A very solid action platformer that has outstanding atmosphere, but leaves some things to desire. This is the second time I've played through this game (the first time being in 2012) and I hardly remembered anything from it besides the last level, so everything felt really fresh! I also ended up getting the platinum in this playthrough as well.

The story is pretty non-sensical as it relies HEAVILY on the first game of the series, American McGee's Alice. that released in 2000 on PC. I have not played this yet, but it would've helped knowing this going into this game. Regardless, the story is the weakest point here and that's about all I'll say about that.

The gameplay is a basic system. You can upgrade your weapons using Teeth, the currency of the game, found all around the 6 levels. The combat system plays by the books here and doesn't reinvent any systems from 2011. Some enemies you must hit with the heavy weapon as they are immune to the light weapon. Same goes for your range weapons, heavy and light, enemy resistances, etc.

The atmosphere and environment design in this game are top-notch though. It's hella fun to see the twisted versions of the familiar world Wonderland. You have the playful Dollhouse level with debris everywhere and discarded doll parts scattered amongst the wasteland of trash which plays well with the colorful dollhouses that have been repaired with obvious spare parts of other houses. Then there's the underwater world that houses a very quaint town called Barrelbottom with fishfolk and a fun aquatic theme. Unfortunately, this doesn't last long as once you return to the town, you'll find the fishfolk mutilated and such with what's left of their bodies on display...

Overall, it's very much a fun game, I just found it barely overstays its welcome in a full play-through.

After many many failed attempts due to either bouncing off of it or never really sinking my teeth into it, I've finally finished Dark Souls 1. This was the only Dark Souls I haven't finished and it's just as amazing as the others. I really like how all the areas have very fluid connections to other areas. I thought the bosses were overall pretty decent, but definitely not the best (that goes to Bloodborne hands down). Anyways, this really is a classic and still feels as fresh as when it first came out. Oh, and for the curious, I went with a full DEX build with a Great Scythe +15.

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.

As a huge fan of the Yakuza series, this one definitely felt the weakest out of the ones I've completed so far (0, Kiwami 1 & 2). To be fair, I think it is the oldest of the series that only got a remaster treatment. I really enjoyed the bits dealing with the kids at the orphanage, but this entry in the series has the worst combat so far. Everything felt pretty boring and bare-bones combat wise, especially since combat is the majority of what you do. Story is amazing, which is to be expected, but the substories didn't have the same pizzazz as I'm usually used to. Overall, if you're wanting to experience the entire story of the Yakuza series, this is still a must-play, but I would recommend just focusing on the main story on this one instead of spending most of your time elsewhere.

Calling it quits on this one. The premise is interesting as this is basically a single-player MMORPG and there is an infection taking over "The World" (the name of the in-game MMO game) and your goal is to uncover the mysteries revolving around that infection. However, every part of the gameplay is a bore. Combat is clunky, slow, and boring. The levels ("servers") you visit are usually uninspired and bland and the dungeons are multi-layered time sinks that almost put me to sleep.

Definitely bummed as I own all of these games and I went to investigate if the series gets better with the future entries and from what I can gather, the gameplay stays the same but adds more areas and stronger monsters.

The story is the only saving grace here, but I can't force myself to play through a grind heavy slog of a game. Throwing this back on the shelf.

A pretty solid Brazilian indie horror game that definitely takes influence from Resident Evil 7. The game has its ups and downs, but was overall a pretty good experience. Solid puzzles, decent scares, and I found the hotel to be pretty well designed.

I think for an indie horror, this does pretty well. Solid and interesting story that was refreshing as it had unique elements and didn't seem like a second thought. The progression within the hotel and unlocking more and more areas felt fulfilling and the puzzles were really good besides a few exceptions.

My complaints are that there's only two enemy types that aren't bosses which is extremely low, the guns didn't feel good to use at all, and the last boss was an absolute joke.

Other than that, the engligh voice acting is sub-par, even for an indie game like this. However, my next playthrough (whenever that is) will be played in Portuguese so I'm sure that'll help a little.

Overall, a solid indie horror that I'd recommend if you're looking for more gameplay like RE7, but more puzzles and less scares.

Silent Hill 4 was the last Silent Hill game l had left to complete in the main series (Still need to play & complete Shattered Memories) and I wish I didn't put it off for so long. I think the main reason I neglected it was due to it being the last game Team Silent themselves made and it being the red-headed step child of the main series. However, I ended up really enjoying it! I know it's a dead horse by now and I agree that comparing games to Dark Souls is lazy as hell. HOWEVER. I do think that Silent Hill 4 is to Silent Hill as Dark Souls 2 is to Dark Souls IF YA GET WHAT I’M SAYING.

I am quick to respect a game that experiments and escapes from the normal and Silent Hill 4: The Room (SH4) does just that. It definitely follows a very similar structure its older siblings established, but it really explored the creative space that went hand-in-hand with the established idea of a Silent Hill game. Sure, they did make a few missteps, in my opinion, but I would rather developers take those risks than playing it safe. I did enjoy the perspective change going to 1st person when inside your apartment vs. out in the spooky world being exclusively in 3rd person. It gave the apartment a unique feel that hasn’t been captured in the series before. They also went to make this game more combat-centric whiiiiich is the weakest part of the game. Combat is slow, monotonous, unreliable, and not that fun or exciting. Every time you want to swing or shoot your weapon, you need to hold R2 and let an animation play out which is already wasting time into your intense combat encounter. Then, once you’re in the combat stance, movement is slowed a little too much. If the player was a little more agile, I think it would’ve improved the overall combat.
Puzzles in SH4 were solid and one of the better parts of the game. The puzzle involving the key that mentions "the holder will wander aimlessly" was a great idea that makes the player think outside of the box to use a tool at their disposal they may have not known they had. Utilizing the apartment/spooky world system was very clever when inter-winding that with the puzzles.

