I have discovered that Death Stranding is my “cozy game”.

I don’t think I’ve gotten such fulfillment from a video game as I have with Death Stranding. The actions you’re taking in the game actually feel like they matter. You’re delivering these packages to people who are, well, stranded by themselves and they are actively relying on you. Whenever you fuck up by either tripping on a rock, not taking your time down a slope, or running into a B.T. infested area a little to fast, you feel awful. That responsibility that was on your shoulders weighs SO heavy after little mistakes like these.

Listen, I get how people don’t like this game: You’re just walking everywhere delivering packages… where’s the gameplay? How can you like this? Aren’t you bored? Nope, I’m absolutely loving my time spent in this game.

Let me ask this: When’s the last time you’ve seen a triple-A game take a risk? Take a change on something completely new? I’m not saying Death Stranding is absolutely revolutionary, I don’t think it is. However, its core mechanics are a new idea I haven’t seen in another game on this scale. Needing to watch your path while running in order to not trip and ruin packages, organizing your loadout for max efficiency, planning out your path either using the fastest route or a route that hits multiple locations, all of these things I love! There’s a lot of preparation you can do and, most of the time, it pays off. Add all the preparation to the acts of service you’re providing for those in need and that’s where I get my fulfillment from.

With all these interesting elements, adding in a batshit unique story that we still don’t have all the answers to make this a game right up my alley. Kojima knows how to build a world and knows how to make the player question certain elements that need explaining, but do they actually need explanations? I won’t get into the story at all here, but it’s a trip and extremely engaging. Plus, all the emails and documents you are able to read build the world incredibly well. Definitely recommend you read everything the game has to offer to get the most out of it.

Overall, I’d recommend this game to those with an open mind on their experiences. You won’t win over people who stick with what they like and don’t venture out past that, but if you find yourself craving something different with depth, this is the one for you.

I am a firm believer of playing bad games every now and then in order to appreciate smaller details more. Blood Knights is a perfect example of this. I enjoyed my time with the game, but would never recommend it to anyone else. The voice acting is so bad, it's good, the combat is repetitive and unbalanced, the writing is akin to a poor vampire fanfic, and there are a number of technical issues. However, I enjoyed my time with the game. Playing as the ranged lady vampire, being able to just mow down enemies while acquiring new gear was fun enough for an attention grabber during slow times at work. Overall, pretty shit game I had a fun time with. Don't buy this.

Superliminal was a great breath of fresh air in the puzzle-game space. It brings creative puzzles mixed with altering the size of items based on your perspective means you get tons of unique puzzles and solutions. To add to this, the humor and story elements really make this game have its own personality. I won't lie and say I completely understand this game's story, but I did really enjoy the bits I comprehended. The interesting story beat of this game turning into a horror game was definitely up my alley (and the secret dog ending was GREAT). Overall, this game goes on sale for ~$10 usually and I can definitely recommend it at that price point. Tons of fun.

Fallen Order was an interesting experience to say the least. I am not sure if the PS5 port is shoddy, but my experience with this game was mostly negative. To start, I experienced a number of graphical and gameplay related bugs. Things like the player character (Cal) sinking through the ground, elements of the environment flickering, environmental elements clipping through other elements, etc. This game also has some of the worst loading times on the PS5 I’ve ever experienced, but it wasn’t consistent.
Some of the design choices I found off, like having the game go to a bright white transition whenever you go to meditate (a la bonfire for Souls games) which results in the player being blinded. This got so annoying that I developed a habit of closing my eyes when I went into and left meditation circles.

However, the gameplay was probably the most solid part of this experience, but it still left things to be desired. It’s easy to see that Fallen Order looked toward the Dark Souls series for inspiration and in my opinion, if you’re going to have another piece of media heavily influence your creations, you need to improve or add your own spin to those elements. Fallen Order does not do this, in my opinion:

Character progression is bland. The upgrades never feel like they make Cal more powerful. Sure, some of the moves feel better and your combat toolbelt does improve, but nothing really gave me the pizzaz I was looking forward to. Not to mention that Cal wields a lightsaber, one of the most powerful weapons in sci-fi, and it feels no better than a regular steel sword. The only interactive environmental elements that react to the lightsaber would react the same way as if it was a lowly sword.

