The most recent entry in the Devil May Cry series did not disappoint. This is the game I was most looking forward to playing once I started the series. DMC 1 and 2 were bad while 3 and 4 were good but not great. This game, however, goes DUMMY HARD to be an excellent experience all around.
The combat is the best it has ever been in the series. So many new tools and old ones coming together to be rock solid all around. This game is essentially what the previous 2 were but with a modern polish, resulting in a fantastic game all around. Music, especially the character themes, are amazing. Story is interesting and engaging while remaining lighthearted and fun with its moments. Also, Vergil is here. So, it's a huge win.
All in all this is the current pinnacle of the Devil May Cry series. All four characters are fun to play and I can see the replay value here down the road. I hope any future installments build off of this game, since it's absolutely fantastic. You can skip the rest of the series and get the lore recap and jump right in. After not loving the series so far, this game does not disappoint.

Shoutout to Capcom for the PC version being a glitchy piece of garbage that crashes on start! Took me 2 hours to find a solution online to actually play this game.
Anyway, DMC4 is just more DMC3-esque action. They have a more serious looking story this time around, but anytime Dante appears it gets goofier. I think Nero might actually be more fun to play than Dante since the devil arm allows for some good mechanics, though I think Dante's stance system with the different styles he has adds to more depth overall. Thank GOD they made style switching a button press in this game, seriously.
I think this game has some bizarre pacing issues. The plot just sort of instantly happens, there's not a lot of problem solving before you go "church is bad" sort of instantly. IDK what I expect from an action game. Once you switch to Dante in the second half, you're stuck mostly backtracking and refighting bosses you already encountered as Nero in the same locations. It's like Halo 1 but worse, really. Wish there was more diversity here and the two heroes doing missions side by side instead of each getting one big chunk separately. Pacing was a huge issue.
Also, I'm coming to terms with how DMC is not how I imagined it to be. Horror-lite mission-based puzzle-ish platformer that just so happens to have arena fighting sections. I expected much more direct high octane action but these games continue to give off inconsistent vibes to me. Still, gameplay is fun once you can get it going. Some sections are still kinda bleh though.
Overall this game is about the same as DMC3 to me. I think there's better controls and gameplay here with DMC3's story and presentation being better overall. I dipped into Vergil mode and Judgement Cut Ended the tutorial boss and called it there since replaying campaigns immediately isn't for me. I'm not sure this series is what I thought I signed up for, but the game is still enjoyable to play and has some cool stuff to it. Good but not great, glad I played it.

This is a GOOD ASS GAME.
The devs behind this are one of my favorite for JRPGs. They take feedback to heart and consistently try to improve their craft. Octopath 2 is everything about Octopath 1 except with even more polish, refinement, and new changes from player reception from the first title. Absolutely phenomenal.
I was surprised at how this game made me care about the cast so quickly. Octo1 suffered from archetypes being played a little too straight. In this game there is depth to be found with a lot of the cast that adds that extra pinch of spice. Loved seeing routes develop and certain character interactions.
The OST is absolutely gorgeous and needs to win awards. I found it hard to top Octo1's themes but there are so many bangers to be found here (S/O to the character themes, boss themes, Den of Darkness, Song of Hope, and more). The pixel art continues to be rad as hell and although I wish it was more vibrant it is still fantastic looking.
Gameplay is refined with a few new tricks added from Octo1 to keep it fresh despite it being 80% the same. I like all the little bonus dungeons and content you can stumble across for items and special bosses. Also, that superboss is TOUGH but fun to overcome. So much quality and care went into this game. I'd ask for a little more in the way of connected stories, slightly more vibrant stylized visuals, and additional types of creativity in how you can fight with the eight characters.
An insanely easy recommendation to turn-based RPG fans. You'll love the visuals, music, gameplay, and story and end up being quite content with yourself when all is said and done. Easily a top 3 game I've played from 2023. Absolutely fantastic game in a year full of fantastic games. What a gem.

