Momoka
BACKER
Easily the worst expansion WoW has had to offer thus far, but nowhere near as awful as some claim.
Understandably, much of the criticism against BfA is wrapped up in the elements that make it an MMO. It launched a grindy nightmare and much of its post-launch lacks real content and mostly just exists for dailies/weeklies/world quests. Nazjatar and Mechagon both look awesome, but their questlines can be completed in an hour, yet most of the time you'll spend in either place is getting lost in their arbitrary grind. Nazjatar even went so far as to timegate the player by forcing them to complete Follower dailies in order to continue its questline. At least Mechagon just lets the player finish its questline, but even then, that place is immensely tiny and has a lot of wasted potential. Even Visions, which are admittedly quite fun, are entirely a grind. To even do a vision, you need to grind dailies/weeklies, and then within the vision itself, you're grinding for different currencies.
So yes, BfA is a grindy hellhole, especially for those who played it during its retail period. But thankfully, most of those things can be avoided for anyone who jumps in now. There's nothing to grind anymore; now you can just enjoy the content for what it is.
And as far as the actual content of BfA, it's mostly OK. The Horde questlines is the biggest offender, as those zones range anywhere from meh to OK. But all of the Alliance zones are solid and were actually a joy to explore.
Dungeons are overall OK. Some just feel redundant and unexciting, others are solid. Mechagon is a great dungeon, had an absolute blast with that one. Freehold is also lovely, but yeah, this expac probably has some of the weakest dungeons in WoW so far.
The Raids are where BfA really stands out to me. The Eternal Palace was an absolute joy, and the fight against Azshara is probably my favorite moment from this expansion by far. It's a great experience. All of the other raids are quite good too, and I really enjoyed how different they each felt visually and thematically.
The story in BfA is absolute dogshit. Besides from enjoying Jaina's questline, this writing is shockingly weak. The fourth war is a mess of poor character motives and unsatisfying conclusions. No, Blizzard, I don't believe the entirety of the Horde (and especially my character) would stand idly as Sylvanas commits genocide???
I actually quite enjoyed the Heart of Azeroth system. I can imagine it was pretty awful at launch, as grinding for it probably made it exhausting. But now, the experience to level it up is constantly being thrown at the player. I didn't have to grind at all to get it to level 80, and really enjoyed messing with all the unique abilities, passive, and armor modifiers it provided.
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Overall, BfA is a fine expansion. It clearly failed to be an exciting MMO, as all of its "never-ending" systems suck. But the dungeons are fine, the raids are really fun, and the Alliance side was quite fun to play through. Boralus is also an awesome city.
This expansion probably really sucked at launch, but it's not too bad to go back to now. And of course, the story is still awful and the post-launch content is 90% grind.
Understandably, much of the criticism against BfA is wrapped up in the elements that make it an MMO. It launched a grindy nightmare and much of its post-launch lacks real content and mostly just exists for dailies/weeklies/world quests. Nazjatar and Mechagon both look awesome, but their questlines can be completed in an hour, yet most of the time you'll spend in either place is getting lost in their arbitrary grind. Nazjatar even went so far as to timegate the player by forcing them to complete Follower dailies in order to continue its questline. At least Mechagon just lets the player finish its questline, but even then, that place is immensely tiny and has a lot of wasted potential. Even Visions, which are admittedly quite fun, are entirely a grind. To even do a vision, you need to grind dailies/weeklies, and then within the vision itself, you're grinding for different currencies.
So yes, BfA is a grindy hellhole, especially for those who played it during its retail period. But thankfully, most of those things can be avoided for anyone who jumps in now. There's nothing to grind anymore; now you can just enjoy the content for what it is.
And as far as the actual content of BfA, it's mostly OK. The Horde questlines is the biggest offender, as those zones range anywhere from meh to OK. But all of the Alliance zones are solid and were actually a joy to explore.
Dungeons are overall OK. Some just feel redundant and unexciting, others are solid. Mechagon is a great dungeon, had an absolute blast with that one. Freehold is also lovely, but yeah, this expac probably has some of the weakest dungeons in WoW so far.
