history is a nightmare
... and loving it!!!!

A little sad this is the last one of these, but they went out on a high note. Like all the rest it's funny, charming, and actually pretty creepy when it wants to be, and it's cool to have seen in relative real time them figuring out more tricks/ways to take advantage of the medium. I find this whole series really endearing beyond all that because it just seems like a really good example of how if you feel like it, you can make a game. Just go right on ahead and make one! Who's gonna tell you no!!
Also I don't wanna spoil anything, but Virtua Fighter is mentioned in this one, and I've spent most of the past week playing VF non-stop, so it feels like it was made just for me. Which is quite nice!

An odd experience to be sure, but a welcome one.

Cyberpunk is not really a theme I am usually too interested in, but Observer's heavy dystopian take on it was honestly really cool. Being stuck in a lockdown of an apartment complex trying to solve a mystery (or a few) is a good concept, and I appreciate the freedom that is given to explore the environment. Using the bio and tech scanners along with some intuition to figure things out was a familiar but welcome concept.

Of course, the title also hints toward another way the game lets you discover things which is exploring people's minds. This is definitely an interesting component, but it leans far too heavy into the abstract for my personal tastes. It is usually not too difficult to understand the point of what is being shown, but it's surrounded by a ton of shit that is just weird for the sake of being weird. Also, you could repeat that exact same sentence replacing "weird" with "scary" because this is also a horror game I guess? I think it could have done without both of those things and stood even higher, but I still enjoyed my time.

I was really interested in playing Liberated when I saw it. Fantastic visual style and a potentially interesting dystopian story. Unfortunately for me, this was a definite dud.
First, the gameplay was a standard 2.5D action platformer with nothing to talk about, to be honest. Levels were boring, nothing that stood out, the enemies were guys with masks or law enforcement with some flying droids sprinkled in to remind you this is in the future. The game also has some light puzzle solving, but I don't remember any of them, so none stood out.
I thought the story had potential, but it was the exact opposite. It’s the cliche: the government did something terrible and covered it up, so they can put laws that spy on you. While you can make a story cliche and intriguing, this was not the case for me. The characters have no development, they have a name, a trait (not necessary though), and that’s it. The ending was a bit interesting, so, I give them credit for that. You have some choices in the first chapter on how to act, that do nothing, as far as I saw, and some QTEs that actually do have some impact (1 in the 1st chapter to be exact).
The soundtrack was unremarkable, so I can’t talk about it, since I don’t even remember it. The voice acting was so-so in my opinion, though it’s an indy game, so I can’t be mad if the voice acting isn’t phenomenal.
All in all the game had potential. The style and the narrative could have made the game fantastic, but for me, they fell flat on their ass on this one. I haven't played the DLC, so maybe that was better, but the game never made me want to play more. It’s 4 hours at most and goes frequently on sale, so if you are interested in the game, give it a shot. Maybe it will do more for you than it did for me.

Nocturnal got my attention because I saw that it was only 2-3 hours long and had a pleasant art style. Also, I do love some 2d action platformers, although I admit I am terrible at them.
Nocturnal is a good game that doesn’t overstay its welcome. The battle system is nice and has an upgrade system, that gives you just enough new moves that you can learn if you want, which gives something extra. The enemies are not tough, but they pose enough challenges that if you just try to spam attacks will get you killed quite frequently (I would say from the middle part of the game onwards, early on it’s easy).
There are also light puzzle elements that the game throws at you, but they aren’t difficult at all, especially if this is not your first action adventure. The game also has a very lenient checkpoint system, so dying or failing a jump will not lose you much progress.
The art style is neat, especially the fire animations in dark places. The world is great to look at, though you will spend most of your time inside buildings. The music is also pleasant and not memorable.
All in all, there isn’t much to discuss within Nocturnal, at least for me. It’s a 3-hour game you can play, have a fun time, and probably forget within a week. The story and characters are rather one note, the combat system has some depth plus the game has a pleasant visual style. If it’s on sale and you have a couple of hours to kill, it’s an option.

