Played in anticipation of the remake and it's just a total blast from start to finish. You can feel the trailblazing done with the over-the-shoulder third-person perspective and aiming style; wonderful transition of the series into 3D. Tank controls seem like they'd be a nuisance with the environment and movement system here but the game, enemies, and loot are designed around them beautifully.

Every single gun is both viable and fun to use, which makes longer engagements quite fun as you switch out weapons quickly through the inventory. Because of the combat pacing here, inventory switching felt almost humorous, giving the sense of actually setting a briefcase down on the battlefield to switch guns every two or so shots depending on the engagement. There are actually very few enemies that exist as bullet sponges, so Leon feels especially powerful.

The script and character writing is perfectly aware and campy fun, with the level design really shining in the village. The game slowly transforms into a straight action shooter but the team shows they still knows horror. There are even a couple moments as late as island that ramp the horror up a bit in the lab with the Regenerators.

For a 20 hour game, the pacing is mostly pretty great, only fizzling out towards the end of Island, despite Castle being relatively long. Shooting, looting, buying, and even just moving feels fun here in a way very few games achieve. Also, a shoutout to the most high-effort HD fan project I've ever seen. It was incredible playing through with it.

Balatro is fine. It has much more depth than something like Vampire Survivors, but exponentially less than something like Slay the Spire; I think overall it strikes a good balance. There's a lot of variety in the kind of decks you can build and how you influence the hands played, with most hand types being viable (straights still do not feel worth it though). After a couple of solid updates, there's also an expected and fun level of deck-building strategy you can employ with every run on all difficulties (high/gold stakes were previously re-roll RNG fests).

Once you learn the lay of the land though, most runs will easily devolve into the game-breaking dopamine rush that falls in line with the gambling aesthetic, which dampens the long-term replayability. It's most fun when you're still learning how it works, and after that, mid-run before your deck is fully fleshed out and the hand you play doesn't matter. One thing that I have zero criticisms of here is the stunning yet simple presentation; it has been tweaked and polished to premium-yet-retro perfection.

The slide really makes the series hit it's stride movement wise, and Rush is a great addition. The platforming has been tightened up from 1 & 2 and it feel MUCH more fair. The robot masters and powers are more balanced than in 2 but they're all also a quite a bit less fun and/or useful than weapons from the previous games (especially top spin, that shit sucks). Fuck though man, the Doc robot stages are super tedious, and the final boss is so lame compared to the dope flying alien from 2.

It's length is impressive in general for an NES game, and while I really enjoy it this does cause it to drag towards the latter half with the re-treading of level concepts. The level design feels a little less inspired, but is still really solid here, especially in keeping up with the fast pacing. The OST is also still jamming, specifically Proto Man's theme.

Holds up pretty well. This feels like the first real game in the franchise. It improves the controls, colors, and variety from the first while removing the (imo) arbitrary scoring system.

The new robot masters are cool and powers are all fun to use. Metal Man is dope but holy shit his ability really trivializes the whole game. In general levels are shorter, (way) easier, and ultimately less complex (and less bullshit) for better or worse. Also whoever thought of the Boobeam Trap should be locked in a basement. Legendary OST once again, especially Flash Man's stage and the normal boss theme which may be my favorite of the series.

All sides + Farewell, Strawberries, Hearts, 8 Goldens, Moon Berry, and 50 hours later, I think I'm comfortable saying I can put Celeste down. You really do become addicted to the struggle. The narrative is deceptively simple and transparent thematically, but works by owning that while complimenting the gameplay.

I never particularly connected with Madeline or the others despite having similar mental strife, but the actual act of struggling through these kaizo-tier rooms alongside mountain imagery and slowly improving until you reach the sky brings about a bond that the narrative can't achieve alone. Despite the game re-iterating that you don't need to prove your own worth, it's hard not to push yourself further out of personal pride. Mechanically, Celeste is smooth and even the advanced movement techniques always feel good to use. Farewell is a perfect end cap that took 4 hours to finish, but I did it.

I'm not usually too big on retro FPS/boomer shooters but Cultic blew me away and stands on its own amidst the comparisons to Blood. It facilitates slower, strategic play, and really encourages switching through weapons, playing to their strengths. The level design is top notch and never overstays its welcome. After warming up to the mechanics, you can continue playing slow and deliberate, or you have the freedom to go full Doom Eternal, strafing through the levels to a gorgeous soundtrack while being encouraged to flip through your diverse arsenal, accompanied by the screams of burning robed cultists left behind in your wake.

The controls are tight, and enemy targeting isn't hitscan, which encourages you to take advantage of the fluid movement baked into the game. It really is whatever you want to make of it, but it's always at the very least badass and great to look at.