Exploration in this game is not as exciting as it could have been, as the rewards for searching every nook and cranny are lacking excitement. Finding chests provide cosmetic changes ranging from a new skin for BD-1 or a poncho for the player character. None of these upgrades alter gameplay in the slightest (and most of these cosmetics are kinda ugly). Even the game altering upgrades you do receive cause no cosmetic changes themselves. You would think that having a number of upgrades for your droid companion would change their appearance, but they do not. I want my lil buddy to look like they’ve improved since the beginning of the adventure, but all they got was a new paint job.

As for combat, all of the Souls elements are here. We got dodge-rolling, parrying, light & heavy attacks, etc., but none of it has the same variety or pop to them as the series that influenced these decisions. Combat stays stagnant due to only being able to wield one weapon whereas the Souls games have a number of weapon classes that have their own movesets and appearances. The enemy placements also leaves more to be desired due to some areas feeling like they dumped a large number of enemies and called it a day. Some could argue Dark Souls does this as well, but I disagree as enemy placement in the Souls games feel deliberate and curated. Fallen Order will have 6 enemies on the ground, 3 ranged enemies at a vertical advantage, and 2 spiders pew-pewing you with poison. This plays out poorly especially in the early game as handling multiple enemies in combat feels extremely cumbersome and clunky.

Lastly, there were numerous times where I felt like I died and it was not my fault, but rather the game’s mistake. For example: I went to heal and the animation fully played out, but I never received healing. Comparing this back to Dark Souls, as far as I can remember, I never felt like anything else was to blame for the deaths given to me.

This game has the classic “Main character has memory loss and regains their memories right at the most opportune time” vibes. Cal is basically a Jedi Master with memory loss that ended up being a scrapper on some random planet. That is, until he realizes he’s a Jedi right when he needed to save his buddy. This pattern repeats whenever it is most convenient for the story.

“Did you just drop your lightsaber down a pit? No worries, just immediately remember how to pull items back to you using the force!”

I also never really cared much for Cal. He just seems like another generic dude in a sci-fi story. What sets Cal apart from other protagonists? I can’t tell myself. This is really the same sentiment I have for all of the characters in the story. They all follow this cookie-cutter approach that ends up not making anyone feel special here, which is a shame as the one character that DOES feel special is seen for such a short amount of time after we help her.

Speaking of the best things are given a small amount of time, I found the Vault section towards the end of the game the best segment in my entire playthrough. This piece of the story only lasts for around 15 minutes, but it does shows what this game has the potential to do. It was unique, it told a story in an engaging way, and added variety to a mechanic we’ve used multiple times. I really hope the team behind this game builds on THIS FIFTEEN MINUTES of gameplay for the sequel, as it was easily the best section of the game.

Overall, this game left so much to be desired. I know the Star Wars franchise means so much to so many people and it’s really a bummer that this game had so much potential that wasn't delivered upon. Granted, the reception of this game is very positive, so I am kinda guessing this game isn’t for me. However, if we separate the Star Wars franchise from this game, what do we have left? I found that there really isn’t much to write home about. The core gameplay lacks variety, but shows crumbs of what could have been. The core story is bland, but has short segments that shows its true potential. I do hope they build upon the best elements in this game for the sequel and do not grow content with what they’ve offered here due to the positive reception, as there is so much to build off of and to grow complacent with what’s here would be a mistake.

I didn't realize how much Resident Evil DNA is within the first Onimusha game, but now it is one of my favorites! Between the puzzle-solving and navigating a dense map, this really feels like the developers went "What if Resident Evil was set in feudal japan?". The game is originally from the PS2 and has all the elements that comes with that, which I personally love.

Overall, definitely a fantastic experience and I wish the other entries on the Onimusha series stayed with this formula, but they did not.

My first experience with The Legend of Heroes series and damn, what a game.

If you're looking for a fresh JRPG with some of the best writing, this is what you want. Literally every NPC has thought-out dialogue that changes throughout the game, making the world that much believable. No more ignoring every person because they blabber on about nonsense. I made an effort to talk to everyone to make sure I didn't miss a thing.

I also think this has some of the best character development in JRPGs when it comes to the party. Learning about small details of the crew and seeing them bloom and grow in a playthrough made seeing their individual growths and journeys that much more impactful. I'm also finding it hard to pick a favorite character as I've grown to love them all.

