Honestly, I bought this game 8 months ago, played for 10 hours, and was so confused that I shelved it.

It is now my favorite video game I've ever played.

Hollow Knight, my first Metroidvania, is certainly cryptic and refuses to hold your hand, but if you can find enough interest in exploring, seeking clues re: what the hell is happening, and getting a handle on how the game controls for a few hours, you will be rewarded exponentially. The story is good at face value, but becomes immensely interesting with a bit more effort invested by the player to draw connections for yourself (or watch a YouTube video explaining everything). By the finale, I found myself emotionally invested in the world of Hallownest, and would've regretted sparring with some of the many excellent bosses if not for their quality (ranging from decent to utterly brilliant) and difficulty (hoo boy, a few of them whooped me, but if you come back to an impassable one in a few hours chances are you will obliterate them).

Combat and platforming are oh-so-crispy. It feels amazing, and by endgame I could only ever blame my own ineptitude for mistakes (and for getting used to the analog sticks--if you're new, consider using the D-pad for added precision). This foundation is paired with customization which gives you room to tweak without becoming overwhelming (and thus unapproachable, which is a problem I have with massive RPGs). To be clear, I've seen combat, platforming, and customization done better on their own elsewhere. Charm balancing isn't perfect, combat could be deeper, god I hate pogoing on analog sticks, etc. But the combination of elements is stewed perfectly here. It scratches a satisfying-video-game itch I didn't know my brain had. And the best part is, your improvements and upgrades are only gained after earning it. This game is so rewarding for the player: beating hard bosses or obtaining long-needed mobility upgrades both just feel so good.

Hallownest is also gorgeous. The many, many areas in this game were almost all unique, with beautiful hand-drawn art and subdued colors accentuating the otherwise dark and gloomy world/story (seriously, there is apparently lore written in bug-language on the backgrounds of many rooms). Moments of intense color in Hollow Knight are few and far between, but feel well-earned and refreshing upon encountering them. The settings, amazing soundtrack, characters I grew to love, and integration of those elements into the story and journey combine to create a one-of-a-kind world. It is wholly immersive, and I found it borderline magical.

After 30+ hours of wandering, getting lost on side quests, and dreading the end of my experience, I finally bit the bullet and reached the credits. Thankfully, I had only finished about 2/3 of the game at that point, and the end encouraged me to dive back in for another 15 hours to complete the entire base game and some DLC content as well, my first ever 100%. I had to cut myself off from the bulk of the (apparently endlessly replayable) DLC content so I don't fail out of law school.

I counted at least 4 or 5 moments in Hollow Knight which actively made me grin ear to ear as I realized what was going on/that I just kicked some ass/both. For me, there is simply nothing quite like this game, which is a damn shame because I would give anything to experience it blind from the start again. Top 2, and it ain't 2.

My heart would give this game 0 stars. My head knows it's better than that based on the (very good) visuals, soundtrack, etc., so I'm caving to the Metacritic mob a bit here but still. /s

I enjoyed no more than 5% of my time playing OBF. I spent another 15% ambivalent, and the other 80% was some combination of frustration and anger. Expectations were admittedly high, and I just came from Hollow Knight so that skews impressions as well. But with that said, a few general grievances I will note and pass by, either because they're well-covered or I know I was a baby about it:
(a) not a metroidvania in practice;
(b) low health and saving mechanism combination, which is generally fine though aggravating in escape sequences;
(c) story is bland and predictable, I didn't have enough time to connect with the characters to feel the heartstrings tug like the game hoped;
(d) why can't I aim my attacks;
(e) why can't I use the R stick to look up and down.

As for the unforgivable:

1. Good god, this game handles poorly. Area, the mathematical concept, means nothing in Nibel. The damage area of hazards are way bigger or smaller than they appear on screen. The range of Ori's abilities feel nonsensical and unpredictable, and the jump does nothing. Everything has a ludicrous amount of... inertia, I suppose, rubber-banding dramatically in an effort to make things look like a real set of physics is at work. Some of these points could be stylistic, others maybe just poor implementation; regardless, they combine to require Ori to face-check every surface and enemy to see what happens. Sometimes, you'll see surfaces which killed you in the past, think "I can't touch that or I die," and it turns out that's the only way forward on the rails of the story. Other times, necessary platforms and insta-death zones have imperceptible boundaries. All of these factors become unreasonably punishing because of point (b) above. I understand the devs don't want players to be good/successful/masters or something on run 1, but you literally can't be good on run 1. At best, you have to be slow and careful, which sucks because

2. OBF is so, so slow. The story moves fast, at under 8 hours, but promo materials and your early sense of the scope of the game make it seem like Ori rips around the map in some zen-like flow state. Ori looks fast, too. This couldn't be further from the truth. Flawless execution in a handful of late-game platforming segments give off the illusion of quick movement, but in truth even then you're stuck reacting to the unpredictability and inconsistency of the world as it wants you to, not as you want to. Beyond those segments, Ori has to be timid in order to not be obliterated 2 seconds and progress the story. I tried so hard to be fast--I even pretended it was a metroidvania and went to find the last two abilities at around halfway to get stronger than I should be at that point in the story. Voila, they were useless, and usually outright detrimental to use because the storyline areas are designed to be platformed in 1 single way which doesn't include those abilities.