What a fucking game. I went through so many emotions with this game, and even through all the frustration and confusion it was such a good experience. It has to be said that the checkpoint system in this game is brutal and sucks ass (namely the very last one), everything else is patience and memory. For the love of god, be patient. Pushing through an area after taking your time feels so good. If you like the Souls games, you gotta play this, at least try it, and if you get stuck, just go to another area you might blast through it and it'll help you get souls/items in the meantime.

this is a review for specifically the port, i switched my save to this pc port briefly from the psp version just to try it out and this is like bafflingly bad port. not only is it all (bad) ai upscales, and they still use the low quality psp compressed audio, but also this is a game controlled with a cursor. and instead of making that cursor the mouse cursor, you know, the most obvious thing ever, they make it so you have to click and drag the cursor around with your actual mouse cursor. how on earth do you mess that up. genuinely what kind of level does the brain have to be operating at to not connect that. i mean obviously this was made with some dental floss and a piece of chewed gum but like having the mouse cursor being the cursor is like the bare minimum. come on. maybe im insane for writing all this out over such a small thing but like come on. come on. it's a cursor. its a cursor come on why did they make it like that come on, com

In both good ways and bad ways, Insomniac's first PS3 shooter is very much a PS2-era shooter. Friendly AIs don't do much, enemy AI is one-dimensional, level design is very much contained corridors and segmented small arenas, gunplay is almost entirely focused on how guns actually work instead of how they interact with the enemies, and of course, the health system. This game's direct lineage can be traced to console Medal of Honor games, especially with segmented level design with illusions of bigger events that does not do very well in masking the game's archaic designs.

Guns themselves feel good, yes, and they do feel good enough when shooting in general, but it does not feel good when actually trying to shoot enemies. It's not just the outdated zoom-in on R3 that hinders this--it's how the damage feedback on enemies work. When you shoot at enemies, there are basically three enemy responses to damage: they die, they fall to their knees and get back up right away, or they simply do not react to being hit. Most of the time, enemies take quite a few rounds to even get their health down to where they fall to their knees, and so, they simply eat your bullets and fire back. This means there really is no real clever solutions to dealing with waves of enemies other than using explosive weapons, especially when crouching behind covers often doesn't mean much and the enemy bullets still somehow damage you. The nature of gunplay, enemy design and placement all encourages you to move around while taking some inevitable damage.

However, the health system is designed in the opposite way. It has segmented health where you will regenerate a portion of health when you are out of combat for long enough, while recovering the lost portions is done through health packs. The problem is that while it looks like a good compromise between the two polar opposites on paper, it ends up highlighting the negatives of both systems. During firefights, you are supposed to move around like old shooters, but because of how health regen works, you are also forced to take cover. The game seems to be at odds with its own systems here.

AIs in general also leave a lot to be desired. There really is no depth in terms of the enemy response to your actions, as they all basically follow one-dimensional combat patterns over and over again. As for the friendly AIs, they are rarely of any use, and can't even stay alive long enough to give a false sense of scale.

Overall, it's a fun romp for what it is, but it definitely gets tiring before the end credits roll. Locking cool weapons for a second playthrough is also kinda cheap too.

Started playing this a few years back and had an absolute blast working my way through the stages, learning enemy and boss patterns until I could counter them all like the kung-fu master this game wanted me to be. And then I got obliterated, demolished, nay filtered by Sifu's final boss for dozens of runs, forcing me to do something I refuse to do for almost every game I've struggled with: give up. Sifu would've held the black mark of my defeat had it not been for a spur-of-the-moment ignition of the fire within me to pick it back up and try, try, try again.

Cleared it in a single run.

I love video games.

A girl I occasionally hook up with showed me this game while I was over at her apartment and I loved it. The core gameplay of keeping track of shell ratios and probabilities to force your opponent into a bad position is super engaging, and the addition of randomly selected items midway through truly elevates it. On a presentational level it's simply exemplary, in particular the disparity between the animations when you use an item and the animations for when your opponent uses an item do a lot to bring across the sense of surrealism and danger. I don't know what exactly the guy on the other side of the table is, but he can just drag a saw straight through a shotgun's barrel like a hot knife through butter while you've gotta actively saw it off, he can see what's in the next chamber by shattering a magnifying glass and looking through it whereas you shatter the glass and then open the chamber to take a look. Truly excellent, highly recommended.

