An incredible sequel to the original Silent Hill on all counts. The gameplay, narrative, and presentation in Silent Hill 3 was 100% for the fans of the original game, rather than the paradigm shift we saw in Silent Hill 2, which went for a more dreary, depressing atmosphere along with more relaxed gameplay when compared to the original game. Silent Hill 2 was still scary, but Silent Hill 3 REALLY goes for your senses with its grotesque imagery and panic-inducing scenarios that'll really trigger your "fight-or-flight" response.

Like Harry proving he can fight vicious threats better than your typical S.T.A.R.S agent, Heather evolves the survivor's way of fighting even further with more options, such as strafing and blocking. The monster designs are also a sight to behold, and the puzzles are even more brain-teasing than ever! Without explaining the entire puzzle, the number pad in the hospital (on hard mode) is one I'll never forget, it was simply genius!

The story itself is also heart-rending, especially for those that experienced and understood the events of the original game. It feels like a definitive end to the series, and the performances by all of the actors are some of the best of this generation!

I guess I'll end this review saying it's funny how the "Haunted Mansion" scenario that parodied typical jumpscare bullshit in the game is what it would end up becoming shortly after this series was hocked off to the likes of Climax and Double-Helix.

It's great, it's bad, it's enthralling, it's confusing, it's a goddamn Suda51 game. Granted, one that falls short in some aspects. No More Heroes III is a culmination of Suda51 emphasizing harder than ever what he was trying to say with the original No More Heroes. The idea that an endless life of slashing, killing, and achieving is nothing short of hell-on-earth. Which in turn, works in both the depiction of Travis' own character that's accumulated these past 15 years, and an ongoing video game franchise. This "hell-on-earth" is already a reality for once-beloved franchises.

You're asking why is a theme of absolute monotony being exhausted in a game directed by Suda51? I guess you didn't play a lot the games he actually directed. I guess you didn't walk for virtual miles just to be told to run back to where you came in Flower, Sun, and Rain. I guess you weren't demanded to climb through 10 huge towers and check each individual room for small clues in The Silver Case (not even including the similar tasks before that near-end chapter). I guess you weren't told to check-in on every single apartment door in a huge complex in Moonlight Syndrome.

I refrain from using the phrase "shitty on purpose" because I feel like that degrades the point a creator is trying to get across when their top priority of a game isn't pure enjoyment from beginning to end. Not that this game can't provide that for some folks (the score it has is honestly surprising here). I'm just interpreting some of the game's rather confusing design choices. I don't think it's just sheer incompetency, considering this company's output.

I loved deciphering the narrative, and was happy to see the final cleanse of the NMH sickness Suda has been dealing with, finally declaring his end of this relationship. I think a lot of it is very congruent if you take the time to dissect and analyze the scenes. Granted, there are aspects of the writing that feel short-sighted. As for the gameplay, it was pretty damn enthralling, and easily the most intricate the series has provided in regards to third-person hack-n-slash combat. It can be argued that it was designed more-so for the boss confrontations, which is also the best the series has ever been. The open world is charming in some ways, but also considerably rough.

I also appreciate Grasshopper refusing to conform to modern standards and accept its blotchy-ass textures in order to focus on the artistry. I won't deny how rickety some things look, but the game shines and glows at the points where it needs to, in my opinion. Music was aces too, but I am certainly sick and tired of listening to Beast Test.

All-in-all, there's things I love about this game, and things I question. But the heart I look for in a Grasshopper game is certainly still there and beating. And in the end, I also find it amusing that Travis Strikes Again ended up being the better and more worthwhile game.

It's 1999, and the developers behind Silent Hill were demanded to make a sequel. The parties involved apparently only had two options.
1. Leave the company.
2. Make it depressing as shit instead of scary.

Toyama--the original game's director--took the first option, while everyone else stuck around, excited to make a new experience on the next-gen hardware. While Silent Hill 2 still has scares, the inner-turmoil inside the mind of James Sunderland and the people he interacts with are what truly makes this a memorable experience. A harrowing tale of a desperate man allured by the calling of his late wife, and anyone with half a brain won't even question why this lonely man continues to fight otherworldly creatures for a chance to see his wife. "I guess I really don't care if it's dangerous or not. I'm going into town either way."

It's funny seeing old reviews of this game on magazines back in the day, as they disparaged the story for being "confusing, vague, and never explaining itself." because the story itself is why people love this game so much, and why it's revered as a classic today!

The gameplay isn't groundbreaking in any way, but it's serviceable, and easy-going for a survival horror. Everything else is what makes this game an incredible experience, including the demented sound design, emphasis on exploring the town's amazing atmosphere, solving brain-teasing puzzles, well thought-out scares, and (mostly) great voice-acting!

I can't wait for a dogshit remake to come out in my 40s.

