Personally, I really do love this katamari thing

Katamari Damacy was, in my humblest opinion, a straight 5/5, shit rocked. How do you follow-up perfection? You can't reinvent the wheel, you can't vastly change the gameplay, all you can do is expand on the perfection, and that's what they did.

(Note: I chose this version over the original release because I wanted to see the Royal Reverie content, and there's enough quality of life improvements to justify it.)

Now, this game takes the formula of the original and puts it in various new lights, with unique and engaging scenarios that really shake things up for the player. Both games are excellent at continuously delighting me with new and fun ideas. I personally don't like some types of levels where you have to guess or only pick up specific things, I'm more of a roll up literally everything kinda guy, but the variety is what was needed, and it goes down nice and easy.

As for any downsides, I kinda wanted more maps to be honest? Or some maps are just not used to their full potential, like there's some really awesome levels you only see maybe twice. Give me more of that please? Also, I was kinda hoping the story was more expanded on, but really we just get some king lore, which is neat I guess.

One of the biggest detractors is the soundtrack. There are some good tunes in this game but man, the first games soundtrack absolutely SMOKES this one.

The ending also felt very abrupt, the final levels didn't really feel like you were getting close to the end like in the first game.

also on gameplay fronts, there's a lot of in-game loading and object pop-in, which can kinda break that flow state you get in. I'm obviously nit-picking here but y'know, I'm trying to explain why this is a slightly inferior sequel.

This game really just functions as an expansion to the first game rather than a full-on second game imo. Still though, we really do love Katamari, and this is an easy recommendation for anyone.

Now, I fully understand that in 2016 this was a big deal, but my god this game is such a snoozer.

This game was highly regarded and became a household VR title likely because it was one of the first that actually felt like a full game. It's got a full on campaign where stuff works and (big emphasis on kinda) kinda a story. BUT, with all the hype of VR gone, this game really doesn't offer much. In-fact, this game could have easily been made in flatscreen instead of VR, there's such little interactivity with the world.

Lemme run down what you do in this game: You use idk, maybe 4 weapons or so to shoot zombies, some zombies run, some zombies have helmets on, and some have some weird crystals on them or something. That's the entire collection of both weapons and enemies, the absolute lifeblood of an FPS. To progress in the levels, you must find a key or some piece to unlock the next part of the map, something that's been around since like Wolfenstein 3D, which isn't necessarily a bad gameplay loop, but it must be held up by everything around it. This game doesn't do that, there's very little set-pieces, extremely boring and linear map design, and as mentioned earlier, a lack of variety in weapons and enemies. In what is essentially an FPS, this game doesn't take the exploration approach of many boomer-shooters, nor does it take the linear-set-piece approach of modern shooters. It chooses to do the bare-minimum.

I got through like 7 levels that were basically all the exact same thing, though some were in darkness so yk, that's something. I legitimately got so bored I just wanted to stop playing, and here we are! Take away the VR aspect here, this game offers literally nothing that you can't find better anywhere else, with the VR, this game offers a middling shooting gallery.

I hate to rag on games so hard like this but honestly man, this is just such a whatever time. Oh also, the deadpool-esque protagonist is annoying.

A pretty sweet F-zero type racer that offers some real challenge towards the end.

Obviously it doesn't reach the heights of F-zero, but it's still a great racer. You get that incredible sense of speed while visiting some pretty aesthetically cool Star Wars locations, while unlocking basically every pod racer known to man.

The controls can be sliiightly jank, as it's overly sensitive at times, also the main issue of this game is it's collision detection. Sometimes you will collide with basically nothing, some wonky hitbox, and it'll cost you the race, which can be pretty annoying. It doesn't happen that often but it exists.

There's a lack of pod customization as nothing ever changes visually, and the system to upgrade your pod is just kinda bland honestly. Really the 3.5 is for the blistering fast races. Even the course design isn't anything especially remarkable, this is what seperates F-zero from everyone else.

Still as previously mentioned, this game is FAST, and it's impossible to not find some fun with it. I see why so many people have nostalgia for this one.

(See all my Star Wars Rankings and reviews on my profile here, the list is titled "Star Wars Ranked.")