A core test of visual processing and withstanding information overload that is built not only into Tempest's core framework of tube shooting, but also into its proto-Y2K aesthetic. The aesthetic on its own is an inconvenience for a game such as Tempest; unlike Tetris Effect, which also adds an aesthetic aiming for spectacle, the proto-Y2K aesthetic here does not act as a visual layer underlying the core model to induce a "trance" state, but is instead more explicit and overwhelms the player's visual line with a slurry of neon explosions and score announcement pop-ups. Tempest's original arcade version also dealt with information overload, but was made somewhat manageable by default given the simplistic wireframe textures and lack of non-diagetic visual elements that may have been displayed with the player's achievements. Here, visual overload cannot be avoided and can only be combatted in the moment by the matter of the player's gradually improving visual discrimination. Although the spectacle here perhaps betrays the appeal of the original Tempest's minimalism, it also creates a continual duel between the impulse to give in to spectacle and the need to ignore such "distractions" in order to identify and eliminate targets. Aesthetic, here, acts as the lure and the weapon against the player.

Effective in so much its core sensory experience rather than as a narrative on grief. The latter aspect being considered critical (as brought up in the game’s marketing and positive/negative reactions to the actual game) is strange because I do not think it registers in any method where it significantly impairs or uplifts the experience. Rather, it is something that is occasionally gestured to but never capitalized on, making it feel as if it were added last-minute to the narrative. The five stages of grief structure to the narrative, for example is not something deeply woven into each level, but only existing as a peripheral analogy alluded to with color and broken buildings. I also find it somewhat questionable to find agreement in the developers’ idea of the main character’s inability to jump or walk cleanly at the intro as a “shocking” experience that is deeply resonating in regard to depicting the character’s mental health.

I do not write this to ultimately claim that the game was not built on the theme of mourning in the first place (especially considering the sincerity found here overall). Rather, it calls into attention how much media language surrounding mental health remains limited and often vague without a deeper understanding of how to truly elaborate on individual struggles. I think trying to incorporate universality and linearity in depicting mental health in games such as this, as much as it is a noble intention in attempting to find resonance with as many players as possible, ultimately kills any potential for creating a powerful artistic product. Grief and depression as abstract ever-shifting black creatures that are “defeated” (see Sea of Solitude as another example of this) is a kind of idea attached to the broader structure of gaming: conquer the levels, defeat the boss and save the day. Even as developers attempt to not explicitly depict depression as something that is “cured” in material like this (and I believe they are sincerely attempting to make sure this does not occur), the structure of something like Gris prevents looking at mourning from a more holistic (or life-long) context and instead only does so as an immediate crisis resolved linearly. Perhaps this is something that does apply to some people who have gone through this, and it’s good if something like this relates to them. However, the limits of this structure remain clear to those whose issues cannot be treated in a manner as Gris does.

It’s especially clear seeing how limited Gris’s language is in regard to mental health in comparison to its competence as a platformer. As much as there are mechanical limits to what can be made under a structure which does not desire for frustration on behalf of the player, the limitations also feel matching to the aforementioned sensory experience. What is enriching to Gris is not so much the intended thematic ideas but rather the underlying flow of being subsumed into the watercolor environments. This flow, though, almost never really matches the game’s themes outside of key moments related to the “creature” of depression; to a degree, the lack of tension is what perhaps hollows out any intended thematic depth. The dissonance showcases the ultimate challenge of attempting to integrate aspects of mental health into gaming, a kind of challenge that I ultimately don’t have any answers to other than to consider paths besides universality.

