MikeSzoke
Take every cringey jrpg trope ever invented, and put it onto one game. With awful voice acting, quest design, etc.
A vast improvement over Resident Evil 7. Tight gameplay, excellent level design, and unmatched atmosphere. It all comes together to create a unique survival horror experience. Resident Evil Village is handily one of the greatest entries in the series. Core gameplay is smooth, fast, but deadly. Boss fights are fun, challenging and full of classic RE craziness. Weapon variety is wonderful, crafting, hunting, etc all come together to craft a masterclass in survival mechanics. Truly floored by how wonderful this game is.
2003
Calling Mega Man X7 boring would be an understatement. The transition to 3D ultimately caused it to lose almost everything that would identify a Mega Man game. The precision of movements, level design, and enemy placements are gone. Replaced by vast levels, slow movements, simple platforming, and generally disappointing level design. There is little to no redemption for this title.
Another good entry into the Pokemon franchise. Not quite managing to push past the other best mainline titles. For me, I've yet to play a Pokemon game that's better than a 7/10. They're good turn based RPGs, lacking in depth and polish, but overpowering in charm and playability.
2013
Genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this title. After hearing nothing but hate for it for years now, I was expecting the worst.
Instead, I found a perfectly serviceable Roman game. The combat was enjoyable, despite a lack of depth and poor boss design. The story was entertaining, and the narrative flip was done very well. Not to mention the game is gorgeous, especially for a title from 2013.
Instead, I found a perfectly serviceable Roman game. The combat was enjoyable, despite a lack of depth and poor boss design. The story was entertaining, and the narrative flip was done very well. Not to mention the game is gorgeous, especially for a title from 2013.
2019
A severely overhated open world action title. While it's thin narrative and archaic open world design have a lot of problems, I couldn't help but have an absolute blast with the gameplay throughout the title. It was non-stop over the top action thrills. Lot's of fun weapons to use, cool gadgets to help turn the tide of combat, and a lot of fun traversal options.
2020
I was unsure how the roguelike mechanics would pan out when combined with the turn based combat, but they truly work together wonderfully. The multiple endings allow for the roguelike mechanics to feel natural, as well as helping keep the game fresh for every playthrough.
The writing and art are perfect. The Junji Ito inspiration does not attempt to hide itself, which is a great thing. World of Horror is a love letter to the amazing works of Junji Ito.
Mechanically the game has a lot more depth than I was expecting. Constantly having to keep an eye on and manage your Stamina, Reason, and Doom levels made every encounter feel intense. The extra functions every location added a lot of layers to the world building and general exploration of the game. Finding allies, investigating old books, learning spells, stocking up on supplies, finding out rumors. It all comes together to form a truly spectacular format.
My only problem with the game, is how short it was. Fortunately, there are more endings for me to try and find
The writing and art are perfect. The Junji Ito inspiration does not attempt to hide itself, which is a great thing. World of Horror is a love letter to the amazing works of Junji Ito.
Mechanically the game has a lot more depth than I was expecting. Constantly having to keep an eye on and manage your Stamina, Reason, and Doom levels made every encounter feel intense. The extra functions every location added a lot of layers to the world building and general exploration of the game. Finding allies, investigating old books, learning spells, stocking up on supplies, finding out rumors. It all comes together to form a truly spectacular format.
My only problem with the game, is how short it was. Fortunately, there are more endings for me to try and find
2010
This review contains spoilers
Dark Void is a cut and dry 3rd person shooter. Lacking in weapon and enemy variety, with a cookie cutter aliens on Earth plot. The combat is mechanically bare, half the weapons aren't worth looking at. The only saving grace is that the jetpack sections can be kind of cool, when the pacing of them isn't horrible at least.
Don't even get me started on the story itself. I mentioned it briefly already, but it really is just a generic alien story. The plot is very reminiscent of say Crysis, but not even in the same league of quality. They also force an unnecessary romance plot between the two main characters. Of which you randomly find out are exes.
In many ways this game is just mediocre. But it makes a few design errors that particularly bothered me. Such as the entire screen flashing bright red every single time you take damage. Not only does this obscure your view completely, but since it does it individually for every bullet your take, the game turns into a Seizure Machine. Just absolutely horrendous design.
Don't even get me started on the story itself. I mentioned it briefly already, but it really is just a generic alien story. The plot is very reminiscent of say Crysis, but not even in the same league of quality. They also force an unnecessary romance plot between the two main characters. Of which you randomly find out are exes.
In many ways this game is just mediocre. But it makes a few design errors that particularly bothered me. Such as the entire screen flashing bright red every single time you take damage. Not only does this obscure your view completely, but since it does it individually for every bullet your take, the game turns into a Seizure Machine. Just absolutely horrendous design.
2016
One of the best first person action games I've ever played. It offers a riveting combat system that fuses classic hack n slash style with bullet hell mechanics seamlessly. A truly addictive combat system that'd depth is furthered by a plethora of weapons to choose from, accompanied by hundreds of unique upgrades that can be applied to them, and of course many physical abilities as well. Shadow Warrior 2 truly allows you to shape the game to your playstyle.