Decided to play this short little romp on my Steam Deck. Just as quickly as I beat the game, I'll likely forget the story this game had. It's a simple little puzzle game with a bit of visual novel to it in terms of unveiling the story. Music is fine and the pixel art is gorgeous (mainly the backgrounds, some character art feels hit or miss). The story took a weird turn toward the end that I'm not sure how I really like it?
Overall, this game was neat for its price (like $3 on a steam sale) but doesn't have any sort of lasting impact in terms of gameplay, story, or aesthetics. There are probably better ways to burn a short 3 hours but was worth trying and was simple but shallow enjoyment.

Note: I'm going to review both World Tour mode and the actual versus content of Street Fighter 6 here, but for the record I'll use the star rating to denote how I feel about the latter since it'll be the bulk of my time playing this game.
World Tour Mode - 15ish hours - 2/5 Stars
World Tour is a super cool concept marred by poor decisions. Something a lot of fighting games lack to draw in more casual audiences are the types of single player content available. Arcade mode isn't enough, what else does it offer? World Tour is fun open world gig that I found super enjoyable... up until the last third or so of the campaign. Enemies have way too much health and do too much damage compared to you. The scaling is terrible. I ended up just spamming 5 medal manon throw to end most of my fights and it still felt like chip damage. The scaling NEEDS to be fixed, if not now than for any future types of game modes like this. As a concept though, it's a great thing. Having story mode and side missions teach you mechanics of the game can make it that much easier to jump into the competitive side of things. Just wish it was better executed.
Versus/Ranked/Multiplayer - 40+ Hours - 4.5/5 Stars
This is just about baby's first street fighter for me. I've dabbled in some competitive fighting games but haven't stuck to any hardcore. SF6 might be the one I do that for. The game feels fantastic, the mechanics are all engaging but not inherently overwhelming, and the netcode means that its easy to jump in and find a casual or ranked match. As of the time of this review, I'm only in Plat (Dee Jay main btw), but I intend to keep climbing either to Diamond or Masters and make my way to my FGC local to play in a tournament. This is a game I can see myself getting into because everything from the style to the visuals to the soundtrack to the visceral reward of nailing a crazy combo are so enjoyable. The learning process is difficult but feels like a drug. The first time I connected a huge combo and used my level 3 to win a set? What a feeling! I hope to play this for another few hundreds hours. The journey has just begun.

This game kinda HIT!!
Since this game shadow dropped earlier this year, Hi-Fi Rush has been on my radar. I picked it up and put it down in the early few levels as other big hitter titles released, but I found my way back here nonetheless.
This game is polished to the finest degree. Everything from the writing to the visuals to the music and the incorporation of that music into EVERY SINGLE THING related to the game makes this an absolute gem to experience. The gameplay didn't sell me at first but I found myself absolutely hooked by the end. I even beat the rhythmless white boy allegations!
This game managed to hit so many boxes for me. A short game that finishes strong, doesn't overstay its welcome, and gives you good memories of the great content within. More studios need to take note of what Hi-Fi Rush accomplished and replicate the authenticity and quality present. Absolute home run in a year filled with hard hitting games. Play it!

Oh, to be caught up on a long running series the week the newest entry is to be released. I struggled to get through Trails of Cold Steel 4 due to life commitments, but having finally completed it I'm immensely satisfied. The graphics are still Falcom level (mid), the music is still Falcom level (great), and the overall story is still Falcom level (great!). I've found myself annoyed and tired of a lot of the cheesy and anime trope-y parts of this series, but at the same time found myself loving it all the same.
This is a culmination of the previous 8 games and brought out all the stops. Overjoyed to see the Liberl and Crossbell crews again. I have a few gripes with the story, but damn was it bringing everything out and worked to leave me satisfied. Glad I managed to get this far, and excited to see the series continue. Reverie soon, and Calvard to follow! If you're a JRPG fan with a few hundred hours to kill, Trails will quickly rise through the ranks to become one of your all time favorites.