The Raids are where BfA really stands out to me. The Eternal Palace was an absolute joy, and the fight against Azshara is probably my favorite moment from this expansion by far. It's a great experience. All of the other raids are quite good too, and I really enjoyed how different they each felt visually and thematically.
The story in BfA is absolute dogshit. Besides from enjoying Jaina's questline, this writing is shockingly weak. The fourth war is a mess of poor character motives and unsatisfying conclusions. No, Blizzard, I don't believe the entirety of the Horde (and especially my character) would stand idly as Sylvanas commits genocide???
I actually quite enjoyed the Heart of Azeroth system. I can imagine it was pretty awful at launch, as grinding for it probably made it exhausting. But now, the experience to level it up is constantly being thrown at the player. I didn't have to grind at all to get it to level 80, and really enjoyed messing with all the unique abilities, passive, and armor modifiers it provided.
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Overall, BfA is a fine expansion. It clearly failed to be an exciting MMO, as all of its "never-ending" systems suck. But the dungeons are fine, the raids are really fun, and the Alliance side was quite fun to play through. Boralus is also an awesome city.
This expansion probably really sucked at launch, but it's not too bad to go back to now. And of course, the story is still awful and the post-launch content is 90% grind.
Even after all these years, Looney Tunes: Back in Action retains the charismatic atmosphere that enchanted me as a child. The cutscenes are occasionally funny, each area is diverse enough to justify running around and clamoring for secrets, and the aesthetic is admittedly quite cute.
It's too bad this is a poor game. I found myself bored throughout a decent few parts, as the platforming is unexciting, the combat doesn't have much to offer, and the mini-games are bizarre (even though they're amusing conceptually). I do enjoy the exploration and there are definitely moments where chasing the monkeys was actually quite thrilling.
Also, this is just Ape Escape. That's like... super strange, right? Regardless, my fondness for this game hasn't gone away at all. I still enjoy the atmosphere and aesthetic (even though the sound design and constant voice lines are a bit irksome), but the game itself is kinda bad.
It's too bad this is a poor game. I found myself bored throughout a decent few parts, as the platforming is unexciting, the combat doesn't have much to offer, and the mini-games are bizarre (even though they're amusing conceptually). I do enjoy the exploration and there are definitely moments where chasing the monkeys was actually quite thrilling.
Also, this is just Ape Escape. That's like... super strange, right? Regardless, my fondness for this game hasn't gone away at all. I still enjoy the atmosphere and aesthetic (even though the sound design and constant voice lines are a bit irksome), but the game itself is kinda bad.
I was really worried about revisiting Minority Report, mostly due to the awful reviews it received from critics after its launch. But honestly? Not bad at all.
There are lots of things that stand out about Everybody Runs, but mostly that the ragdoll physics are quite good. Your primary weapon is some sort of blowback rifle that you can use to toss enemies around. There are rooftop levels where you can shoot people off the side of ledges, which is genuinely jolly fun. You even have a selection of melee combos you can execute, or if you're really not in the mood to learn those, you can just pick people up and toss them off of roofs. Or just throw them into each other.
The OST is also an absolute fuckin' banger. Easily the best part of this game. Particularly the main menu theme, Sprawl Riot, and Danny Witwer are great tracks. The opening of Sprawl Riot is unforgettable and when it plays in game you just kind of have no choice but to be taken over by vibes and fuck everyone up.
Everybody Runs is also at its best with cheats on. If you intend to play, use cheats. Give yourself infinite ammo, extra armor, all the weapons, and an easy way to regain health. You can try to play this game legit if you want, but it's honestly quite hard. There are certain levels that I could not have done without cheats.
It's also hilarious that in this game, you're playing a character who's trying to prove they're not going to murder anyone... while simultaneously murdering hundreds upon hundreds of thugs, swat, and future crime police by blowing them to bits with rocket launches, tossing them off of roofs, or shotgunning them in the face. Ahh yes, I'm very innocent thank you.
