yoko taro's wild ride, full of bad gameplay, awful graphics, and an uncomfortable amount of sex jokes. and yet it all comes together to create an unforgettable experience.

I'd say the theme of drakengard 3 is contrast. now to be fair, contast was already the theme of taro's previous game, NIER, but this game has a very different spin on it - the contrast this game makes the player experience is beauty and sereneness clashing with grotesqueness. it is a game that has some of the most genuinely touching, human moments in any game I've ever played, while simultaneously making you want to throw it at the nearest wall with absurd difficulty spikes, awful frame rates, and boring, repetitive gameplay. at the same time it tells some of the best jokes in video games right next to some of the worst jokes and that is right next to some extremely dark, mature themes and that again is right next to some DMC style bullshit happening. I doubt aspects like the bad frame rate were an intenional part of the experience, not even yoko taro has enough balls to do that, yet it somehow works so well in unison with everything else that I can't help but appreciate it.

there is nothing else quite like drakengard 3 and I absolutely believe that it is worth trying for yourself, whether you are a hardcore drakennier fanboy or not. oh and play the DLCs - it shows how little square enix thinks of their customers that it is DLC in the first place but the added chapters really go a long way to not just improve the main game, but also stand on their own as some of the most interesting stories told in the gaming sphere.

why do i feel like all the bespoke queer games ive seen that came out in the last 10 years have been just so saccharine? this isn't really a knock against the game itself, and I don't really fault anyone who enjoys these types of games, its just I really want more games about being gay/trans that isnt just like "I'm a girl and I can kiss girls!!!!!!" I want a game thats bespokely queer, but through the lens of someone whos gotten past the initial euphoria of figuring out your queer identity, like a story thats about people's real world struggles and how they intertwine with their queerness to where its the focus? they speak from the abyss seems to fit that bill from what I've seen, maybe something like that? this is a genuine question btw. and hey maybe if this game eventually does become what im describing then i'll give it another go! i really just wasn't feelin it chief.

In platformers there's usually two types of games: the ones where you just wanna get to the goal as soon as possible and the ones where you wanna spend extra time in every level to discover collectables and whatnot. So these guys took Wario Land 3 which was very much the latter of the two and infused it with god tier movement options thanks to the most satisfying dash move in any game ever. But then to really put the cherry on top and make the player take full advantage of Wario's new movement they had the absolutely brilliant idea of forcing the player to run back to the entrance of the level within a certain time limit which, in tandem with the amazing music and warping visuals, not to mention the huge timer that's now constantly on screen, leads to an exhilerating, stressful experience. This gets amplified even further by a combination of mandatory and optional collectables in every level which is a great combination. Sometimes when you reach the end of a level you don't have all the collectables you need and/or want yet so you're still trying to find them while the game is practically screaming at you to hurry the fuck up, it's glorious. Special shoutouts to the amazing sound design and especially how dynamic the music is. The pitch and tempo of the song playing is dependant on Wario's current status. If he goes fast, it goes fast and if he's crouching, it goes slow. Some of Wario's reactions, making their return from Wario Land 3, also add additional filters to the music on top of that. My favorite bit is that when ground pounding the next sample gets all screwed up. It's barely noticable due to it overlapping with the ground pound sound effect but once you hear it you cannot un-hear it.

you know how in super metroid the game barely tells you where to go so you just kinda explore shit at your own discretion? yeah it's like that

on a more serious note the exploration in this game is nearly unrivaled. there is such a legitamate sense of wonder as you enter a new area, deliberately crafted and enhanced by tiny little touches like how, depending on the area, you might get a map super early on or way late. this is my favorite game to just get lost in. the amount of stuff in this little guy is staggering - I never really cared if where I'm going is the way the devs wanted me to go or not because there is just so much stuff to find everywhere you go, whether it be lore, items, money, upgrades, etc. compared to metroid this game has a relatively small amount of upgrades to collect. this is kind of a double edged sword - the small amount of items grants an amazing sense of freedom to the world since progression in metroidvania titles tends to be locked behind certain upgrades. on the other hand there are few things to really spice up the combat. the fundamentals of it are rock solid - every swing feels satisfying and impactful and being able to pogo off of enemies and obstacles is always a good time. that being said, it can feel pretty basic and overly simplistic, especially at the beginning. great enemy and boss movesets rectify this problem to some extent, but I can certainly understand when people tell me that they think the combat is a little boring.

the visuals are needless to say stunning and the music does a great job of setting the tone. special shotouts to the frequent usage of dynamic music

Extremely charming and lovely and just look at it and listen to the music and so on and so forth. This game suffers from early 3D syndrome like crazy though: every animation is just so damn long with multiple frames of wind-up on actions that were instant in every Kirby game before and after. Additionally in order to get the actual ending you need to find every crystal shard. A lot of them require using the ability combination mechanic which is brilliant but the game doesn't tell you beforehand which abilities you will need and sometimes doesn't even give you the necessary abilities in the level you're in so it's a real drag. I also find it very weird how every level just kinda ends, like you just walk through a door that looks like every other door except this one all of a sudden takes you to the end of level mini game so it never feels super satisfying to clear a level, it's always just kinda out of nowhere.