Matt_Stennes
BACKER
2020
DISCLAIMER: I played the Beta, but considering this releases in two weeks this shit is literally a demo stop capping.
Marvel’s Avengers represents pretty much every problem I have with the gaming industry in 2020. The idea of “gaming as a service” has grown exponentially within the past couple of years with the success of Fortnite, and has significantly devalued what your $60 purchase is actually worth. For battle royale games like Fornite and Apex Legends, it’s not as big of a deal since those games are free-to-play. But for Marvel’s Avengers this practice has reached a peak that I hope no game in the future tops, because it’s getting ridiculous at this point. In Avengers, you have to pay for a $10 battle pass for EACH individual hero added post launch in order to unlock cosmetic and other items for them. It’s rumored there will be 15 or more heroes added post launch, which brings the price of the full experience up to $210. This is bad even for a live service game.
The rise of “games as a service” is quite literally affecting the quality of new games that could’ve been fire, but are ruined by corporate greed. It’s becoming increasingly hard for studios to sell their games to publishers if it’s just a one time $60 fee, since the publishers see the insane amount of money they make from the live service format. The only way to stop it is to not buy these trash games. Supporting Marvel’s Avengers will only make this practice worse.
Talking about the actual gameplay, this felty very much like a cookie cutter cash grab, with very little original gameplay to offer. The graphics looks like they’re from the Xbox 360 era. The fact that they made this a looter shooter baffles me. A big budget, single player/co-op Avengers game could’ve been so fire, but this just feels really shallow and incredibly undercooked. It's sad too because this has an incredible lineup of actors (Laura Bailey, Troy Baker, Nolan North, Travis Willingham). It's a shame to see the wasted potential.
Marvel’s Avengers represents pretty much every problem I have with the gaming industry in 2020. The idea of “gaming as a service” has grown exponentially within the past couple of years with the success of Fortnite, and has significantly devalued what your $60 purchase is actually worth. For battle royale games like Fornite and Apex Legends, it’s not as big of a deal since those games are free-to-play. But for Marvel’s Avengers this practice has reached a peak that I hope no game in the future tops, because it’s getting ridiculous at this point. In Avengers, you have to pay for a $10 battle pass for EACH individual hero added post launch in order to unlock cosmetic and other items for them. It’s rumored there will be 15 or more heroes added post launch, which brings the price of the full experience up to $210. This is bad even for a live service game.
The rise of “games as a service” is quite literally affecting the quality of new games that could’ve been fire, but are ruined by corporate greed. It’s becoming increasingly hard for studios to sell their games to publishers if it’s just a one time $60 fee, since the publishers see the insane amount of money they make from the live service format. The only way to stop it is to not buy these trash games. Supporting Marvel’s Avengers will only make this practice worse.
Talking about the actual gameplay, this felty very much like a cookie cutter cash grab, with very little original gameplay to offer. The graphics looks like they’re from the Xbox 360 era. The fact that they made this a looter shooter baffles me. A big budget, single player/co-op Avengers game could’ve been so fire, but this just feels really shallow and incredibly undercooked. It's sad too because this has an incredible lineup of actors (Laura Bailey, Troy Baker, Nolan North, Travis Willingham). It's a shame to see the wasted potential.
Holy shit this game is amazing. Far and away the best game in the Uncharted series. It takes everything I love about Uncharted and executes it perfectly. The set pieces are bigger and more beautiful than ever. The action is more fluid, intense, and over the top. The platforming is more refined. The levels are a lot more open, which plays well into the whole “globe-trotting adventurer/explorer” idea. It’s just all around an incredible experience to play.
The graphics in this game are amazing as well. It’s easily one of the best looking games I’ve ever played. It honestly looks better than The Last of Us 2. It might not have quite the same graphical fidelity, but the brighter lighting and more vivid color palette are much more of a treat on the eyes. It still looks better than most other games out today, even four years after release. The gunplay is amazing as well. The bullets have a thick and crisp thud to them that feels incredibly satisfying. In the first three games, the gunplay did its job well enough to get you along, but it certainly wasn’t anything to brag about. The guns in Uncharted 4 though, feel better than most third-person shooters I’ve played. There’s just this satisfying smoothness to the weapons that’s hard to perfectly explain. It’s so good that I’m actually compelled to play the multiplayer.