Also, it's really funny that this is like a B-movie-ification of Minority Report. It's like an alternate universe version where this movie was the most schlocky shit imaginable. It turns a thought provoking science fiction masterpiece into a shitty action movie full of one-liners. It's genuinely bizarre.
Overall, the game ain't bad. It has a lot going for it that take what would have been otherwise a completely unremarkable game and make it a mix of so-bad-it's-good and ridiculous fun.
There are lots of things that stand out about Everybody Runs, but mostly that the ragdoll physics are quite good. Your primary weapon is some sort of blowback rifle that you can use to toss enemies around. There are rooftop levels where you can shoot people off the side of ledges, which is genuinely jolly fun. You even have a selection of melee combos you can execute, or if you're really not in the mood to learn those, you can just pick people up and toss them off of roofs. Or just throw them into each other.
The OST is also an absolute fuckin' banger. Easily the best part of this game. Particularly the main menu theme, Sprawl Riot, and Danny Witwer are great tracks. The opening of Sprawl Riot is unforgettable and when it plays in game you just kind of have no choice but to be taken over by vibes and fuck everyone up.
Everybody Runs is also at its best with cheats on. If you intend to play, use cheats. Give yourself infinite ammo, extra armor, all the weapons, and an easy way to regain health. You can try to play this game legit if you want, but it's honestly quite hard. There are certain levels that I could not have done without cheats.
It's also hilarious that in this game, you're playing a character who's trying to prove they're not going to murder anyone... while simultaneously murdering hundreds upon hundreds of thugs, swat, and future crime police by blowing them to bits with rocket launches, tossing them off of roofs, or shotgunning them in the face. Ahh yes, I'm very innocent thank you.
Also, it's really funny that this is like a B-movie-ification of Minority Report. It's like an alternate universe version where this movie was the most schlocky shit imaginable. It turns a thought provoking science fiction masterpiece into a shitty action movie full of one-liners. It's genuinely bizarre.
Overall, the game ain't bad. It has a lot going for it that take what would have been otherwise a completely unremarkable game and make it a mix of so-bad-it's-good and ridiculous fun.
2001
I'm hesitant to call Vampire Night bad, but it's really disappointing, especially with how much I adored it as a kid. What once transported me to a grim and gothic but beautiful snowy world revolving around awesome vampire hunters and their evocative struggle to coexist turned out to have some of the most baffling, hilarious, nonsensically stifled and pointless dialogue I've seen in a hot minute.
The environments are mostly cool, with the ethereal and practically blinding (but in a cool way) semi-final level being the most memorable parts of the game for me. All of the bosses are fun and have some cool ideas attached to them, especially insofar as aesthetic goes. I like that the core of those fights comes to "shoot them fast enough so they don't use their crazy ass attack on you." There's a good reason why I have such fond memories of this game's world, as it has standout moments that push its good ideas to the forefront.
But when I wasn't facing a boss, it's hard to say I had fun. It's hard to put my finger on it, especially due to my limited experience with light gun games, but I didn't feel much when running through this world shooting shit. Like I said, I could appreciate the cool environments on display, whether I was running through an old Victorian town or a nightmarish tower adorned by metal halls and grates as hot magma peered through certain facets of the level. I do wish these inspired visual moments were more plentiful, as I didn't get much joy out of the light gun action. Just having a pistol is kinda boring? You can't really do much else but spam it, and when I was a kid I vividly remember having other weapons (which is only available in the special mode).
Beyond the game itself being just whatever, there's not much game here after you get through the campaign (which can be beaten in like an hour). The secondary "special" gamemode (which is where most of the playtime probably comes in) just forces you to replay the game over and over again to unlock different items and weapons. I remember having a lot of fun doing this as a kid, but now? Redoing these immensely average levels was absolutely exhausting and it quickly soured the game for me.
I just kinda wish there was more here. The base campaign isn't bad but the special components that make this a full game are not implemented well and don't utilize the content in a compelling way. It's an attempt to incentivize replaying the game over and over, which does not sound fun imo.