Early access

What’s in here right now isn’t a complete game yet (to be expected with this being in Early Access) but the gameplay foundations are clearly impressive to a degree where I hope this continues to pick up attention over the coming months as it receives further updates. Klei’s advertisement describing this as requiring more than button mashing is generally accurate: although the basic combat is accessible with combos not requiring complex input sequences, the design of the dungeons, at least starting around Frenzy versions of level one/two or level three, require strategy in approaching each combat encounter. Solo spear use, as one example, can be approached as a rapid mid-range damage weapon on its own with basic combat skills but its effectiveness is truly seen if combined with strategy in actively creating spacing; a healing power works specifically well with a spear given that space found with a spear allows your character to temporarily break from combat to heal about 20 HP or higher. Armor classes are also key in creating the speed your characters move, with Agile probably having the most immediate appeal in solo play given the ability to shift between combat engagements and breathing room at a moment’s notice.

Limitations of the existing weapons and combat pathways may be more visible in a solo pathway however. There are clearly systems set up in such a way where multiple players in co-op mode take on separate combat roles ranging from short-range tanks to long-range support/healing, but taking on roles beyond the Agile class or short/medium-range combat don’t have as great an appeal in solo play, especially in regard to the Cannon given that dodging is harder to use while there are no other players to battle enemies while you reload. There are future weapons to come which can likely increase solo usability for combat systems beyond fast-paced short to mid-range combat, but playing this in Early Access in solo mode will likely lock you into a specific role with the spear or hammer (the Striker also useful, albeit tricky to learn) if you’re looking for an immediate weapon to use without much trial and error.

What remains to be seen is the true appeal of its long-term gameplay loops: the base building mechanic, as of now, doesn’t provide much for gameplay upgrades outside of more Gemstones (the game’s rare currency for armor and weapon purchased). There is a hint for bases allowing civilians, but this feature isn’t ready yet with the completion of the four bosses available now not leading to anything new for the base’s structure. You’ll mainly find repetition appeal in the Frenzy modes for upgrading passive skills and grinding for weapon + armor upgrades, but, again, there is a clear limit as to how much you can do given the (relatively) narrow pool of weapons and armor as of now. Still, the foundations of the game’s combat are elite in creating a easy to pick up, difficult to master structure that is satisfying especially with regard to Klei’s design ensuring that the statistical side of the game’s combat doesn’t visibly overpower action on screen (a task easier said than done given the max amount of enemies on screen and means of splash damage). I think even in its “skeleton” version this is immediately worth playing, and hopefully some of the limitations related to solo play and long-term loops are further addressed along the way.

This is my first Metroid game.

Samus movements are a bit clunky. First, I never became truly comfortable with the Spin Jump. I couldn't get used to the momentum of this move, and often ended up slipping off platforms.
Figuring out how to use the Wall Jump wasn't obvious at all. I had to train on a wall for a few minutes to get a good grip of it.
And worst of all, the Space Jump: Underwater, I was able to perform this move without any issue, but outside of that, I was never able to chain them consistently. The timing is just so weird and unintuitive, and that's the reason I had such a bad time in the last area, Ridley's Lair. You need to fly across rising lava as quickly as possible using this move, and that was terrible.

Also, this isn't the game's fault, but I don't vibe with the sci-fi/alien/futuristic setting... Different strokes, right?

There are some items that are fun to use. I liked being able to freeze the enemies to use them as platforms, thanks to the Ice Beam. Swinging myself around with the grapple beam was also kinda fun.

I didn't like the abundance of hidden paths. Having to stop constantly to use the X-Ray kinda ruins the pace of exploration. It's the biggest issue in the game for me.

I enjoyed the boss fights for the most part. They aren't too easy nor too hard. I do want to note that I was using save states. So whenever I died against a Boss, I could respawn in front of it and retry immediatly.
Crocomire was pretty cool, the fact that you need to push him into the lava rather than reducing his HP to 0. And the way he comes back as a skeleton to scare you one last time was neat.
Draygon was my favorite Boss in the game, and I also had a good time with Golden Torizo.

Using the Power Bomb in Maridia to break the glass tunnel was such an Eureka moment for me. I was stuck for so long, and it felt very satisfying to finally figure this out!

As I said earlier, I kind of had enough once I reached Ridley's Lair. I got stuck at the 2 Ridley's Guards.
I didn't have enough ammo to deal with them, and I was really fed up with this area, so I didn't have the courage to backtrack to gather HP & ammo. The lack of teleporters is definitely a deal-breaker.
So I stopped here and watched the rest of the game on YouTube.