Look, I wish I liked this game. I know I'm still unreasonably mad at it while writing this. My score for it is probably unreasonably low as a result, but it's my opinion at the end of the day. The OST and art are amazing, and I appreciate the unique product and that some may be compelled by the story. I want more games to be less doom and gloom, more pretty colors. The forest is also a good setting overall--the audiovisual orchestration makes it feel alive, no small feat. Also, I know hard platforming can be frustrating--also concurrently playing Celeste, which I do not hate and actually quite like. Mechanical platforming might be my kink, idk. I think what I ultimately couldn't forgive while playing this game is how much game was sacrificed to create the world. It is beautiful, yes, but the experience of playing OBF is compromised at every turn by how beautiful it is. I can get over game design I don't like to enjoy an overarching product (seriously, R-stick, we could be friends if you were the only problem), but OBF puts the conceptual product miles ahead of the game I just spent 7 hours not enjoying between cutscenes. I hope WotW addresses these concerns, but I won't be pulling it from the backlog until my newfound hatred for orbs of light has subsided.

Y'know what? This one lives up to the hype. Celeste is fantastic, seamlessly mixing punishing platforming with sharp storytelling for an excellent indie package.

From the gameplay perspective, it is fantastic. The control set is simple to learn, nearly impossible to master, and the game never ceases to push you as it introduces ever-more-creative ways to utilize your new skillset. Nearly all of my 1338(!) deaths in my first campaign run were due to my lack of execution. I'll blame the last few on the d pad, which I forced myself to switch to for the first time ever to capitalize on Madeline's razor-sharp directional abilities. I quickly learned why the Switch Pro Controller's tape mod exists, and it seemed to help. Anyways, Madeline feels amazing to control on the d pad, aside from a few situational mechanics which the analog stick is definitely better for.

The level design complements these controls with excellent world-building. The pixel art is stunning, each level has a unique atmosphere, and complements it with at least one unique platforming component in each. I felt I had barely scratched the surface of each stage as I pushed on in my quest for the summit, and found myself yearning for my favorite mechanics from earlier stages as I approached the end. Frankly, I might've gone back before the story's conclusion if the later levels weren't among the best in the game, but I'll settle for looking forward to replaying because (1) I was garbage the first time through, (2) I only did the occasional (outstanding) strawberry challenge on the first run to keep the story going, and (3) I didn't even unlock the array of additional rooms/content/etc. from the other unlockables hidden in the levels. I am so excited to return to them someday, but my hands currently hurt from smacking the dash button so I need a break lol.

Celeste becomes, to reuse the phrase, outright punishing by the end. The levels demand excellence from the player, and a few places left my controller in danger of anger-induced destruction. Luckily for it, playing Celeste is so damn fun, even in frustrating sections, because you know that (1) you're in total control of everything you do, even if that control is leading to hundreds of deaths at the moment, and (2) your control has gotten you through every challenge up to that point and is helping you unravel the challenge ahead every time you fail. Beating difficult sections in Celeste feels great, and is often rewarded by story development. Before touching on that story, I think my favorite gameplay element of Celeste is this: the game proves to you that you're capable of doing things you never thought you could. This is certainly the hardest platformer I've played or even attempted, and I was intimidated as I approached the end levels in particular. Some rooms looked outright impossible, yet I prevailed and improved from each of them. It feels amazing.

All of these elements would add up to a great gaming experience on their own, but Celeste goes a step further with that story. It is so integrated into the experience, so tastefully implemented and written, and truly helps the player succeed in the game while provoking thoughts about it long after the credits roll. The added story element is what makes this game a must-play to me. Yes, it's a bit heavy-handed at times, but I also died 1300 times so I wasn't exactly going for a masterclass in subtlety as a player myself, either. You learn the game is about climbing a mountain in the first like 2 seconds, so don't expect it to ease off after that. Do expect it, however, to be uncharacteristically timely, challenging, and wholesome for a platformer.

This game is a beautiful package, and one every gamer should complete. Don't let the difficulty deter you. The game convinced me I could do it. And that I need a therapist.

Lightning in a bottle. (Lighting in a Zeus boon?) Hades is video game brilliance. Taking a millennia-old story and converting it into a game with a format so suited for it seems like it shouldn't be possible, yet Supergiant executed that effect to perfection. If there's one rougelite you try, it should be this (source: me, because this is the only rougelite I've ever really gotten into lol).

There is so much to like about this game. The art is generally so pleasing. The soundtrack is as unique as it is gnarly, setting the stage for every encounter deftly. Bosses are usually high quality and varied. There's so much room for experimentation. The available upgrades on each run are nearly all unique and satisfying. Your progression over time is tangible, without ever getting to a point where difficulty escapes those who seek it. It's genuinely funny, especially as time goes on. Everyone is hot, both the in-Asphodel-and-literally-on-fire kind and the art-team-was-ludicrously-horny-for-the-whole-development-process kind. I could go on and on, but there's two major things that make this game so good to me.