As for the story, obviously can't say much, but starting as a lil rag-tag group of people helping around the small town to evolving into the final moments in the game is batshit crazy.

Anyways, go play this. It's far worth the sixty hours-ish. I promise 😘

This has been on my list for awhile, but I always found a reason to put it off. I finally got around to playing and finishing it and it was way better than I assumed it would be.

This is basically The Last of Us, but in the 1300's with a twist on the bubonic plague. You've got stealth-based combat, a sister and brother duo, and a phenomenal world to experience.

The story is good, albeit a little predictable but that doesn't mean it's not worth experiencing. The character building was my favorite part of this game and I really ended up enjoying Amicia, Hugo, and the other parts of the crew. I felt like the pacing of the story, gameplay, and character introduction are pretty perfect and to top it off, the game knows when to end and doesn't outstay its welcome.

I clocked in around 12 hours for my initial playthrough and played ~3 more hours to get the remaining trophies I missed. Definitely a shorter experience, I guess, but I find myself preferring this length of game rather than the open world 70 hour bullshit.

Overall, if you're into The Last of Us, light-stealth games, or just a solid experience, I definitely recommend this game. I'm looking forward to playing the sequel that released pretty recently 🐀

Donut County is a very silly short game.

The entirety of the experience is you playing as a small hole in the ground needed to devour what you can in order to grow and devour larger items ranging from a brick to a full sized house. I found it very satisfying to start small and end up engulfing entire buildings or a highway’s worth of cars, a la Katamari Damacy.

While the gameplay is usually pretty one note, the levels are short and the writing & story I found entertaining as well. One of the main characters is a raccoon named B.K.. Technically, that is the player character as B.K. is controlling the hole via an app on their phone. Turns out, he’s used the hole to suck the whole town into the ground and they all end up in a cavern-like area. While talking around the campfire they’ve all made, the player relives the stories told here while playing as the hole.

Overall, this is a very short game (~2 hours) that is endearing and doesn’t overstay its welcome. I definitely recommend this on a sale, as you could finish it in a night. "

By the same devs behind the classic browser game Kingdom of Loathing, this is a short turn-based RPG that takes place in a comical western setting. The writing is easily the best part of the game, as it's one of the funniest games I've played. Every character, random encounter, conversations, etc. are well worth reading.

Combat is fine, but pretty bare bones. It's your standard turn based battle system with a new coat of paint. Nothing to write home about, but I do have a soft spot for short RPGs that don't waste the players time to hit that 40+ hour mark. (Costume Quest, Penny Arcade games, and others are some of my faves.)

This game was meant to be played multiple times to experience everything. I definitely missed a TON of stuff in my 8 hour play-through so I'll probably play through it again eventually. Definitely recommend this as, once again, some of the most fun & clever writing I've read in a game. ALSO IT'S ONLY LIKE $11.

After 15+ years, I always believed I had finished Halo: CE on PC back in the day. After replaying it, I don't think that was ever true. My main vivid memory of playing Halo on PC were the custom multiplayer mods and maps. Playing Slayer on Hyrule Field with all of the weapons from Ocarina of Time will probably be engrained into my brain.

Regardless, my memory was at fault in regard to finishing Halo CE's campaign and after finishing it a few days ago, it's way better than I remembered. To start, the graphical upgrade thanks to the anniversary edition makes this game feel like a recent release. I also loved being able to freely toggle the anniversary graphics and the original Xbox graphics. I have a soft spot for the old graphics and, in some areas, I prefer them, but the leap in graphic fidelity is astounding.

Gameplay-wise, this classic still holds up well. Gunplay is still exciting and fluid, the pacing of the campaign is solid and never dull, and the story is pretty good sci-fi. The plot points don't tread new ground, but it sets the foundation for the later games quite well as there are multiple opportunities to expand on multiple plot points. I played the game solo on Heroic and found that difficulty perfect. I was dying a decent amount, but nothing seemed unsurmountable.

I definitely recommend putting the time into finishing the first Halo as I really enjoyed my play-though. It was really fun re-familiarizing myself with the game as well as making sure I was paying attention to the story so I could understand where it is going to go for the sequels.