Uncharted 4 has the best story in the series by far. It takes the more mature themes they were going for in the third game and runs with it. This story is significantly longer than the previous games, with far more depth to both its characters and themes. It experiments even further with the narrative structure, using circular narrative, well-timed flashbacks, etc., to keep the plot more engaging than if it were perfectly linear. This is a much more human take on Uncharted. There’s significantly more dialogue, exposition, and world-building. The reason for going after the treasure has actual weight to it other than “I heard about this treasure, sounds fun, let’s go find it because I’m an adventurer”. It plays off your nostalgia well. The whole game has a very nostalgic feel to it, with Nate and Co. reminiscing about past adventures, and questioning whether this one was worth dusting off the holster for. One thing this game does an incredible job of story-wise as well is making you feel exactly what Nate is feeling. When you’re in the wild car chase/shootout in King’s Bay, I felt that same insane rush that Nate was experiencing, and when he walked into his house afterward and saw Elena standing there, my heart dropped and I had to pause the game to freak out for a second, which again is exactly what Nate felt in that moment.
Something I’ve always loved about Naughty Dog games is how well they incorporate the narrative into the gameplay. The gameplay doesn’t just serve as a means to get to the next story element. The story is delicately woven throughout the world in a way that is genuine and infectious. It totally absorbs the player. The gameplay makes you feel the emotions of Nathan Drake just as much as the cutscenes do. There are so many little moments within the gameplay that caught me by surprise and made the story that much more believable. At one point closer to the end of the game, when the tension between Nate and Elena has been mostly mended, I was in an intense shootout with some Shoreline mercenaries. One of them had me by the neck, Elena showed up, I punched him in the gut, wrapped my arms around Elena to pick her up, and she kicked him in the face with both feet, killing him. They then had a small exchange, with Nate yelling “Hey good timing!” It was such a tiny detail that happened so fast, but it was so pure and cute that it was memorable. There were also many moments of small, sarcastic banter between Nate and Elena while climbing and exploring that made their dynamic so much more authentic, all within gameplay. This isn’t something I see often in games, and it’s the main reason I love Naughty Dog games so much.
After playing through all of the Uncharted games straight through, I’ve fully realized how much I prefer these shorter, more concise narrative games with little to no fluff, over a 40+ hour-long game of filler garbage. These types of games are often the ones people bring up when discussing games as an art form. A short and sweet, meticulously crafted and presented story-based game of this caliber comes out less often than I’d like. This is the reason I f*cking love Naughty Dog. They continue to put out thrilling masterpieces that prove how great video games are as a medium of storytelling. This is an experience we get maybe a couple of times per generation.
We need to appreciate the ones we get.
The graphics in this game are amazing as well. It’s easily one of the best looking games I’ve ever played. It honestly looks better than The Last of Us 2. It might not have quite the same graphical fidelity, but the brighter lighting and more vivid color palette are much more of a treat on the eyes. It still looks better than most other games out today, even four years after release. The gunplay is amazing as well. The bullets have a thick and crisp thud to them that feels incredibly satisfying. In the first three games, the gunplay did its job well enough to get you along, but it certainly wasn’t anything to brag about. The guns in Uncharted 4 though, feel better than most third-person shooters I’ve played. There’s just this satisfying smoothness to the weapons that’s hard to perfectly explain. It’s so good that I’m actually compelled to play the multiplayer.
Uncharted 4 has the best story in the series by far. It takes the more mature themes they were going for in the third game and runs with it. This story is significantly longer than the previous games, with far more depth to both its characters and themes. It experiments even further with the narrative structure, using circular narrative, well-timed flashbacks, etc., to keep the plot more engaging than if it were perfectly linear. This is a much more human take on Uncharted. There’s significantly more dialogue, exposition, and world-building. The reason for going after the treasure has actual weight to it other than “I heard about this treasure, sounds fun, let’s go find it because I’m an adventurer”. It plays off your nostalgia well. The whole game has a very nostalgic feel to it, with Nate and Co. reminiscing about past adventures, and questioning whether this one was worth dusting off the holster for. One thing this game does an incredible job of story-wise as well is making you feel exactly what Nate is feeling. When you’re in the wild car chase/shootout in King’s Bay, I felt that same insane rush that Nate was experiencing, and when he walked into his house afterward and saw Elena standing there, my heart dropped and I had to pause the game to freak out for a second, which again is exactly what Nate felt in that moment.
