LemonCoffeeCake
2008
The gathering of talent that came together to make this will possibly never be matched in videogames again. This is indisputably one of the 5 best JRPGs ever made, and almost all of the other options (with the exception of Final Fantasy VI, which is one year older) are so heavily influenced by it that it's kind of hard not to call it actually the best.
2016
Only an OK story, but the gameplay gimmick SUPERHOT presents to you is so strong it doesn't really matter. Incredibly stylish.
2018
Earnest, heartfelt, and beautiful. I loved every bit of this weird little game. Sing your songs, my guy.
I played Cyberpunk a little bit after the release of Edgerunners, but it still felt like it was in an "unfinished" state at that point. Coming back to it in 2023 with the main discourse being "oh it's good now" was an incredible decision. The roleplaying opportunities for each playthrough coupled with the incredibly varied styles of gameplay, the hyper-immersive world of Night City, and some of the best character writing in any game I've ever played makes for a truly unforgettable experience. If CDPR can release Project Orion (the sequel) in anywhere near this state, I will accept literally any delays they make. Shigeru-miyamoto-delayed-game-quote.jpg
This review contains spoilers
Exceptional moment-to-moment gameplay, movement felt smooth and responsive, no complaints. Story is amazingly evocative despite never showing you a single human face. Building your mech feels far more involved than I could have expected, even if I did end up trivializing most challenges once I unlocked the double shotguns.
2020
Delightfully gross action-puzzler.
As a complete world, a science-fiction story, or just an immersive experience, very little beats Mass Effect. Each game has its own annoying gameplay quirks that holds each one back from being a truly perfect gameplay experience (personally I think 2 had the fewest of these), but as a series it is a truly exceptional work of storytelling with one of the best casts in gaming and a truly excellent protagonist to go through it all with. You'll never be better than Commander Shepard, after all.
Also, Jesus Christ are those aliens hot. I want to be the center of a Garrus and Tali sandwich and I am not apologizing.
Also, Jesus Christ are those aliens hot. I want to be the center of a Garrus and Tali sandwich and I am not apologizing.
2017
An exceptional metroidvania with some incredibly tight combat and more build variety than I ever expected. The world is beautiful and melancholy, and the boss fights are ruthlessly difficult without ever actually feeling unfair. Good game.
2018
Celeste is one of the best platformers ever made and anyone who says otherwise is wrong and knows it. I will hear no argument on this.
2019
Actually, no joke, changed my life and how I thought about the world. Even beyond the stellar writing, the beautiful art, and the voice acting that shook me to my core many times over, the gameplay choices made here with the skill system are an advancement I truly think we'll all look back on in 20 years as some sort of "Citizen Kane moment" in the medium. The best video game ever made.
2021
Fun way to kill a few hours. I agree with other reviews that the writing got a little cheesy near the end, but I'm a real sucker for metanarrative weirdness so that probably didn't affect me as much as it might some other people.
2019
This review contains spoilers
I liked playing this more than BL2, actually. The guns felt significantly more varied, giving every character both a selection of action skills and distinct ways they interacted with that system (Amara's elements, Moze's Iron Bear weapons, Zane's double action skills, and FL4K's pets) made each of my playthroughs feel different in a far more substantial way than the other games, and Mayhem mode was a much more useful way to scale up endgame difficulty than BL2's "just play the game again lol" (though you still had the option to do that, which I appreciate). That said, the story of this game coupled with the lack of a dialog skip button makes me want to puncture my eardrums whenever I play it. The Calypso twins are awful villains who only make any progress because every character on our side decides to be massively stupid when it's expedient to the writers (I will qualify this by saying that the stories of the various DLC mini-campaigns were much better, and I really appreciate the commitment to actual character writing in those). If BL4 is simply the gameplay of this and a story more on the level of BL2 or the DLCs, I will eat it up easily.
2009
Kind of janky, and works off a morality system that was outdated in 2009, but at the same time there's still a lot of fun to be had zapping around Empire City. Fine setup for much better sequels.
2013
Lucas Pope is some sort of games wizard. Playing as a bureaucrat in a boring job isn't "fun," in the traditional sense, but it's engaging as hell. Glory to Arstotzka, etc.
This review contains spoilers
An excellent detective puzzler. I found myself having to really think hard to get through some of these puzzles, especially once they started pulling in details from earlier cases. The DLC cases especially had some really fun twists and turns.