MAJOR THING #1: the integration of story into the gameplay loop is magic. Again, it feels like the universe made a mistake in allowing this thing to exist, because perfection at this scale shouldn't be possible. Especially as your progress through your eventual first clear, the tale of the House of Hades is magnetic. The best way to understand how well this story fits into the rougelite genre is to play it. The execution is excellent, and I was sold the whole way. You want to know what happens! You want to discover new secrets, slowly get stronger and smarter, prepare for new challenges and develop relationships along the way.

And, inevitably, you will die. Sometimes you expect it, sometimes you deserve it, sometimes you thought you finally were going to beat [REDACTED] and lose it at the last second. I have been livid emerging from the River Styx more than once, yet the pacing of the gameplay loop gives you a second or two to regain your bearings, listen to old friends or purchase an upgrade, make sure your weapon is ready to go... and bam, you're excited to dive into a new run and see if you can tackle that challenge this time. I have never been this, fine, addicted (first step is admitting the problem!) to a single-player game before. The pull for one more run can be impossible to resist at times. Then, when that urge finally led to my first full clear, I... quit.

I basically thought the appeal of Hades was gone once I fully cleared once. I played over a holiday break and beat it just before returning to classes, so it was a natural time to move on. On a whim, I recently picked it back up again, which leads to MAJOR THING #2: playing this game is so damn fun. I played until the credits this last play period. On the way, I realized all I had missed underlying sheen of the story and overarching gameplay loop.

The weapons and their variants. The boons. The strategy and tactics Supergiant employed in creating their series of chambers. The insanity which can result from that foresight, both random and intentional on your part. The video game underlying this experience is awesome, and the randomness leads to the best experiences. For example: for no reason at all, I decided to save all of my money (Obols) on a run a few days ago. In one of the final rooms, I randomly rolled a Daedalus upgrade boosting my base attack damage by a % of my gold balance, and thus walked into the [REDACTED] fight with a 3x base attack damage. That damage, boosted by 2 or 3 percentage boons, totally mopped the floor with the poor boss. That never should've happened, and probably never will again for me, but was so fun. It's probably even better when you plan to do some cool new thing and it works, but I can't get over the violence I inflicted with the base sword on that run lol.

I would say Hades is a masterclass, but nobody can learn from that class because the idea can't be replicated. This story, this genre, and the gameplay weaving it all together is wholly one of a kind. Which is probably an inaccurate way to describe a game with a confirmed sequel in the works but oh well. It's really that good, and I really do love it. Can pet the dog, 5/5.

I’m probably underqualified to rate Splatoon 3, but a lack of intelligence has never stopped anyone on the internet before so here goes. This review is most helpful for a Splatoon newbie.

The theming and aesthetic of Splatoon both make me cringe so hard I turn inside out. The resulting hospital bills have been ugly, but worth it to play a unique first person shooter. The concept is a breath of fresh (oh god why did I say that) air for an otherwise stale genre. I love robust objective-based shooter modes, probably from my childhood Halo days, and Splatoon is all objective-based. It makes every game mode unique, and I appreciate that. There are entire weapon classes in Splatoon which can only exist in this game. You won’t mistake it for CoD or BF, that’s for sure. I genuinely enjoy this different take on the genre.

That difference, and the related Nintendo flair, require players to accept a lot of weird stuff which players can see as a positive or a negative, like the 2-map rotation system (I actually like this, at least this early in my time with the game), complete necessity of gyro controls (also a plus for me in aggregate, and an idiosyncratic feature of a Switch-only shooter), or RNG/locked loadout selections (why on earth would they do this, just balance your game better). Some stuff is outright bad, like the servers and matchmaking system, which frequently breaks in a 4-minute game session and pairs brand-new players against 1000-hour veterans. Both are unacceptable. This game also has an extremely steep learning curve in your first 10ish hours, which Splatoon solves by doing literally nothing whatsoever lol. You sink or swim. Play the single player first, as the multiplayer provides 0 training wheels. My hunch is the connectivity issues also prevent this game from having more in-depth game modes. However, I also know many of these shortcomings are somehow actually QoL improvements over previous iterations—I played a bit of Splatoon 2 which had atrocious matchmaking systems, so many things are a step up from that baseline. Other features are downright laudable—Splatoon is maybe a bit light on content, but is also a full-fledged AAA FPS without a battle pass or other micro transaction farm built in to further scalp players, and is a complete game which doesn’t happen often in 2022.

In the end, what matters is how fun the game is to play. Splatoon is a multiplayer-first experience, and that experience is largely fun (though my review of it is a work in progress). Beyond the matchmaking hell you see when starting out, the array of weapons and their respective gameplay styles are great. I’ve stuck to Turf Wars so far, and it’s fun! Big swings can happen in a short game, and players can find creative ways to make an impact. I’m not as big of a hater on the map designs in 3 vs 2 as others—I actually think a more linear map style is better for this game in aggregate than the maps in 2, though it does hurt to get snowballed by the aforementioned veterans or a 4-stack and never leave your base. Luckily, the bite-sized game times mean I’m never so crushed by a loss that I stop playing, but can be thrilled to win. Basically, you always want to play more. Plus, it’s just fun. Frenetic gameplay, crazy plays can swing games, a huge skill ceiling capped off by a total lack of auto-aim make your best moments feel like you’re a god, etc. Splatoon is fun.