The environments are mostly cool, with the ethereal and practically blinding (but in a cool way) semi-final level being the most memorable parts of the game for me. All of the bosses are fun and have some cool ideas attached to them, especially insofar as aesthetic goes. I like that the core of those fights comes to "shoot them fast enough so they don't use their crazy ass attack on you." There's a good reason why I have such fond memories of this game's world, as it has standout moments that push its good ideas to the forefront.
But when I wasn't facing a boss, it's hard to say I had fun. It's hard to put my finger on it, especially due to my limited experience with light gun games, but I didn't feel much when running through this world shooting shit. Like I said, I could appreciate the cool environments on display, whether I was running through an old Victorian town or a nightmarish tower adorned by metal halls and grates as hot magma peered through certain facets of the level. I do wish these inspired visual moments were more plentiful, as I didn't get much joy out of the light gun action. Just having a pistol is kinda boring? You can't really do much else but spam it, and when I was a kid I vividly remember having other weapons (which is only available in the special mode).
Beyond the game itself being just whatever, there's not much game here after you get through the campaign (which can be beaten in like an hour). The secondary "special" gamemode (which is where most of the playtime probably comes in) just forces you to replay the game over and over again to unlock different items and weapons. I remember having a lot of fun doing this as a kid, but now? Redoing these immensely average levels was absolutely exhausting and it quickly soured the game for me.
I just kinda wish there was more here. The base campaign isn't bad but the special components that make this a full game are not implemented well and don't utilize the content in a compelling way. It's an attempt to incentivize replaying the game over and over, which does not sound fun imo.
It's hard to hate Breakin' da Rules, mostly because the concepts here are admirable. It treats each level like an episode of the cartoon, and it's chockfull of different environments and ideas.
In one, you take the place of Crimson Chin's sidekick and must return his superpowers after they're stolen by his three arch nemesis'. In another, you're trapped in a VR video game and must save your friends from damnation. In another, you run through ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and medieval Britain to restore their original history after Vicky messes it up.
It's all really well done as an "idea." And not to forget, all the graphic design elements are well made. The menus look nice, the script is written like these are actual fairly odd parents episodes, and each environment is genuinely kinda cool to look at.
But Breakin' da Rules is a great example of how a good game on paper does not mean it'll end up being fun. There is almost nothing enjoyable to do here. Every mini-game is lifeless, the platforming feels stiff, the controls are clunky, and exploration is exhausting.
It's actually a shame that I feel this way about it, because it's a game I genuinely do appreciate for what it set out to do and it really does feel like a full effort attempt to bring Fairly Odd Parents into video game format. This game is full of life, it's just poorly made.
In one, you take the place of Crimson Chin's sidekick and must return his superpowers after they're stolen by his three arch nemesis'. In another, you're trapped in a VR video game and must save your friends from damnation. In another, you run through ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and medieval Britain to restore their original history after Vicky messes it up.
It's all really well done as an "idea." And not to forget, all the graphic design elements are well made. The menus look nice, the script is written like these are actual fairly odd parents episodes, and each environment is genuinely kinda cool to look at.
But Breakin' da Rules is a great example of how a good game on paper does not mean it'll end up being fun. There is almost nothing enjoyable to do here. Every mini-game is lifeless, the platforming feels stiff, the controls are clunky, and exploration is exhausting.
It's actually a shame that I feel this way about it, because it's a game I genuinely do appreciate for what it set out to do and it really does feel like a full effort attempt to bring Fairly Odd Parents into video game format. This game is full of life, it's just poorly made.
2006
Yeek. It's unfortunate to have revisited this and come out with nothing of note after an hour of playtime. It's possible my distaste is linked to the initial property not being particularly good to begin with, but the gameplay loop here is abysmal and the visuals are equally poor. And while playing this, I'm pretty convinced I barely played it as a kid either? I only remember the first three or four levels and pretty much nothing else. I guess even kiddo me thought this was trash, I dunno.
Over the Hedge is also probably slightly more enjoyable with a friend. It's pretty much just a mindless spamfest gameplay wise and there are no levels to explore. They're broken up into these little sections where you just fight enemies and there's rarely anything to see or look around in. And the subject matter of the film forces the environments into a very narrow structure. It's just suburban streets, house backyards and middle-class homes throughout lol.