Something I’ve always loved about Naughty Dog games is how well they incorporate the narrative into the gameplay. The gameplay doesn’t just serve as a means to get to the next story element. The story is delicately woven throughout the world in a way that is genuine and infectious. It totally absorbs the player. The gameplay makes you feel the emotions of Nathan Drake just as much as the cutscenes do. There are so many little moments within the gameplay that caught me by surprise and made the story that much more believable. At one point closer to the end of the game, when the tension between Nate and Elena has been mostly mended, I was in an intense shootout with some Shoreline mercenaries. One of them had me by the neck, Elena showed up, I punched him in the gut, wrapped my arms around Elena to pick her up, and she kicked him in the face with both feet, killing him. They then had a small exchange, with Nate yelling “Hey good timing!” It was such a tiny detail that happened so fast, but it was so pure and cute that it was memorable. There were also many moments of small, sarcastic banter between Nate and Elena while climbing and exploring that made their dynamic so much more authentic, all within gameplay. This isn’t something I see often in games, and it’s the main reason I love Naughty Dog games so much.
After playing through all of the Uncharted games straight through, I’ve fully realized how much I prefer these shorter, more concise narrative games with little to no fluff, over a 40+ hour-long game of filler garbage. These types of games are often the ones people bring up when discussing games as an art form. A short and sweet, meticulously crafted and presented story-based game of this caliber comes out less often than I’d like. This is the reason I f*cking love Naughty Dog. They continue to put out thrilling masterpieces that prove how great video games are as a medium of storytelling. This is an experience we get maybe a couple of times per generation.
We need to appreciate the ones we get.
2018
I had to google how to find a race in this game. This is a racing game. That’s like needing to google how to find a match in COD. Once I figured it out it wasn’t anything crazy special. The races all felt the same and weren't very exciting, the driving feels like GTA V, and the graphics aren’t very good. At least you can skip the cutscenes.
GodDAMN these games slap. I’m fairly certain I like this more than Uncharted 2. The story in Drake's Deception is far better than the first two games, it's not even close. This introduces far more depth to each character, and heavily questions the motive of Drake's relentless pursuit of treasure (sounds like another more recent Naughty Dog game, I can't remember the name though lol). The writing does feel a little bit retconny at times since there’s depth here that wasn’t really there much before, but it’s a worthy trade off. The story arc is basically the same as the past two games, but I think it works best here.
Drake’s Deception isn’t quite as consistently over the top as Among Thieves, but the superior writing in the former makes up for it. The first third to half of this is definitely slower when comparing it to Among Thieves, but the second half picks up big time, and it’s super badass.
Now on to Uncharted 4, which I’m super excited about. From everything I’ve heard about it I think it’s gonna blow me away.
Drake’s Deception isn’t quite as consistently over the top as Among Thieves, but the superior writing in the former makes up for it. The first third to half of this is definitely slower when comparing it to Among Thieves, but the second half picks up big time, and it’s super badass.
Now on to Uncharted 4, which I’m super excited about. From everything I’ve heard about it I think it’s gonna blow me away.
2009
This game feels like shit to play and is pretty racist. Definitely my least favorite RE I've played.
This review contains spoilers
This was a pretty solid adventure for fans of the Uncharted series, but not much more than that. It doesn’t do anything very original or interesting. It has the small open world section which they ended up incorporating into The Last of Us Part II as well, but it didn’t feel very compelling here, and the reward for exploring most of it is a bracelet that pulses near treasure, a collectible that’s been pretty meaningless in all of the Uncharted games. The lost city in Lost Legacy is beautiful, I’ll give them that. This features the same stellar level of quality in graphics and environments as Uncharted 4, although since Lost Legacy is based mostly in one area, the set pieces are far less varied. This can be forgiven since it’s a standalone DLC, not meant to be a globe-trotting adventure like the mainline games. Lost Legacy is longer than all three original Uncharted games respectively, but feels far shorter, since not much happens. This game felt really weird to play immediately after A Thief’s End. It felt reminiscent of fan fiction, and felt like it shouldn’t really exist. A Thief’s End tied up the Uncharted universe nicely, and tapping into this world again felt wrong. The game culminates in a combination of the train sequence from Uncharted 2, and the car chase sequence from Uncharted 4, but it isn’t nearly as interesting as either of those things. I felt like I’d played it before.