The level design advances that philosophy as well. The open level design in each level provides you with nearly limitless possibilities. Even the side missions are just as fulfilling as the main story. Full of great bosses, plot lines, and tons of unique weapons to gain as rewards.
The weakest part of Shadow Warrior 2 is the writing. It is not the deepest puddle in the parking lot, but it's serviceable, full of twists, and has a great sense of humor to go along with it. Pacing is the primary issue it falls victim of. It jumps back in forth from progressing the plot at the pace of a snail, to the speed of a cheetah.
Ultimately Shadow Warrior 2 is evidence that the indie and small budget game scene is not one to underestimate. I would argue that the combat system utilized is better than the vast majority of modern western AAA gaming.
The level design advances that philosophy as well. The open level design in each level provides you with nearly limitless possibilities. Even the side missions are just as fulfilling as the main story. Full of great bosses, plot lines, and tons of unique weapons to gain as rewards.
The weakest part of Shadow Warrior 2 is the writing. It is not the deepest puddle in the parking lot, but it's serviceable, full of twists, and has a great sense of humor to go along with it. Pacing is the primary issue it falls victim of. It jumps back in forth from progressing the plot at the pace of a snail, to the speed of a cheetah.
Ultimately Shadow Warrior 2 is evidence that the indie and small budget game scene is not one to underestimate. I would argue that the combat system utilized is better than the vast majority of modern western AAA gaming.
If the quest design wasn't so horrible, this would likely be a lot higher
A nearly flawless isometric RPG. The slow, intricate gameplay may turn away most, but those who endure will experience one of the best Detective stories, and games ever created.
Disco Elysium is a love letter to table top RPGs, perfectly adapting the mechanics into a digitized form, while painting a sprawling single player campaign. The story, characters, and thematics are masterful in execution and design.
Disco Elysium has become a quick favorite of mine. The world is so fascinating, the struggles of the cast so enduring. The themes it explores are in direct contrast to the lives of most people, which makes them feel even more hauntingly genuine.
Disco Elysium is a love letter to table top RPGs, perfectly adapting the mechanics into a digitized form, while painting a sprawling single player campaign. The story, characters, and thematics are masterful in execution and design.
Disco Elysium has become a quick favorite of mine. The world is so fascinating, the struggles of the cast so enduring. The themes it explores are in direct contrast to the lives of most people, which makes them feel even more hauntingly genuine.
2018
A simple puzzle game that accomplished everything it set out to do. Which wasn't much. Unfortunately, that leaves the game as a rather forgettable experience. Never leaving a strong impression with any part of it.
Only finished ME1 so I'll update after each game.
Mass Effect 1: It feels vastly improved over the original version in a few areas, namely combat based ones. But it doesn't do enough to fix the issues of the game. Navigation can still be a pain if you aren't familiar with the game, the Mako sections of missions are horribly designed. Just linear paths that place 2-4 Geth Troopers in your path (that take half a second to kill each).
I do however realize that stellar level design is not why people are drawn to ME1, it's the establishment of the cast and the lore that's introduced. Both of which are actually stellar. The set plot is rather one note, but it's establishing the basis of the space epic so it gets a slight pass. As it does a great job of setting up the rest of the installments. I do appreciate how much your decisions matter, and that you face consequences depending on what you choose.
Most aspects of the game still lack depth. A fairly simple weapon/armor/skill system that is rarely required to actually advance. Very small enemy variety can lead to some boredom, etc. But overall, still a good game. Not great, not bad, just good.
☆☆☆
Mass Effect 1: It feels vastly improved over the original version in a few areas, namely combat based ones. But it doesn't do enough to fix the issues of the game. Navigation can still be a pain if you aren't familiar with the game, the Mako sections of missions are horribly designed. Just linear paths that place 2-4 Geth Troopers in your path (that take half a second to kill each).
I do however realize that stellar level design is not why people are drawn to ME1, it's the establishment of the cast and the lore that's introduced. Both of which are actually stellar. The set plot is rather one note, but it's establishing the basis of the space epic so it gets a slight pass. As it does a great job of setting up the rest of the installments. I do appreciate how much your decisions matter, and that you face consequences depending on what you choose.
Most aspects of the game still lack depth. A fairly simple weapon/armor/skill system that is rarely required to actually advance. Very small enemy variety can lead to some boredom, etc. But overall, still a good game. Not great, not bad, just good.
☆☆☆
2021
An absolute blast to play. Love the artstyle, level design is great. Only disappointment is there's not a lot to it. Only a handful of levels, took me maybe 30 minutes to beat. Would love to see more of it in the future
A really well made jrpg, has a bit of a slow start, and the final dungeon/boss drag quite a bit. Otherwise, it's a stellar example of world building and story telling. You'll have to resist starting the next game immediately