SINGLE PLAYER: it’s serviceable, if you approach it with the mindset of a tutorial. It exists to get you used to the Frankenstein control scheme which enables an FPS on the Switch. The campaign does this well! I was much less pathetic in online matches after running the campaign, and I found some fun new weapons I might like to unlock, so thank you Alterna. The bite-sized levels and choose-your-own-adventure-style progression allow you to try things you saw in your first Turf War which murdered you instantly. The single player is not, however, a compelling experience alone. I wouldn’t spend 10% of Splatoon’s sticker price for this campaign without other features. It is entirely a tutorial. The story is boilerplate, the acting/writing is bad, and the whole gameplay experience melts down the second a semi-traditional gameplay experience is attempted. The only time this happens in earnest is the final boss sequence, which is utterly horrible. You leave it wondering how the same dev house which made Super Mario Odyssey also made what you just played, and if that logical discrepancy was a result of a large-scale identity-theft scheme. It lays bare to the player that Splatoon is designed first and foremost for multiplayer games, which is where I will be spending 100% of the rest of my time with the game. Thank you, Gramps, and good riddance.

In sum… I dunno? You have to accept a lot of dumb stuff to play this game, but it’s the only place you can have this particular type of fun experience. None of the caveats are dealbreakers, and the positives are big ones.

EDIT: after playing the multiplayer pretty regularly for a month, I can confirm that it slaps. Weapon variety, fast paced and exciting game modes, the cool spectacle of splatfests, etc., etc. It’s everything I could want from a multiplayer mode I can jump into for 5 mins or 5 hours at a time, without the drawbacks of a modern F2P game (except the hosting issues and occasional matchmaking massacre). It is truly, very fun to play. I also can’t main a paint roller or windshield wiper in any other game, big monopoly on that market.

Half of me thinks it deserves a 2, half of me thinks it deserves a 4. I saw this game described somewhere as something like “pretty good for a game comprised entirely of problems,” and I think that’s pretty spot on. Basically everything in Cyberpunk 2077 is broken in some way. I actually despise most of the gameplay mechanics, which all feel bad (except the Witcher Sense reskin dubbed “quickhacking,” which is how I did basically everything). Keanu sounds positively bored to tears in the vocal studio most of the time. I had a key character’s apparent demise interrupted by them floating off the screen in a T-pose, which honestly was hilarious but probably isn’t the intended experience. Oh, and don’t forget I bought this game (technically as a gift, but one which I had access to) as a preorder on Xbox One years ago, only to find it an unplayable catastrophe on Day One. Blah blah blah. If you want to read the laundry list of criticisms this game has very rightfully earned, type “Cyberpunk 2077” into any search bar ever and read away.

My experience playing Cyberpunk led me to find the game is more than the sum of its parts. By the end, I was invested in a few characters. The aura of Night City invades every element of the game—for instance, many features which would exist in a hard-to-rationalize menu in other games (you have a GPS in the top right corner of your vision in The Witcher, people) make perfect sense as a Kiroshi Optics overlay. I was never fully committed to the universe, but I can’t help but be thankful that it exists and I experienced it. It’s a gnarly place! I wanted to help some, hurt others, and wield what little agency I had earned as V to make my mark on the City (though V’s goal, being remembered or whatever, never aligned with what I wanted, and I probably should’ve internalized his goal more while playing whoops). I think the story, which is strong in broad strokes though weak in some details, really tees players up to believe that they did earn that agency and should be able to do what they please with it. Let’s just say the ending I reached wasn’t what I expected, seemed to rob me of that agency, and certainly taught me the bigger lesson CDPR was shooting for there. After researching other possible ends, I’m pretty confident that the game was mostly punishing me for my choices, rather than stealing my power as the protagonist. Fair enough, though I wish I’d felt more compelled to do basically anything off the main path to help get to better ends. Despite that, I was surprised at how manicured and polished the end was after playing a buggy, chaotic mess for the first 23 hours. It’s a good wrap!

So, what? I think as a game, it deserves no respect. Developer hubris led to this being a bloated, half-baked gameplay experience. Playing Cyberpunk sucks, man. But when I take my video games hat off and get a bit less critical, I had some good fun along the way and appreciate much of the story and world which actually exists in that game. I’ve never felt so polarized in giving a game a single score, but I think 3 stars is the average of my experience.

Sorry to my sister, who wholly adores Cyberpunk and would give it 10 stars if possible. Your favorite game is a weird one, but I’m glad I finally played it.