I feel like DLC for a single player game needs to expand upon the story of the base game in a meaningful way that feels like a necessary addition. The Last of Us: Left Behind is a great example of this. It filled in a gap in the original game’s story as well as providing meaningful background info on Ellie’s character, which gives the base game even more depth. Lost Legacy just felt like another lost city treasure hunt that very conveniently unites side characters from past games for a nostalgia trip. It didn’t feel to me like it had much purpose other than that. I feel like they should’ve just let Uncharted 4 be the end, and move on to something else.
I’m legitimately sad that this series is over. Playing the Uncharted games all in a row for the first time is my favorite gaming experience of the past couple years. I loved these games way more than I thought I would, and they’ll always have a special place in my heart.
I feel like DLC for a single player game needs to expand upon the story of the base game in a meaningful way that feels like a necessary addition. The Last of Us: Left Behind is a great example of this. It filled in a gap in the original game’s story as well as providing meaningful background info on Ellie’s character, which gives the base game even more depth. Lost Legacy just felt like another lost city treasure hunt that very conveniently unites side characters from past games for a nostalgia trip. It didn’t feel to me like it had much purpose other than that. I feel like they should’ve just let Uncharted 4 be the end, and move on to something else.
I’m legitimately sad that this series is over. Playing the Uncharted games all in a row for the first time is my favorite gaming experience of the past couple years. I loved these games way more than I thought I would, and they’ll always have a special place in my heart.
2021
Been playing this off-and-on for a few months now. It's a super solid racing game that's fun to just turn on for 30-45 minutes at a time and vibe to some music and drive.
I bought this because I had an itch for a good Mario game and just wanted to relax and have pure, nostalgic fun. That’s exactly what I got! This (and all Mario games) was such a cozy game and just really comforted me in a really trash time in my life. Bowser’s Fury was a great bonus too that takes every mechanic you’ve learned in the main game and throws them all together into one giant playground (because of this I highly recommend you play it after the main game). This is one of my favorite Mario games, definitely well worth the money.
2012
I wish co-op campaign games were more prevalent in 2020. It doesn't seem like there are too many new ones that are good, and I want more experiences like this. I absolutely loved this game's pointless story, the ridiculous camera that never stops shaking and zooming, characters yelling names overly dramatically, etc. I want this more over-the-top-action Resident Evil to make a comeback. Fuck all that serious shit.
I’m not sure what to say about this other than that it’s just a solid COD game. It has some annoying things like not being the same engine as Modern Warfare and for some reason not including save-able blueprints, but I still grinded this for multiple in-game days as usual. If COD continues to keep up the quality from this and the last game, I’m excited for the future of the series (not that I’ll stop buying them if they become trash. COD has my wallet in an iron grip at this point).
2020
UPDATE: Not really sure what prompted me exactly, but I picked this game back up around two months ago (after putting it down in January) and finally beat it recently. I think after sitting on it for a while, I was able to view the game for what it was and not what I expected it to be, and I ended up enjoying it a lot more! They did also fix pretty much all the bugs I’d encountered on release, and it was a much smoother and cleaner experience. I still agree with pretty much everything I said in my first journal entry (below), but with progressing further into the game I learned to deal with the combat and really enjoy the story. The main missions still didn’t really thrill me, but the side missions were great. I loved the cast of side characters, especially Judy and Panam (my Boo). This game is still fundamentally flawed in ways, but there’s something really charming about the story and world that pull me in. I ended up really enjoying my time with this game and I’m glad I finished it. I’ll be playing any DLC that comes out for this as well.
Old Review:
I think Cyberpunk 2077 could have been a fantastic open world RPG with one of the most interesting worlds and stories of any game in the genre. Sadly, they underdeliver on most aspects of the game, and deliver something that feels lost in its own expectations.
Even comparing it to other open world RPG’s, it’s not very good. The map is super bloated, with so many icons of things to do it’s overwhelming. There’s not much customization, with the only thing you’re able to change being clothes which are tied to armor points, taking away the only incentive of customization in the game. As of my 20 or so hours so far, the first big mission where you break into Arasaka tower was pretty cool, and every other mission has been fine. They’re pretty generic and nothing special nor bad. There’s some cool side quests like the ones where you reclaim rogue taxi’s, but even those get repetitive and boring after a couple of them.
The FPS mechanics feel clunky and not at all responsive or satisfying to play. Combat always felt like a chore in this game, even after I turned off the default settings of gradual camera turning (which was dumb to have implemented in the first place). They’ve been talking about adding a multiplayer and that honestly sounds horrible. Having competitive modes based on this combat system sounds like the opposite of fun.