Genuinely had trouble latching onto a single thing I enjoyed here. Every character's moveset is also identical outside of some visual differences. Game sucks.
Over the Hedge is also probably slightly more enjoyable with a friend. It's pretty much just a mindless spamfest gameplay wise and there are no levels to explore. They're broken up into these little sections where you just fight enemies and there's rarely anything to see or look around in. And the subject matter of the film forces the environments into a very narrow structure. It's just suburban streets, house backyards and middle-class homes throughout lol.
Genuinely had trouble latching onto a single thing I enjoyed here. Every character's moveset is also identical outside of some visual differences. Game sucks.
2021
Okay, I'm done with this game. Playing it on M+KB brought back some old nerve damage in my wrist. You're pretty much just flailing your mouse around the whole time and it very quickly began to hurt. I even tried playing it on controller and it didn't fix the issue. Putting my sensitivity at max didn't help either. Be careful if you don't want to cause permanent nerve damage while playing a game that SHOULD be relaxing.
After a year and six months, I can finally mark Shadowlands as complete!
Shadowlands is a bold step into unfamiliar territory for Blizzard. Well-established aesthetics that the company has cultivated for years aren't wholly present here. Bastion and Revendreth look unlike anything in the series thus far, and although Maldraxxus and Ardenweald boast familiar returns to plaguelands and elven iconography, the little shifts make them feel really distinct.
The introduction of Chromie Time and the level squish is the most proactive change the series has seen. You no longer have to go through 120 levels and jump between content from every expansion to catch up to the new stuff. Players can just go through a starting zone and get to the latest expansion with a single expansion of their choice. If it wasn’t for this change, I would have never come back to WoW. It gave me the opportunity to make a new character and play entirely through Legion (a beloved expansion I completely missed) before beginning Shadowlands, without having to trudge through all of the old content again. I’m still utilizing this feature today, jumping through Battle for Azeroth’s Horde and Alliance campaigns separately with new characters and tackling what I missed from Warlords of Draenor.
Additionally, Shadowlands does a great job making this expansion feel like a venture into a whole different plane. Blizzard's artists and environment designers knocked it out of the park here. Shadowlands is fuckin' gorgeous and if we were judging based on aesthetic alone, this expansion would be S-tier. More so than any other expansion, many corners of Shadowlands could be mistaken for a painting, sometimes hard to believe you’re even playing a video game. World of Warcraft has always been at the pinnacle of inspiration in art direction IMO (it’s what made me obsessed with environment and world design), and this whole experience reaffirms that.
Unfortunately, what Shadowlands gets wrong is obnoxious. Much of it exists as an unnecessary grind, making it clear that Blizzard hasn’t learned much after what happened with Battle for Azeroth. Renown, Anima, and Korthia’s Research all contribute towards a bland endgame grind that encourages progression through forcing the player to engage with daily and weekly quest rotations.
Similar to WoD, this is an expansion that suffered from long-periods of no content. Blizzard Entertainment offset this with some heavy grinds to create the illusion of progress, but most of the community was not fooled. Eight months of no new content and the main way a player could engage with content or improve themself was through world quests in one of the four zones tackling the daily/weekly systems and upgrading their armor with Anima. And when 9.1 came out, that gear was made redundant with a similar system, except they just replaced “Anima” with “Research” in the new zone, Korthia.
Korthia is a tiny little subset of The Maw where the players were meant to spend months grinding Research for upgraded equipment. The zone looks fine, it’s just massively disappointing after waiting so many months for something new, and then what we get is just a small but new portion of an already established area. What I do like about Korthia is the treasure hunting. It’s deemed “the city of secrets” and it lives up to that name, as my friend and I spent a lot of time digging through its corners and solving a few puzzles to find hidden items. Love that sort of stuff.