Metroid Dread is an exquisite video game. In true Nintendo style, so much of Dread is manicured and polished to perfection. It leaves little wonder why the genre is half named after this series. ZDR is beautiful, basically the entire map looks great, and it's complemented by nearly-seamless 60fps performance (one late-game ability is the exception). The tempo of Dread is thrilling as well, ever increasing through the end game. I had difficulty putting it down multiple evenings as the clip of unlocks, possibilities, and revelations reached a fever pitch. The map design is usually a masterclass as well, nudging players towards objectives while convincing them they did it themselves. I adored the exploration in Dread. Each new area was a treat to learn, then flesh out, then master. I spent a non-trivial amount of time lost in new locations, and even more time thinking I had hit a dead end only to finally reveal a new route.

You can't master areas, or get far in Dread at all, without dealing with EMMI zones. These areas are fantastic, and their integration into player progression is amazing. After carefully (recklessly?) pushing through each EMMI zone, scared all the time that those horrid shrieks will mean your doom, you get to turn the tides and bring the fight to them??? Ugh, so good. Pre-EMMI, Samus feels like a helpless puppy roaming aimlessly through each region, hoping to strike gold down a corridor before some powerful foe shreds you. In EMMI zones, this sense is at the highest, and it forced me away from the map and to just run into whatever obstacle lays beyond the zone. After defeating EMMIs, it feels like you've genuinely conquered the area and are substantially stronger wandering around than when you entered. It's such a badass cycle every time. I would play the whole game with just them as bosses, I think.

Which is good news, because Dread is light on non-EMMI bosses. I think the game's boss balance is still about right, and the non-EMMI intermediate bosses help fill the gap as well. I also found most proper bosses to be great fun! I've seen complaints leveled at this game for its reliance on patterns and parries in boss fights. I didn't feel Dread balanced these in a negative fashion until the final boss. I probably should've come back to fight it after finding more collectibles (only got 51% at credits), but I didn't want to. Turns out my alternative was just... hope you have the right resources at the right time. I fought that dude probably 50 times over at least 3 hours before winning. Big sad, and clear skill issue, but I also would've liked to be able to do tangible damage to him instead of waiting for a phase trigger to appear. That experience, as the last in any run, really highlights some of the few weaknesses Dread has on the mechanical and game design fronts. I didn't mind them at all, up to that point.

There's one more big part of this game I enjoyed, which is: good god, there are so many upgrades lmao. My only other metroidvania at this point is Hollow Knight, which has many possible upgrades but relatively few permanent ones. Dread is the opposite, cramming a million options into the Switch's control scheme. Upgrades are varied enough to provide a nice little dopamine rush every time, though it becomes somewhat of a hollow rush once you realize just how common they are. I probably forgot a few by end game, but I really expected there would be maybe a quarter of the upgrades I actually wound up with in this game. You are a machine by the end, and nearly all upgrades grant access to something new in the world. Very cool.

Last quick note--the story of this game is pretty fun, too! My first Metroid game, but I enjoyed the twists and one or two things genuinely surprised me. Very cool. Also, who is Adam lol still confused on that.

I thought Metroid Dread was a risky purchase. $60 for a <10hr 2D platformer with a quasi-horror stealth element kept me away from it for a while. I'm so glad I finally caved and got it. Dread is extremely fun to play, and I was itching to get home and turn my Switch on every day while running through it. Also, don't let those short playtimes fool you--I spent hours searching the map, there's no way that's included on the in-game clock. Boss depth and inflexibility (alongside some backtracking feeling more contrived than natural) are my only complaints. A damn good ride, and one every Switch owner should take.

This game has consumed far too much of my life. It suffers from terrible matchmaking controls with boosted accounts and smurfs alike ruining games. The Epic acquisition infected Rocket League with a serious case of Fortnitulosis--there are so many atrocious vehicle aesthetics, limited-time "events," and horrendous new maps which make the game insufferable. At least before F2P, those elements were closeted off and/or completely ignorable for players, but they're now shoved in your face regardless of if you want it or bought the game initially. It can be downright maddening to play this game, and it has probably made my life worse in aggregate as a result.

Despite that, Rocket League has a silver bullet which will keep me playing it until either the servers die or I do: the core gameplay, remarkably unchanged since launch, is so damn good. This is as close as video games come to replicating the feeling of playing a sport. The game demands you learn a (ridiculously difficult) skillset, execute it as fast and accurately as possible, and usually work with others to score goals. You can do crazy shit and 1v5 carry! Overtimes are nail biting! You can also completely blow it for your team! (Also the pro scene is truly amazing to watch, I'll watch it when my traditional sports of choice are in the off season). In short, it is very much soccer with cars.

The skill ceiling is incomprehensibly high. I've come lightyears since my first months playing this game (peaking around C2), yet I'm at least as far from the pros today as I am from myself day 1. That repetition has created muscle memory I doubt I'll ever lose. I've gone months without playing RL only to come back and be hitting decent aerials within a game or two. On the flip side, I have spent many months-long (years-long?) periods where this is the only game I played. The five-minute games are like crack, just begging you to play one more, and never being too consequential to lose (except for tournaments, should you sign up for them). I can't end on a win or a loss, so I just play forever. This game, alongside Mario Kart, is my old reliable. Whenever I'm in a rut, I can come to RL. I'll probably lose and make the rut worse, but I know I'll have some desire to play this game.