The other day I walked around the heart of downtown in this game for 5 or so minutes actively looking for anything to do. I didn’t find a single thing. There wasn’t one bar, club, shop, or anything of the sort that I could actually walk into and interact with. There were a couple of shootouts in the street which seems to be one of the only dynamic events in the game. I saw a really cool neon rainbow tunnel and thought “oh wow that’s cool I want to go check that out”. Turns out it was a train station that you can’t even enter, it was just a fast travel point, and this entire structure was just for looks. This all leads into my biggest problem with the game.
The world, for how detailed, dense, and vertical it is, feels remarkably empty and without soul. I rarely felt the feeling of “oh wow that looks so cool I want to go over there and check that out” that I should feel in an open world game, since I knew it was just for looks and I probably wouldn’t be able to do so. The immersion was also broken so often by stupid AI or bugs. There’s so many beautiful, tall buildings in this game, yet there’s no way to actually utilize them. You see flying cars all the time in the sky, yet you can’t drive any of them. How cool would it be to be able to drive around on the street and have the world that’s going on down there, and also drive around in the sky and see the world from a totally different perspective up there? Like if there were a bar near the top of a tower, and there was a hangar in the side of the building to park in and go inside?That’d be so cool! They tease you with how cool flying cars are by showing you them in the main missions (even in one of the first missions in the game) but never give you access. Huge missed opportunity there.
The story as well is fine, but doesn’t seem to really do anything super special. It doesn’t take full advantage of the cyberpunk genre and all the complex themes there are to explore there.
This game makes me sad, because I see so much potential in it. It could’ve been a 4 or maybe even a 5 star game for me, but there are so many areas throughout the game where they under-deliver what clearly could have been significantly more fleshed out mechanics and concepts. I hope that maybe a Cyberpunk 2 (if they ever decide to return to this IP) can expand on the good ideas that are already here, and make a game that lives up to the hype that this one had. I’m shelving this after 20 or so hours because I’m bored and disappointed, but I plan to return in a month or so and beat it. Maybe with the upcoming updates and finishing the full game my review could go up to 3 stars.
Old Review:
I think Cyberpunk 2077 could have been a fantastic open world RPG with one of the most interesting worlds and stories of any game in the genre. Sadly, they underdeliver on most aspects of the game, and deliver something that feels lost in its own expectations.
Even comparing it to other open world RPG’s, it’s not very good. The map is super bloated, with so many icons of things to do it’s overwhelming. There’s not much customization, with the only thing you’re able to change being clothes which are tied to armor points, taking away the only incentive of customization in the game. As of my 20 or so hours so far, the first big mission where you break into Arasaka tower was pretty cool, and every other mission has been fine. They’re pretty generic and nothing special nor bad. There’s some cool side quests like the ones where you reclaim rogue taxi’s, but even those get repetitive and boring after a couple of them.
The FPS mechanics feel clunky and not at all responsive or satisfying to play. Combat always felt like a chore in this game, even after I turned off the default settings of gradual camera turning (which was dumb to have implemented in the first place). They’ve been talking about adding a multiplayer and that honestly sounds horrible. Having competitive modes based on this combat system sounds like the opposite of fun.
The other day I walked around the heart of downtown in this game for 5 or so minutes actively looking for anything to do. I didn’t find a single thing. There wasn’t one bar, club, shop, or anything of the sort that I could actually walk into and interact with. There were a couple of shootouts in the street which seems to be one of the only dynamic events in the game. I saw a really cool neon rainbow tunnel and thought “oh wow that’s cool I want to go check that out”. Turns out it was a train station that you can’t even enter, it was just a fast travel point, and this entire structure was just for looks. This all leads into my biggest problem with the game.
The world, for how detailed, dense, and vertical it is, feels remarkably empty and without soul. I rarely felt the feeling of “oh wow that looks so cool I want to go over there and check that out” that I should feel in an open world game, since I knew it was just for looks and I probably wouldn’t be able to do so. The immersion was also broken so often by stupid AI or bugs. There’s so many beautiful, tall buildings in this game, yet there’s no way to actually utilize them. You see flying cars all the time in the sky, yet you can’t drive any of them. How cool would it be to be able to drive around on the street and have the world that’s going on down there, and also drive around in the sky and see the world from a totally different perspective up there? Like if there were a bar near the top of a tower, and there was a hangar in the side of the building to park in and go inside?That’d be so cool! They tease you with how cool flying cars are by showing you them in the main missions (even in one of the first missions in the game) but never give you access. Huge missed opportunity there.