I also feel like this game resonated with me more compared to me playing it at a younger age. I probably put an hour into the game when I first played years ago but playing it now I found myself relating to the main character a little more. Mainly because he’s been locked inside his apartment for a week. Hearing commotion outside? Peek through a singular blind to see what's up. Henry, the protagonist, has an option to constantly either look out his windows to people watch or look out his front door peephole to see what's occurring in the hallway. Not to mention his peephole to his neighbor’s apartment, but I don't relate to that one 😅 Also I found understanding people and their tendencies make these characters you're encountering in this mysteriously dark world way creepier than I remember. Before, I thought of them as lackluster and lame. Now I think of them as just people struggling and being weird but seeing how their environment has changed them to become this. I feel like this point is difficult to explain…

I don’t want to dive too much into spoiler territory, but I really enjoyed the apartment being completely separate from the obscure world you explore via the hole in your apartment bathroom. The way the game plays with and changes that dynamic was really fun to experience.

Now, the second half of the game is where most, if not all, of my frustration stems from. Turning the game into an escort mission deducts several things from this game. The person you’re escorting doesn't always follow you through area transitions, even though it looks like they’re close enough to. I wish they would've added some sort of indicator to let you know they are not accompanying you so you're aware you need to go back and grab them. I'm also struggling to see how this constant escort adds anything positive to the game. Horror games are less scary with a party and lack that solitude and loneliness feeling. Plus, all my current frustrations on the game stem from the escort and this mechanic 😦

I do genuinely think Silent Hill 4: The Room gets a bad rap. Sure, it’s probably not as good as the ones that came before it, but it shows that experimentation is still something to investigate. I haven’t played a game that successfully blends two gameplay modes with two different perspectives as well as this game does. Plus, I’m leaving out really cool and interesting mechanics and features as I believe they’re in spoiler territory. I do think people that hold the same mindset about Silent Hill 4 that I did are missing out on a really interesting and intriguing experience that they should form their own opinion on.

I played this on PS2, but it is available on PC via GOG for $10 and it’s 100% worth that price!

Resident Evil Revelations 2 is, oddly enough, the black sheep in the Resident Evil franchise for me. For the uninformed, Revelations 2 adapted to an episodic release which means the game was separated into 4 episodes originally digital-only. Now that the game has been fully released, there is a complete physical copy. While this is odd, it’s not the weirdest factor of the game. (The previous Revelations game was also an oddity as it was originally an exclusive to the 3DS.)

Personally, I never hear anyone talk about this entry in the great RE franchise. I hear fans give scathing words to spin-offs like Umbrella Corps and Operation Raccoon City, but I haven’t heard much on this title so I decided to check it out for myself.

As I was playing solo, I did not get the opportunity to play the game in co-op. This may change in the future as I believe this game might be meant to played with a partner. Regardless, since I am playing solo, this game reminds me of Resident Evil 0, but definitely with better execution on the partner aspect.

You play as two groups of partners. The first, Claire Redfield and Moira Burton and the second group of partners are Barry Burton and Natalia. Claire and Barry are your main characters. These two hold all the firepower and play as you would expect. However, Moira and Natalia are the support characters with their own special abilities, though very similar. Moira is “on flashlight duty” and she can find hidden items scattered throughout the levels by shining her torch on sparkly areas of the map. She can also blind enemies with said flashlight and also wields a crowbar to bonk the unsuspecting zombie. Natalia is a little different. She can see the auras of the zombies: Yellow auras means the enemy is unaware and red auras means the enemy is aware of the player’s presence. She can also see the sparkly areas meant for hidden items, but doesn’t need a flashlight to find them. Instead, she just kinda points at the items in order for them to spawn in. Lastly, she doesn’t always wield a weapon, but she can find bricks and use them via melee or throw them at enemies.

When you boil it all down, the gameplay goes as follows: You’ll use the support characters in order to find items whenever the area is clear. Whenever you’ve encountered enemies and are about to enter combat, just switch over to the main character to deal with the zombies. Overall, it’s fine, but could use a little more variety.

However, there is another mode within Revelations 2 that is crazy fun for what it is. Raid Mode has you playing as some of your favorite RE characters with fan-service costume available. In Raid Mode, you jump into missions that usually just consist of killing all enemies in the stage as fast as possible while fulfilling certain challenges. This will reward you with XP to level your characters and items you can find to appraise or sell. If you appraise them, they unlock items (guns, gun parts, etc.) that grow stronger. If you sell them, it fuels your pockets in order to buy more stuff to upgrade your characters. This mode has a very entertaining gameplay loop and I can see myself sinking more time into this mode in the future.

Writing and story-wise, it’s all fine. There’s nothing too crazy here to praise as this game does play it safe. I do think the addition of Moira Burton is fantastic and she is easily my favorite character in this game, though my boy Barry is right behind her at 2nd favorite.

This game came out 8 months before Resident Evil 6 and the combat here definitely doesn’t feel as fluid as 6 did. Honestly, this game does feel like more of a budget title than another full-fledged entry in the Resident Evil legacy, which I guess makes sense since it was an episodic game at launch.

Overall, I think this game is fun and is worth picking up since it’s relatively cheap nowadays, but I wouldn’t expect anything life changing. It’s more than likely more enjoyable in co-op, but I can’t attest to that just yet.