Finally, the game is best with others. Obviously most game modes require you to have teammates, usually random ones. They're usually garbage bots but oh well. /s. On a personal note, RL has been at least the plurality of time I've spent communicating with my sister since moving out of the house for college. We'll game together every week or two over Xbox Live, and RL is almost always at least one of the games we play. She carries my ass while I miss bonehead ceiling shot attempts, but we've developed an unspoken understanding and play style together over years. Plus, we can catch up on non-gaming things while doing something together. That makes it our game. So, like it or not, this game is the most important one I've ever played.

A great idea implemented with too many execution errors to forgive. MOBAs can and should be right at home on mobile. I spent some time as a Vainglory diehard, and Wild Rift is a natural successor to that legacy. The core concept is really great--take a compelling game, eliminate some of the bloated elements for a widely-used platform, and profit. I find Wild Rift to be more appealing to play than PC League for countless reasons. The shorter, 15-25 min games are the sweet spot and best feature of this version. Everything is pared down to accompany the shorter game time--fewer champs, less complexity to builds and runes, streamlined objectives, etc. Much of the metagame and mechanical adjustments are surprisingly good, too. I'd wager the controls are more intuitive than PC for new players, so the barrier to entry is pretty low. Games are fast-paced, exciting, and more fun to play than PC (though I find watching PC, and thus probably the game overall, is probably "better" fwiw). Plus, you can play in bed! What's not to love?

Uh... everything else. First and foremost, the game is slipping further and further into F2P mobile monetization hell, with more and more cosmetics hiding behind gacha bullshit and/or unreasonable pricing schemes. Riot's trademark selective hearing is in full force and getting worse for WR. Efforts to promote the game outside of China are tanking, with non-Asian pro leagues getting axed and special events focused entirely on China. I'm all for the effort put into China and east Asia, and only wish it would be extended to other regions. Riot is happy to copy and paste the Lunar New Year event into the US to profit from it, but can't be bothered to support content creators or pros in the region. American WR players feel like cash cow afterthoughts, rather than valued players.

That selective hearing extends to player QoL concerns. Inexplicable game changes are frequently paired with inexplicable balancing decisions. Why the devs thought removing all-chat was a pressing matter, but substantively nerfing Aatrox after release could wait, is beyond me. Champ balancing issues aside, much of the game's strategic vision seems to revolve around introducing as many PC features as possible, as fast as possible. (Of course, cutting all-chat speaks to the China-centric bend of this vision.) There's a big gap between that tone and the half-assed content releases on the aesthetic side. It's frustrating because this game doesn't need to be PC. It should be different, less complex, and less bloated. It wants to be something it shouldn't, and makes the Vainglory idealist in me sad.

Beyond that, the standard MOBA problems exist. It's naturally a competition trap, purposefully addictive to keep the micro transactions flowing and server numbers up. It provides zero enjoyment in wins and terrible emotional response to losses. The community is endearingly, grossly toxic. My mental health declined substantially while playing this game regularly. Massive investment of time is required to know the champs and keep up with the insane volume of items and variables present in every game. At a certain point, I realized my time was worth more than spending it on this game. I enjoy being knowledgeable enough to watch people with reliably available, often competent teammates play on occasion (pro play), but I don't need to play it myself any more. The game at the core of WR is good, but everything on top of it sucks.

Many great video games have earned my respect in one way or another. Elden Ring is different—it demanded, no, compelled my respect. I had no choice but to love it despite the oppressive difficulty and staggering scope it provided, because every single time it kicked my ass? The reward for pressing on was worth it and then some.

I realized pretty early on that I was playing the Best Video Game I’d experienced to date. That’s not to say ER is my Favorite Game, though it’s certainly top 5. But the unbelievable detail, care, and polish this game radiates is unmatched. The open world alone is an absolute feat, impossibly large yet impeccably handcrafted. Anyone complaining about a reused enemy here and there needs to remember—this game is leagues beyond its open-world rivals in attention to detail and variety. Much praise has been said about ER’s sparse map when compared to the question-mark-riddled competition other studios provide. All I will add is that the map can afford to be sparse precisely because of how unique and exciting the world is. Players need no motivation to go new places, because every place is a genuinely new and exciting experience. The best of these experiences are the legacy dungeons, almost all of which are simply immaculate challenges.

The brilliant, unique world design is complemented by an almost-as-diverse cast of bosses. Like for many, ER was my first FromSoft game, so I can only compare these bosses to other titles. Normal games, ya know? Normal games don’t know what a boss is. This game knows what bosses are. I completed all 30 achievement bosses, the other few mandatory ones, and who knows how many others. They are all sick. Some are sick, as in “awesome.” Some are sick, as in “a sick person must have created this.” Most are both. A few were among the hardest things I’ve done in a video game, and a few more left my jaw on the floor. Perhaps above all, I am uniquely proud to have defeated them. Most were a genuine challenge I couldn’t have imagined surmounting before giving ER a try.