The story as well is fine, but doesn’t seem to really do anything super special. It doesn’t take full advantage of the cyberpunk genre and all the complex themes there are to explore there.
This game makes me sad, because I see so much potential in it. It could’ve been a 4 or maybe even a 5 star game for me, but there are so many areas throughout the game where they under-deliver what clearly could have been significantly more fleshed out mechanics and concepts. I hope that maybe a Cyberpunk 2 (if they ever decide to return to this IP) can expand on the good ideas that are already here, and make a game that lives up to the hype that this one had. I’m shelving this after 20 or so hours because I’m bored and disappointed, but I plan to return in a month or so and beat it. Maybe with the upcoming updates and finishing the full game my review could go up to 3 stars.
2005
One of my favorite games as a kid before I was even into games. I remember playing this with one of my friends in elementary school using our home phones as voice chat. I still hop on this game and mess around once in a while and have fun. Fuck Disney for shutting this down, but shoutout to the people who remade it.
2018
This is a very solid racing game, and has made me want to play more from the genre. The driving felt very nice (as a racing game should) and it was great to just listen to some music and drive around. A nice relaxing stress reliever.
I see why this game is so renowned. It really is an amazing sequel that's better than the first game in pretty much every way. Drake's Fortune had a lot of great ideas, but none of them felt like they achieved their fullest potential. Naughty Dog succeeded in Among Thieves. The set pieces in this are way more grand and beautiful, taking you to a diverse group of locations. I found myself saying “damn this looks amazing” often. The gameplay is more refined and the story/writing is better as well. It feels like a 6-7 hour over the top action movie.
I wanted to give this 5 stars but it is sadly bogged down by some annoyingly tedious parts that ruin the momentum of the action. Most of the platforming is fun, but it can sometimes feel like a chore, especially after a cheap death forcing you to redo long portions of it. The combat as well sometimes felt like it went on too long, and had some weird difficulty spikes. This game is supposed to feel like an over the top action movie, and when it does feel like that it’s badass. Too many times though I felt like the momentum was ruined and I was taken out of the illusion a bit. Honestly playing this game on easy difficulty would probably be better since never dying would make this a crazy on the rails experience that doesn’t let up. It’s still really great though and I’d definitely recommend playing it if you haven’t yet. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series.
I wanted to give this 5 stars but it is sadly bogged down by some annoyingly tedious parts that ruin the momentum of the action. Most of the platforming is fun, but it can sometimes feel like a chore, especially after a cheap death forcing you to redo long portions of it. The combat as well sometimes felt like it went on too long, and had some weird difficulty spikes. This game is supposed to feel like an over the top action movie, and when it does feel like that it’s badass. Too many times though I felt like the momentum was ruined and I was taken out of the illusion a bit. Honestly playing this game on easy difficulty would probably be better since never dying would make this a crazy on the rails experience that doesn’t let up. It’s still really great though and I’d definitely recommend playing it if you haven’t yet. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series.
2020
This game caught me by surprise. It wasn’t on my radar until about two months before release when I saw the big gameplay reveal which impressed me and got me pretty excited. I was glad to have a new open world game to sink my teeth into, since it’s been a while since we’ve had a good new one, and I needed something to entertain myself for the rest of quarantine after TLOU2. And man, this did a good job of keeping me hooked.
This is some of the most engrossed I’ve been in a game’s open world ever, up there with Red Dead 2 and The Witcher 3. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The lighting, colors, variety of environments, everything. This is one of the prettiest games I’ve ever played. It pays heavy homage to the works of Kurosawa and the Lone Wolf and Cub series, and it channels what makes those works so beloved into the video game medium brilliantly.