Honestly, I had a good time in the first half of the game. Before I reached the last quarter of the game, I thought about giving it 3.5 stars, or even 4 stars. But it became really tedious near the end, hence my final rating.
I'm still happy I played such an iconic game, it was about time I played this series! I feel like I would have more fun with Metroid Dread tho?

----------Playtime & Completion----------

[Started on May 5th & stopped on May 7th 2024]
Playtime: 18 hours
I stopped at the 2 Ridley's Guards.

My first Castlevania game.

The movements were really responsive. Alucard isn't slippery, he doesn't gain a weird momentum as soon as he starts moving forward, or any other shenanigan. It just felt very smooth. The same can be said about the bat form.
It was such a sick ability btw, being able to fly wherever you want, dodging every enemy while backtracking. And I like the detail of the bat changing color depending on Alucard's outfit.

The soundtrack is extremely catchy. There are elements from multiple musical genres, including classical, techno, rock and metal. It fitted perfectly with the gothic aesthetics of the game. The atmosphere is just very charming.

The game has a good amount of teleporters that are well spaced between each other. I could reach any part of the map pretty quickly. It's too rare in those retro games.

While some of the Bosses were too easy, I still enjoyed them a lot overall. Many of them have a really cool chara design, like Granfaloon, Medusa, Scylla and Shaft. And honestly, I usually prefer too easy rather than too hard.
By the way, having to fight Doppelganger 30 minutes into my playthrough was a big surprise. It was probably the most difficult Boss in the entire game. Still a great Boss tho 👌

I liked the RPG aspect of the game, with the items you can drop on defeated enemies, or by finding them during your exploration. Whether it's weapons, cloaks or talismans to make Alucard stronger, or consumables to heal yourself and boost your statistics momentarily in battle. I wish we could use items without having to unequip our weapon or shield tho...

The sub-weapons I used the most were the knives for their ease of use & high damage, and also the stopwatch. I didn't use the other ones very often.

I like how there is a possibility of getting a bad ending if you rush to the top of the castle before doing the necessary to save Richter. I ruthlessly killed him even though he is a human, and immediatly realized my mistake.
Hopefully I was able to reload my save right away to get the true ending.

I remember being stuck at some point, and I found a clue while looking at the tactic for Dracula, in the Librarian's Shop. When you watch this tutorial where Richter is fighting him, you can see that he opens a secret path at the very beginning, right before the fight. So I was able to go there myself, and I found an item that helped me to progress. I just think that was a cool way to proceed.

At first, when I reached the Reverse Castle, I was excited about the idea to go through the same map but upside down.
But when I realized that many of the rooms were now filled to the brim with enemies, I decided to keep using the bat & mist to breeze through the map and reach the Final Boss a lot quicker.
This last segment in the Reverse Castle felt like padding to be honest. It wasn't as great as the rest of the game.

Still, I had a very good time with the game overall. I enjoyed it more than Super Metroid which I played right before SOTN. (I mention it because I saw that there is a heated debate between the fans of both games to decide which one is the best 😂)
Anyway, if I play another Castlevania game in the future, it's gonna be Aria of Sorrow! 👍

----------Playtime & Completion----------

[Started on May 8th & finished on May 10th 2024]
Playtime: 13 hours
I was at 88% after getting the first ending.
And at 150% after getting the true ending.

I went in with no expectations and was surprised by how much I liked In Sound Mind. With indie horror you never know what you’re going to get—an asset flip with nothing but loud noises or something with actual substance? This fell into the latter, impressively so, with a decent story involving mental illness, plus combat and puzzles, as well as a number of chapters with different environments and bosses associated with them. There was even a pesky antagonist that stalked the player throughout the entire game; I noticed him peeking around corners, or watching from a bit away. It was extremely effective.

And sometimes it’s the little details that really stand out. Each chapter had a song attached to it, and I love when music is implemented in such a way (Alan Wake 2 comes to mind).