That’s not to say I got gud. In fact, I am quite bad at this game. I definitely beat way-too-many bosses with cheese strats. This is because my partner may have rightfully committed me to a mental institution after watching the insanity I exhibited with a few bosses and areas. On day 1, I walked straight up to Margit. The game is clearly designed to have eager players do this, get stomped by him, and say “hmm, that was too hard. Perhaps I should go farm and return stronger.”

No.

Not King Bug.

Instead, I just… kept running at him, over and over again, utterly determined to best him and prove the game wrong, I guess? Demonstrate that Soulsbornes were no match for me? Who knows. I probably died to Margit 50 times on my first day with this game before the Greater Will mercifully let me defeat him. My stubborn ass apparently had to do this game in a quasi-linear fashion. Thankfully, I allowed myself to look at some guides on spellblade builds and where to get key goodies in between bosses, but I ran with this headstrong strategy straight through to a certain massive heat boi, who I definitely died to more times than Margit. I do think that guy is bullshit, but I also finally realized after beating him I was perhaps severely under-leveled at that point (low 70s, around 45 hours in, on a glass cannon INT build no less).

That point, to me, marked and separated the two games contained within Elden Ring (though in retrospect, it probably started at the end of the prior area). One game is the open-world exploration masterpiece, primarily played in the first 2/3 of playtime, which is an experience every gamer should have. Every run of this part will be a unique journey, and it can be played in basically any way a player wants to. This part of the game takes BotW, makes every part of it better, somehow, and is clearly among the great marvels in video gaming history. You will be left in awe.

There is a second game contained in Elden Ring anyone wishing to see credits must play—the later, more linear dungeon/boss marathon. It requires a degree of leveling, skill, or both only attainable through either extensive early exploration or later grinding. Perhaps this is the great Miyazaki ploy to make all players do his bidding; perhaps it is an accident; perhaps it is evil. Regardless, I reckon anyone who was addicted as I was to the first game will need to do the second one, even if they’d prefer to gun through to the end. I gamified the grinding by making a list of key bosses and areas I missed, and ended up having a blast! But, to be clear, I could not have seen the end game without some grinding.

Still, the big guy mentioned above was my biggest challenge, largely thanks to my own stubbornness at that point (and I promise, I only Comet Azur one-tapped Niall, everything else was less cheesed than that). One night I sat down and, uh, possibly did the last 3 legacy dungeons and 8 major bosses in a 6-hour reign of terror over the Lands Between. I was amazed how strong I felt. Part of that is because my character was substantially stronger (and respecced to have some vigor) than when I first pushed nearly to endgame—I finished at level 142. Still, there was no denying some of that strength was intrinsic. Elden Ring made me so much better at gaming. The challenge forced me to be better. That sense of personal achievement and growth (I beat Malenia, dude) is possibly the best gift this game delivers.

And boy, does it deliver gifts. ER rewards the player in droves. The best are conveyed through visual storytelling, complemented by always-serviceable music which occasionally becomes excellent in boss fights (seriously, the Godskin song does not have to go that hard). The world of ER is filled with unbelievable vistas (stepping out into Liurnia for the first time will be lasered into my brain forever). Some boss effects and cutscenes are the best I’ve seen (hello, Starscourge). And, while I know it’s not for everyone, lighter cryptic storytelling woven into excellent gameplay is my preferred style. I like getting dropped into a rich world and not knowing what’s happening, then slowly piecing together your subjective understanding of what’s happening through exploration. The complexity of ER’s narrative is a bit overwhelming and I hate that every important character has one of like 3 names lol, but I loved almost… rushing to understand what was happening in the Lands Between as the weight of destiny began to settle in, like my growing power was outpacing my decision-making capacity.

This game is so damn big, it could be discussed forever. It certainly has a few flaws, and I totally see how it could turn some players off. For me? I love every element of Elden Ring, as it is. The ups and downs, risks and rewards it provides are just better than nearly every game I’ve played and feel wholly one-of-a-kind. It left me in shock, amazement, rage, and a compulsion to keep playing it. An utter masterpiece, one I’m so glad I tried and so proud I finished.

Hogwarts Legacy is a book best judged by seeing the gorgeous cover, maybe reading the inside flap, then never digging too deep into the pages contained within. While it can leave you drooling at an audio-visual buffet at times, I didn't find enough substance in this game to want to see the end.

The highs here are quite high. Potter fans will, expectedly, get the most out of Legacy, and I looked at its launch as a now-jaded adult who unabashedly adored the franchise as a kid. I left my skepticism at the door after my trans sister raved about Legacy (and shared her Home-Xbox-privileges with me for free access). Legacy never turns the fan-service meter down below "Medium" and frequently ratchets the level into the stratosphere, but ya know what? I liked it. This IP has been somewhere between dormancy, mediocrity, and public shame since the last movie released, and I was happy to immerse in the world I knew as a kid once again.

