To start with the positives, Atomic Heart looks good, aesthetically and technically. The human characters are little off, but everything else is great. The music is top notch. Finally, the puzzles are clever (except the lockpick puzzles which are repeated ad nauseum).

The rest is aggravating. There are moments when the combat and exploration comes together just right. Those moments are a joy. Blasting enemies, finding lore and resources. That is what this game is about. Unfortunately, those moments are usually stuffed between time padding fetch quests and long dialog segments with robots.

Literally, there was a moment where the player has to walk down some stairs with a robot who keeps stopping and talking. No way to skip it. The player has to wait for the robot. It made a 15 second walk last 5 minutes.

Normally, the amount of lockpicking, fetch quests, and long dialog sequences could be chalked up to lazy game design. The main character constantly makes comments about these things, which makes this asshole game design because the developers did it on purpose.

Speaking of assholes, the main character is a cringey asshole. The bad writing does not help this matter. Admittedly, he does get better in the late game, but everything he says in the first half is obnoxious.

Additionally, Atomic Heart has an open world section that actively discourages exploration. There are so many enemies and cameras in the open world that they can easily be overwhelming. Suffering through this can lead to some of the best puzzles and additional items in the game however.

Finally, many times the combat is more of a chore than a joy. Enemies can easily outnumber the player. Some enemies take a lot of damage. Others bounce and dodge constantly. Ammo is always scarce. When all the things happen at once, just run; it is not worth fighting.

The overarching mystery is compelling enough to keep moving forward. There are moments in combat which are genuinely fun. Atomic Heart is fairly close to being a decent game.

This game got a lot of bad press when it came out. Most people called it bad. Recently, it has been called misunderstood masterpiece, a hidden gem. So how is it?

It's okay. It's not terrible, but also not a great game waiting to be recognized by the masses. There's nothing particularly wrong with the game.

Days Gone is like State of Decay with higher production values and a better story. Go from camp to camp, looking for supplies, helping survivors, and killing zombies. The loop in State of Decay is more satisfying though. As for the story, it's better than expected.

The storytelling is janky though. There's distracting cuts to black between cut scene and gameplay. The sound mixing in this game is also bad. The main actor Sam Witwer is great. However, his dialog is either delivered as a mumbled whisper or top of the lungs shout. It's quickly realized that most of the dialog is like this. Background sounds tend to overwhelm foreground sounds throughout the game.

Days Gone is a fine time. It will not disappoint. However, it is not a must play. It's well thought and janky and adequate.

Going into this game with no knowledge about it was for the best. It was described as a fun adventure. This is true, but doesn't get to what makes Beacon Pines great.

This is basically a narrative adventure game with branching paths. Exploring all these paths is necessary to discover the full extent of the story. Backtracking along the branches of the story is easy and intuitive. No need to replay long sections of the game.

The art style is adorable and comforting. The characters are likable and relatable. The story is touching and a little nostalgic. Most importantly, it is engaging and has many layers to unfold. For a chill, relaxing experience, play Beacon Pines.

The flying and combat is Chorus is amazing. Of all the space combat games I have ever played (not that many, admittedly), this is easily top three when it comes to flying and combat. However, that is all I like about this game.

The story isn't terrible, but I didn't really engage with it. The open world, like most open worlds causes the game to drag occasionally. Some combat scenarios also ruin the fun combat. Having closed area combat scenarios does add gameplay variety, but it isn't fun. Finally, I think the biggest problem is that it is too long. This is a very fun 6-8 space combat game that lasts 15-20 hours.

Even with all my complaints, I would still recommend this game for anyone looking for a space combat game. It's been too long since a Star Fox game and Star Wars: Squadrons was pretty not good. Chorus is probably the best modern choice around.

I was excited for Weird West based on the pedigree of the developers at WolfEye Studios. I never watched any trailers or read any previews. The only pre release I saw was games coming out in March, which described this game as an old school CRPG, which it ended up not being.

So with no expectations, I went in blind and found a pretty good game. It's an immersive sim with a unique story telling device. The world and characters are great. I loved exploring, and it didn't bother me that most locations were reused. It made the unique locations stand out more.

There is a learning curve to the combat, but when it clicks, it feels mostly good. Though changing weapons always felt clunky for some reason. Stealth also takes time. It's a slow process that requires patience and a little luck. NPCs have an almost preternatural ability to turn around right before you knock them out. I enjoyed that unlike other stealth games that NPCs would change patrol routes and wouldn't stick to the same route when reloading a save. Some times it was frustrating, but mostly made the stealth more fun by being unpredictable.

The overarching story is okay, but the strength is more in the five individual stories that make up the whole. The main characters are mostly blank slates with their own pasts and concerns to deal with. I loved the mysterious supporting characters and wish they were in the game more. I unfortunately found a recurring character's story to have a slightly disappointing end, but overall, I enjoyed the characters and stories.

Weird West is a great first game from a new studio. It was a game that I didn't know I wanted. There are flaws that may be fixed with patches down the line. There are other flaws that are part of the design that won't be fixed. Ultimately, I enjoyed this game and eagerly await the next game from this studio.

The two words I associate with my playthrough of 12 Minutes are what and why. Everything about this game invokes the response, "What? Why would you do that?" The most obvious aspect of the game to receive this response is the spoiler narrative plot twist. The second most obvious aspect to me is the casting of James McAvoy and Daisy Ridley as the leads. Why hire a Scottish actor and English actress for voice performances for Americans? It makes no sense.

Gameplay wise, the game is mostly a puzzle game, where the player has to figure out the right combination of items and interactions to advance the story. Most of the puzzles are easy to solve, and the ones that are not can be brute forced.

I love the time loop concept and some of the odd things the player can do. Considering how restrictive the game is, there is also a bit of player freedom to do weird and crazy things. However, if you want to experience the story, you have to proceed how the game wants you to even if it's not the most rational way to do it.

The narrative is decisive to say the least. It did not click with me, but I know others who like it. I will not spoil it, so the only way to experience it is to play the game (or watch YouTube). Your reaction to the narrative will ultimately be how you judge this game. I did not enjoy it. It made me go, "What? Why would you do that?"

Marvel's Avengers goes out of its way to dissuade gamers from liking it. A solid 3 star action game can be found here, but it is hidden under so much needless stuff. The combat, when it clicks, is very satisfying, and the story has some good moments, but also a lot of bad moments. The gear system is overly complicated and ultimately meaningless. Just open the menu, hit equip best, and that is all that is needed. I did not interact with the game as service components, as I played the game single player, but I can imagine the game would be quite fun with three friends. It would be similar to Ultimate Alliance or X-Men Legends in that case. Alas, that is not the game that was delivered. This game has fun combat and a promising story. However, the clunky menus, usual options, and looter mechanics just drag the experience down. Hopefully, a sequel will deliver better combat and story and get rid of the junk.

I had no expectations for Cris Tales. I saw it on Game Pass and decided to play it. At first, I was not expecting to like it. The beginning was slow and tedious, but then the gameplay, story, and characters begin taking shape, and I was engaged. The game is not difficult at all, but I still found it entertaining. I rarely got tired of battling.

The art style is gorgeous. I love all of it from spell animations to Crisbell's run cycle. The music was fun too, though not that memorable afterwards.

However, the same cannot be said for the story. It is intriguing enough, but goes on for a few hours too long. Gameplay wise that leads to backtracking quite a bit in the final hours.

Overall, it was a decent game. Not bad, but not great. Give it a shot if you want a light, breezy RPG.