Shelved for now but I really enjoyed what I've played.

I think a few of my issues with metroidvania's are solved here, if only because its a little bit more railroaded than other games in the genre.

I'll get back to finishing it eventually.

I'm gonna be frank, the ending of this game fucking sucks, but asides from that, Bioware has managed to make one of the most interesting sci-fi universes in modern media. Great writing, fun characters and fun gunplay and RPG elements rounds the whole package out. This version of the series is the best possible way to experience the games at the moment, and is currently available on Gamepass. If you like Sci-Fi, RPG's or hot aliens, you should check this out.

Also Liara is the best girl and I will take no arguments.

There's a lot of this game I would want to change; the platforming is occasionally clunky due to the emphasis on being "cinematic", the combat isn't very deep, the story veers in and out of interesting ideas waaaay too fast and, to be honest, all the vaguely Dark Souls-esque mechanics feel completely useless.

But this one is a good time!

I am not a Star Wars person, but the game gives you a solid idea of what's going on in the greater universe, while never completely relying on recognition ((and the one section where it does is both well-earned and justified)). The combat does have enough weight to it to be engaging, even if it is a deep as a kiddie pool, and the emphasis on breaking block gauges isn't a terrible idea.

It also just looks amazing. There aren't that many locales, but the ones that are there are lush rainforests or sprawling planes. Or Darothmir, which is neither of those things. Maps can be too intricate, and this attention to detail can make it hard to discern where you might be going but if I'm going to be lost I'd rather have something pretty to look at.

Relatively enjoyable time all around, and probably worth checking out if you care about the greater Star Wars universe.

Yeah, no. I really hate this.

Terrible combat, especially once they begin to introduce the space pirates and weapon specific enemies. Terrible platforming that feels floaty and way to weighty in exactly the wrong places. Terrible progression, even with some tolerance for backtraking, the items the game chooses to guide you to versus the ones they don't is baffling to me.

The only real positives I can see are the music, which is very tense and genuinely beautiful in moments, and the atmosphere, which is extremely solid.

I wonder if this game's reputation is because of it being in a more popular genre (a kinda-FPS), being a spin on an old franchise or simply because people were starved for good shooters on the GameCube.

Maybe we'll never know.

Kentucky Route Zero is maybe another contender for one of my favorite games of all time.

Combining the aesthetics of semi-dystopias and hazy late night drives and modern art, with the storytelling methods of both American folk tales and theatre (which as a theatre major I just loved) and adding the rare use of the removal of player influence to sell the story's impactful moments just blew me away.

It uses all of this to tell a beautiful story of the effects of Capitalism on both individual through the accrual of debt, and the way it effects larger communities through improper care in search of greater profit. It does all this while not feeling super trite and having compelling and interesting characters.

It's mind blowing that I left it this long for me to play it, and that it isn't constantly being brought up as a reference point for other game devs. Maybe because it's so singular in it's vision that it just can't be replicated, who knows.

There will probably be nothing quite like KRO ever again, and that's okay with me.

This was really cool! It definitely has a lot of the mistakes other pokemon-likes have, like getting too cute w/ type matchups and some pretty underwhelming designs, but the vibe is neat, the music is good, and the graphics in general are pretty neat (especially on the major bosses).

The overall plot was good, but I wasn't super in love with most of the companions (except for Kayleigh) and the individual plotlines are pretty whatever. The same is true for the moment to moment writing, which flips from philosophical thought to a joke about 80's movies in a second.

I think this is a good use of time, and it's getting a console release soon, so I def hope more people try it.

Homestead Arcana and Infinite Guitars share a weird space as "Games promoted by Microsoft as major Gamepass releases that are at best interesting". Both are games in genres that have seen a big boon (rhythm action games and, for some reason, magic themed Harvest Moons), and both are kind of disappointing.

Homestead Arcana is certainly a better game, for sure. The voice acting is genuinely pretty good, and the game has some strong aesthetics, even if the quality of the models is not the best. There's also a real story! One with interesting set ups and that could've been really cool if everything else wasn't holding it back (and if the text wasn't so small c'mon game devs help a dude out.)

But the game is janky, doing basically anything other than moving is a nightmare of pointing an inaccurate cursor repeatedly, and the tutorial is not particularly clear on how to actually, k'know, farm anything. There are survival mechanics as well, a gameplay element that has ruined so many other farming games in the past for literally no reason and does exactly the same thing here.

i think this game can improve with some updates, and I applaud the team for making something this intriguing. Hopefully either their next game or an update can really refine this into something magical.

This is an RPG from the 80's that managed to predict the entire progressions of RPG's in general over the next 40 years.

The writing is brilliant, the sprites and animations in the remake are beautiful looking, and the gameplay is engaging and simple enough that anyone can get into it.

The experimentation in each section creates such a sense of wonder, as you go into each time period wanting to know how the devs are gonna shake things up this time.

A classic, play it if you can.