EDIT: Looks like the dogshit remake is coming out much sooner than that. Whoopee.

Man, it's been years since i've last played a single-player Star Wars game. In fact, the last one i played was another action game called The Force Unleashed 2, back when it came out (maybe one day i'll revisit that series and see how my opinion has held up). So when i finally got a PS4 after all this time, i knew that Fallen Order was a game i was going to play at some point and thankfully, it delivered.

As far as the narrative itself goes, it's a pretty standard Star Wars story. Most of the game is a McGuffin hunt that has you flying back and forth between planets and the planets visited are pretty neat. You have classics like Kashyyk and Dathomir and then you have new planets like Bogano and Zeffo, which introduce the long-gone Zeffo civilization to the franchise. That's one of Star Wars' strengths, that you could tell quite literally any kind of story here because of it's sandbox nature. And since i could take my time exploring these planets, this meant i was allowed to take in some impressive sights.

The characters are nothing i'd right home about. Cal Kestis is a fairly standard protagonist. The writing for him works well and i was invested but there are other Star Wars characters i'd say i liked more. Same goes for the rest of the Mantis crew, they were fine and serviced the story but again, nothing i'd write home about. Likable but standard.

The gameplay is the real treat of this game because obviously. The dungeons made good use of your abilities and there were some neat setpieces. Combat is satisfying and builds up as you go. That being said, there is one aspect of the combat that fundamentally clashed with how i like to play games. See, i'm bad at parrying. Not deflecting, deflecting is fine, it was very satisfying to deflect blaster fire. No, parrying is what i've always been bad at and as a result, i've always been more of a "dodge -> counterattack" sort of guy. And while that is something you can do in this game, it's not really as effective as parrying, which is what the game encourages way more. As a result, i always took more damage from melee enemies and bosses than i should've. I got by on the standard difficulty though i did have to switch to Story Mode towards the end because my ability to brute force and dodge my way through was no longer carrying me. It's not the game's fault, it's a well-designed game. Just don't ever ask me to parry stuff lmao.

The main problems of this game come from some weird performance issues. Even on my PS4 Pro, there'd be occasional pop-in, lag, one time i even glitched through the floor and died instantly. Switching to performance mode seemed to alleviate some issues but it was overall presence that kept occurring here and there, not enough to completely hinder the game but enough to where it's very noticeable. I must also mention that while the climax of the game is good, the ending itself is....a tad bit underwhelming.

Jedi: Fallen Order is a game i would recommend to anyone who likes action games, Star Wars or both. It's a good game and the length it has is perfect for this sort of game, as nothing ever feels like it drags for too long.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is not only my favorite Xenoblade game, but my favorite entry in the entire “Xeno franchise”.

One of my favorite elements of the game is its playful, experimental and serene soundtrack composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, also known for the soundtrack of Attack on Titan. It’s a bliss listening to it while exploring X’s massive open world afoot or in a mech, doing engaging side quests, defeating tyrants and following the thrilling story of the game and its lovely characters.

Unfortunately, the story progression is locked behind side quests which is the only reason this game does not get the full score. Since Xenoblade Chronicles X is more gameplay-driven than story-driven, this isn’t too big of a negative.

Oh man, Devil May Cry 5 is a banger game and it lets you know this right from the start. The opening cutscene features Nero cutting down demons in style while "Devil Trigger" plays in the background and it did such a good job of showing me what i'm in for. This is my first DMC game and the game did a damn good first impression for the series. It helps that this game fully embraces all the dumb shit that happens and treats it in such a cool manner. Every character had great chemistry with each other and it was enhanced by the amazing performances of the voice actors. As far as the presentation goes, it's pretty perfect.

On the side of gameplay, i love how similar yet how different both Nero and Dante feel. It's hard for me to say exactly which one i liked playing as more, both have their own little quirks that make them standout. Like i guess if you held a gun to my head and asked me to chose, i'd say Nero because he has the grapple and everybody knows that putting a grapple in your action game automatically makes it good. On the flip side, Dante has more weapons to play around with and combined with his different Styles, you can do some pretty sweet combos. That said, i mainly used Trickster because of the funny dash. Yeah, i can't decide, both characters are fun to play as.

Meanwhile, V is probably the weakest part of the entire game. Both on the gameplay side and on the character side. Gameplay-wise, i generally don't like playing "summon" characters which is very much what V is. Any mission where i was forced to play as V, i kinda just wanted to get it over with. His character didn't really do much for me either. Thankfully, you do play as him the least. I'll also say that i think the game could've been a bit, just a bit, longer. Missions 17-20 just go by pretty fast and while i wouldn't say the game ended abruptly (especially since the final battle is very hype), it does feel like there should've been a bit more. But you know, i can't really complain to much here. Devil May Cry 5 is very based and i definitely want to play the older games in the future.