There’s tons to explore in this world, and the game does a great job of instilling a sense of exploration and wonder in the player. There’s very minimal HUD, with no mini map or arrows pointing you in the right direction. The game instead favors a system called “the guiding wind”. Whenever you swipe up on the touchpad, wisps of wind and particles will glide by in the direction you need to go. This mechanic seems gimmicky at first, but you adjust quickly, and now I can’t imagine an open world game without it. I feel like this mechanic (or something similar to it) should be a new standard in open world games. Being able to confidently ride around the world with no HUD and never feel lost is an awesome feeling. It allows you to focus all your attention on the world around you instead of a mini map. As you traverse the environment you’ll also stumble across foxes and birds that will lead you to points of interest. These mechanics help not only make the world feel alive, but make you feel like you’re a part of it. I spent countless hours riding around the open world looking for secrets, and constantly being blown away by its beauty. GOT rewards much of your exploration with either cosmetics or charms to give you different abilities. Constantly hunting the best drip was something that really kept me going. Almost all the outfits are drippy as hell, and they give you different abilities incentivizing you to constantly switch things up depending on the scenario.
The combat in GOT is super satisfying. It’s kind of a blend of Assassin’s Creed and The Witcher, with the stances of Nioh or For Honor. Slaughtering hoards of enemies feels so nice, and combining different special weapons and moves you accumulate throughout the game feels awesome. This game does an impressive job of making you feel like a badass. The amount of times I said “oh SHIT let’s fucking GO” in this game is astounding. The stealth is overall on the easier side, and the AI can sometimes be kind of stupid, but the it still feels very smooth and immerses you in the idea that you’re “The Ghost”.
The story of Ghost of Tsushima surprised me as well. I bought this game more for the gameplay and world, not caring as much about the story, but it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the game. It’s funny that it came out around The Last of us Part II, since it has many similar themes of revenge and forgiveness, and is riddled with grey morality. The side quests were just as interesting and essential as the main quests, and I enjoyed them all.
Ghost of Tsushima is the first game I’ve ever platinumed on PS4. Rarely do my completionism tendencies come out, but something about this world just made me want to explore every nook and cranny. This and TLOU2 back to back was the most fun I’ve had gaming in a long time.
This is some of the most engrossed I’ve been in a game’s open world ever, up there with Red Dead 2 and The Witcher 3. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The lighting, colors, variety of environments, everything. This is one of the prettiest games I’ve ever played. It pays heavy homage to the works of Kurosawa and the Lone Wolf and Cub series, and it channels what makes those works so beloved into the video game medium brilliantly.
There’s tons to explore in this world, and the game does a great job of instilling a sense of exploration and wonder in the player. There’s very minimal HUD, with no mini map or arrows pointing you in the right direction. The game instead favors a system called “the guiding wind”. Whenever you swipe up on the touchpad, wisps of wind and particles will glide by in the direction you need to go. This mechanic seems gimmicky at first, but you adjust quickly, and now I can’t imagine an open world game without it. I feel like this mechanic (or something similar to it) should be a new standard in open world games. Being able to confidently ride around the world with no HUD and never feel lost is an awesome feeling. It allows you to focus all your attention on the world around you instead of a mini map. As you traverse the environment you’ll also stumble across foxes and birds that will lead you to points of interest. These mechanics help not only make the world feel alive, but make you feel like you’re a part of it. I spent countless hours riding around the open world looking for secrets, and constantly being blown away by its beauty. GOT rewards much of your exploration with either cosmetics or charms to give you different abilities. Constantly hunting the best drip was something that really kept me going. Almost all the outfits are drippy as hell, and they give you different abilities incentivizing you to constantly switch things up depending on the scenario.
The combat in GOT is super satisfying. It’s kind of a blend of Assassin’s Creed and The Witcher, with the stances of Nioh or For Honor. Slaughtering hoards of enemies feels so nice, and combining different special weapons and moves you accumulate throughout the game feels awesome. This game does an impressive job of making you feel like a badass. The amount of times I said “oh SHIT let’s fucking GO” in this game is astounding. The stealth is overall on the easier side, and the AI can sometimes be kind of stupid, but the it still feels very smooth and immerses you in the idea that you’re “The Ghost”.
The story of Ghost of Tsushima surprised me as well. I bought this game more for the gameplay and world, not caring as much about the story, but it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the game. It’s funny that it came out around The Last of us Part II, since it has many similar themes of revenge and forgiveness, and is riddled with grey morality. The side quests were just as interesting and essential as the main quests, and I enjoyed them all.
Ghost of Tsushima is the first game I’ve ever platinumed on PS4. Rarely do my completionism tendencies come out, but something about this world just made me want to explore every nook and cranny. This and TLOU2 back to back was the most fun I’ve had gaming in a long time.