Surprise, surprise, Nintendo makes another banger game.
BotW wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but I went into TotK with a fresh head and ready to take it on. Out the gate this is a vast improvement on what BotW brought to the table. I don't love open world games, but the additions here made exploration and grabbing stuff as I meandered the world worthwhile. I didn't 100% it, and don't expect to come back to do so, but I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent here.
Gameplay is rock solid, music and visuals are the best they can be for the switch, and the story is serviceable while not being what I had hoped it'd be upon that first reveal trailer. Overall, not a perfect game but has so much good stuff going for it that I think it's an absolute stellar game that should be experienced if you own a Switch.

Saw a YouTube video on this game and remembered it's been a decade+ since I last played Colosseum. Unfortunately the base game aged poorly imo. Music slaps, but the plot is nowhere and the game is clunky. The double battles are an interesting aspect and having a limited pool of pokemon to use definitely forces some creativity. Grand Colosseum is all the OG Colosseum is with some additional difficulty tacked on. Some of it is good and cool and rewarding to overcome, but the last third or so of this game feels like a slog. Wish it held up more. Overall a semi-fun experience that overstays its welcome with difficulty spikes and a bland world.

Game is super fun, just suffers from lack of polish and performance issues. The gameplay is standard pokemon updated to modern gens, has the standard Kanto plot tweaked a bit to account for the fusion, and overall seems like a standard pokemon fangame. It's built off of essentials and rpgmaker so it's not quite a pokemon game 1-to-1, but it's just about there.
The fusion mechanics are awesome, although I wish there was a guide or better way to forecast it outside of looking up the information online. Fusing opens up a ton of opportunities and I greatly enjoyed all the custom sprite work people have put in to make certain combos come alive. The creativity here speaks wonders.
Overall this is a fun game that I hope gets fine-tuned in the future to make it more accessible and smooth since the core of the game is a standard fun pokemon adventure with a cool twist.

Falcom does it again folks. Trails continues to be Trails, really. The fresh start of a new arc brings a ton of new characters (that it took me awhile to actually like ngl). I was surprised at how well the story manages to handle having so many different characters and storylines to juggle. Some things certainly got dropped, but it does its best to have so much in it. The series still suffers from some "dumb anime bullshit" things, but it's so comfy and enjoyable that I'm more than willing to overlook it. The combat is improved, the characters are still fun and awesome, and the series has tons of cool climactic moments that I was happy to see get paid off. Music is good, art is better now that it's not tied to PS Vita, so much of it is good. Seriously, tons of high points in this entry I was quite surprised. Seeing all the previous arcs cast come together is a treat as well (and will likely be even better in the next game). Excited to eventually hop into Cold Steel 4 sometime soon. Absolutely solid game that feels more rewarding due to the fact that I'm now 8 entries deep into this fantastic series.

Finally a good DMC game! Similar to Persona, the DMC series really finds its roots in the third game. The style and substance are finally here, with the gameplay being simple but fun and the choices the player has are diverse enough that gives the opportunity to replay the game swinging better than ever. Dante is a cool guy, Vergil is a cool guy, and there are some other characters here too. OST is cool, story is serviceable, aesthetics are kind of dull and aged, but still overall a good time. A game I actually had fun with and would consider replaying down the line. This game is the first good entry in the series and I greatly enjoyed my time with it. Definitely worth playing and experiencing for yourself, and then replaying to show how much better you can style on some demons.

Played as a part of the HD collection on Steam.
People regard this as the worst DMC game by far, but I actually found it to be (marginally) better than DMC1. I cleared Dante's story in a single day, and the overall aesthetics are slightly better in this game even though the overall color choice is so bland across the board. Also, even though the combat improved, the weapon customization across the board is way worse. Some enemies have way too much HP, while others can get stagger looped to death and be a nonissue entirely. Two steps forward, one step back. The plot is nowhere to be seen, and Dante is still quite not his jolly self like he will be next game. At least the OST has some bangers. All in all, not a rather fun game either but was shorter and less painful than DMC1. Still not a good game. DMC3, like Persona, is the real "starting point" for the series. LUCIA WHO?!?!?