Players don't have to wait 45 minutes before the first crank of the nostalgia machine, with a brilliant pan through the woods before Hogwarts is revealed to a remix of the John Williams movie theme. This moment is, in many ways, a microcosm of Legacy at its best: a stunning view, complemented by excellent sounds. Legacy is frequently gorgeous. The interior of Hogwarts is ludicrously-detailed, a true love letter to the franchise and really everything a player could want to see. They probably could've sold this game at $70 with just the immediate Hogwarts grounds and gotten away with it tbh. But they didn't! Instead, Hogwarts is surrounded by a decently large open world, which tempts the viewer with scenic vistas and eye-catching details in the distance. The world is also vaguely dynamic, shifting noticeably with the seasons and select in-game events. It just looks great.

I elected to play Legacy on the Quality + Ray Tracing mode, a first for me (60fps is a must usually, but I figured the intensity of gameplay was low enough to try it here). Uh... nobody should play this or any game on RT mode on XSX. It's cool that the hardware technically supports it, but next-gen consoles are really at their best when smoothing everything out, not pushing the boundaries back towards the jankiness of last gen. Legacy usually holds 30fps in QRT mode, but can really chug in dense areas like large Hogwarts rooms or anywhere in Hogsmeade. I largely chalk that up to me forcing RT on an Xbox, but other problems (strange texture-pop in particular) are more on the game optimization side.

The other highlight of Legacy is audio. The game sounds fantastic. Music is a brilliant mix of old and new, where familiar tunes are fleshed out and expanded upon by new additions to make the world feel lively and authentic, not limited to a suite of songs written for linear movies two decades ago. Voice acting is also surprisingly good. I fully expected it to suck, especially with a voiced main character, but I was really sold on how basically everyone talked.

Circling back to fan-service: Legacy certainly isn't limited to it. I was pleasantly surprised that the game dared carve out a new story in the Potter universe, rather than pull a Skywalker Saga and make everyone tie back to each other somehow. With that said... beyond those initial meta strokes, story is where Legacy quickly begins to lose its luster. This tale is as basic as it gets, with generic forces of good and bad clashing. Imagine this--turns out you have a mysterious new power (somehow not just the whole being-a-sorcerer thing), and have to save the world from the bad guys. It is generic storytelling 101, and Legacy rarely makes a solid attempt to even mask that straightforward approach. Even your binary nice-or-mean dialogue choices always seem to round out into a net positive for your good-guy character. I may be speaking too soon on that point, as I've heard rumblings you can become a dark wizard (Avada Kedavra is sitting locked at the bottom of your spell sheet from minute one), but even so I have a hard time seeing how Legacy might separate itself from the good-vs.-evil story.

Also, people just relentlessly compliment you. It's actually kinda annoying how readily they decide you're the chosen one, their best friend, a most impressive student, etc. Even when you do something bad they still find a silver lining on you. I want to be bullied just once, damn.

The reductive story elements are furthered by the gameplay. This is easily the most basic western RPG I've touched in a while. Like, bro. Everything.

EVERYTHING.

In this game is a task. Go get 2 of these. I'll meet you at X so you can do Y for me. Hell your professors give you homework and they all admit they're making you do 3 tasks before you can advance the story. It just kills me that this world, so charming on the surface, is wholly flavorless to actually interact with. The map is just littered with locations and repetitive mini games to complete. None are interesting after the first few attempts.

The best part of the gameplay is the actual fighting, amazingly. I thought this was doomed to fail before playing it, but it's actually kinda cool! You have a decent number of different spells, they interact with each other differently, you can do some creative stuff with it all, and all of that is wrecked by the fact there are like 6 enemies in the whole game. You got goblins and people and those stone knight things, a few boring animals and some zombies. How is that it?? No matter how many spells you unlock, it gets boring to kill the same enemy over and over with them. I really needed more variety here.

My biggest takeaway from Legacy is that it is, ironically, crafted to be as inoffensive as possible. Generic story, generic activities, generic movement, generic loot system (though why do I have only 20 slots for clothes), generic open world, etc., etc., etc. Sometimes this works well; for instance, I genuinely appreciate how much they washed history (and Rowling) out of this game. There's no racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, or really anything rude to other people at all here. Representation is excellent, at least compared to (checks notes) every other video game ever made. This is an alternate history where wizarding schools have flying horses roaming around them, and I want to happily escape into it while thinking of a world I entirely wish I lived in.

Other times, that placation goes beyond what I'm interested in playing for endless hours. In the interest of appealing to as many people as possible, Legacy dilutes itself of an excellent experience with enduring appeal. I had a good time, and I don't need to sink another day of my life into finishing this game to have gotten what I want out of it: the chance to walk around Hogwarts and pretend to be a wizard for a moment.



(My hot take, despite never having played a game of this genre before, is that this would be a better game as a life sim. Avalanche could've taken the effort they put into everything outside of Hogwarts/Hogsmeade and put that into creating better stories, more characters (the few fleshed-out characters in Legacy are usually quite good, but rare), and a thorough experience inside Hogwarts. I don't need to be Harry Potter-lite from 150 years ago, but carving my own (relatively normal, lower stakes) wizard-school story out in that beautiful rendition of Hogwarts would be super fun.)