my first kirby game! was told it's a good place to start and man I just don't really get the appeal beyond really cute sprite work. obviously intended as a more casual experience for a younger demographic but this is literally just far, far too easy and not an especially rewarding experience, even as a de-stressor. any half decent power (sword or laser) and you can clear a way through just about anybody, if you're even bothering to fight them because it's just as easy to just... float past. it's nice! I did enjoy it, just not a bunch

Nice presentation only goes so far when the core puzzle mechanic boils down to comparing numbers. (And not the kind of cause-and-effect comparisons in Minesweeper-esque puzzle games like Tametsi.) Maybe the harder puzzles require logic or more intense thought - I only made it to Level 10 of Easy, as there are tons of puzzles and no way to skip ahead in difficulty. Anyone looking for a low-challenge puzzle game that still has a pretense of pressure could do worse than this, especially for things easy to emulate on phones & play with two thumbs.

Boasts some of the best and most atmospheric first-person gameplay that I've ever seen, yet also some of the most underwhelming boss fights and frustratingly designed levels that we've seen in any Resident Evil video game. There's a lot to love especially in just how playing the game feels like; but all these good elements that this game boasts never really reach their full potential because the lack of challenge in most of these boss fights really takes away from the urgency in just about every other factor here.

I don't think I can talk about the ending without saying what hasn't already been said, but it's where the game becomes at its most frustrating. The entire ship sequence is hard to navigate and it just gets really boring walking through it numerous times and the constant enemy appearances become less scary than they do annoying. To an extent I can say this does apply to the enemies in the rest of the game, but the manner in which they appear can be too unforgiving for their own good - and while much of Resident Evil is built around resource management, there's an extent where this ends up becoming a bit too much.

Still, I enjoyed playing this fine enough but the more it went on, the harder it became for me to say I loved it.

worth noting that I'm replaying this for the first time in, like, 6 years and experiencing this as the definitive series version on steam deck, so any thoughts relating to experiencing the game beyond story and writing will be saved for that one big log. also gonna be spoiling!!

but man, despite remembering every single beat of this I'm kinda taken aback by how good it holds up. characterisation is insanely good; Lee, Larry, Carley, Kenny, Lily, all feel like such strong, deep characters already -- all performed incredibly well and carry a lot of weight. I like just about everybody anyways, but there's some genuinely impressive stuff between these guys.
the decision to deal with a suicidal woman does feel like it has a real emotional impact to it -- one of the dialogue options being "God bless you"? it's just sad. really easy to empathise with Lee and his family situation too, I dunno, that kinda thing just has gravity now that I'm not a dumb teenager.

it's still a little labourious, I do dislike how anti-streamlined this is to get through for someone replaying it, with the pre-pharmacy stuff really feeling like an introductory running on a tad too long, but it's definitely worth it overall. excited to see how I find the rest of season one now.

for all the walking simulator criticisms it has I think it does a really excellent job of A: creating an immersive atmosphere and very interesting location to explore and B: has GREAT voice acting; some of the best I've heard in the medium in making everything feel super believable. I understand why it's got a mixed response going into it and for some of the content within the game but I ultimately vibe with everything really well. gorgeous locations to explore and a very surprising story that ticks lots of my personal boxes, no way I wasn't gonna love this.