of the time. Here's my problem. Towards the end of the game, I can feel the lack of nuance in handling the story beats, and that impacted the emotional moments negatively. For example, after Aunt May's death, we are shown the antiserum station, then her funeral. Then, a 3 month time jump, MJ & Peter kissing. Credits roll. What? It's like they chopped off the tail end of the game. Nothing to show Peter coping with Aunt May's passing. Not enough to show MJ helping Peter through his grief. Nothing to show the fallout from the Sinister 6 wreaking havoc on the city. Miles revealing his powers to Peter, Peter showing Miles his powers, fade to black without a single word from Miles. Etc, etc. Like I said, I think a lot of nuance was lost, and that's a crying shame, because with a better crafted denouement, the emotional payoff could have been so much more potent and satisfying.
(As a side note, I'd like to give a shout out to Naughty Dog for being masters of this nuance I'm talking about.)
All in all, I do like this game. It takes its place right next to the Arkham series as one of the best superhero games of all time. Hoping that Insomniac will do a bang up job with the second game's story, to truly achieve the heights we all know it can.
Underrated. Sure, it barely innovates on anything from Arkham City, but City was already masterful. I like that it's a tightly written story with fun mechanics. I wished it had a better ending, however. After defeating Bane, I would have loved to see more of Batman & Joker's dynamic. A final boss fight, a verbal confrontation, anything would have been great. As it stands, the story builds up well but lands on its face. Still, one of the better stories in the series.
2019
Short & sweet. 90 minutes of inventive & creative puzzle mechanics to confuse & entertain your brain with. Was really hoping for more with the narrative. Narration was enjoyable.
P.S. The horror level is my favourite
P.S. The horror level is my favourite
2008
Thank you for the memories. I can't think of anything else I would have rather bonded with my cousin over.
1998
Graphics are definitely dated by today's standards, but you can definitely tell that Kojima and the team lovingly crafted this gem around those limitations. Creature comforts aside, the gameplay holds up very well, and is a lot of fun. The narrative is definitely the focus, and the strong point of this stealth-action-adventure, and must be experienced firsthand to understand the weird wonderfulness of Kojima's writing. The romp does get very campy and cheesy at times, but even then it adds to the charm of the game. A classic, for sure.
2015
I'm always looking for great narratives to experience, so DL definitely left me wanting. As a vehicle for moving the game forward, it is serviceable, but in no way memorable or engaging. Your enjoyment of Dying Light will probably hinge on how much you can enjoy its gameplay. I gotta say, while I was playing it, I was having a blast. The parkour, while inferior to Mirror's Edge, is quite exhilarating. I enjoyed the simplistic combat, and the gameplay scenarios you find yourself in, I found interesting and fun to navigate. Repetition of looting and crafting will grate on your nerves eventually though, as it did for me. I did make sure that it didn't overstay its welcome for me, abandoning it as soon as the main quest was over, leaving most side quests and even the expansion unplayed. After 24 hours of smashing zombie heads and running from volatiles, that's enough for me.
2020
short and sweet. at its core, it's only a basic puzzler, but strong presentation, excellent music and the chill vibes make it more than worth your time. the ending manages to elevate the game in an inexplicable way