But then this Korthia gear was made redundant when 9.2 came out, which seems to suggest Blizzard realized these systems suck. No more Research-esque currency, although, once again, the new gear throughout Zereth Mortis completely makes the previous patches' stuff useless. Zereth Mortis is a good looking zone, though, and although I don’t like it more than any of the base areas, it’s still a compelling addition.
I’m not bothered by the awful grind when it’s limited to getting gear with higher item level. I already experienced the bulk of Shadowlands’ content, so that’s not going to sour my experience. But Shadowlands locked campaign content behind Renown, a reputation based currency that needed to be acquired by grinding weekly quests (and sometimes killing world bosses/beating raids/dungeons). Players cannot access the Covenant campaign and 9.1’s Chains of Domination campaign without having a certain amount of Renown. I refused to do Chains of Domination because I did not want to continue the Renown grind; I did it the first time (for the covenant campaign) and did not enjoy having to wait a week to begin the next story quest. Why the hell am I even paying $15 a month? This system is reminiscent of free-to-play energy mechanics that prevent you from playing too much at once. Heck that.
Blizzard can be as egregious as it wants with locking gear behind a dumb grind, but taking away my campaign and main questlines away from me? That’s like… the reason I play this game! To be fair, the Covenant campaign isn’t particularly compelling, although I actually liked Chains of Domination quite a bit. Once again, 9.2 solved this by awarding Renown at an alarming rate and allowed me to get to 80 Renown (the max) by finishing the Sepulcher of the First Ones campaign. I hope Blizzard has actually learned its lesson and reflects this appropriately in Dragonflight.
Shadowlands’ mainline narrative is largely underwhelming. Anduin’s big arc is barely given the spotlight, so many characters say NOTHING during key moments, and the Jailer is an underwhelming villain. I’m intrigued by the final twist but ultimately, he kinda just feels like a less menacing Sargeras. What did he want to accomplish by remaking reality again? Honestly not sure, maybe someone could explain it to me lol. Also don’t like the implications of Shadowlands’ lore. Feels like Zereth Mortis should’ve been more important, and the gravitas of what is coupled with all this crazy shit feels like it wasn’t given the weight it deserved. It’s such a monumental moment for Azeroth and its characters but it feels like Blizzard just wanted to rush through the story and then pretend it never happened. That’s not to say all elements of the story are bad: Uther’s arc is solid, and I like all the individual arcs of the zones. Seeing Ysera made me sob, and Tyrande got some cool moments, although I wish they did more with her. Wish the Night Warrior arc got more attention, still cool though! Sylvanas’ redemption is a total asspull, but they don’t do a terrible job towards the end wrapping it up. Pretty mixed feelings towards this.
Shadowlands’ dungeons are really solid, not much else to say otherwise. Had a lot of fun running through them and enjoyed how they utilized the separate aesthetics of each zone. Castle Nathria and Sanctum of Domination are both solid raids, but Sepulcher of the First Ones is only just OK. I expected a lot more from the dialogue, and wanted Jailer’s fight to be more elaborate, and also expected for Anduin’s battle to have more complexity? Honestly, it felt a bit easy overall. Planning to try this raid on Normal and see if it’s more complex. Big issue here is that the gear the player gets from Zereth Mortis is far stronger than the minimum ilevel for Sepulcher’s easiest difficulty (LFR) but significantly weaker than the minimum ilevel for Normal difficulty. Doesn’t seem properly balanced, and if I wanna do the normal version, I now have to do a lot of mythic dungeons to upgrade my armor. Actually don’t mind this though, Mythic dungeons are fun as hell. Just wish my initial LFR run was more challenging.
The highlight of Shadowlands as far as endgame content is Tazavesh, the game’s eight-boss mega-dungeon. That marketplace is ripe with creativity, and takes the player through so many unique and challenging ideas. Purchasing gizmos from shady merchants, playing in a jazz band for a group of outlaws, battling a massive loot dragon, and fighting a metal mailman delivering ticking bombs leads to non-stop wildness and I loved it; spent five hours trudging through this hard-as-nails Mythic dungeon with a really kind group and was the most fun I’ve had in Shadowlands.
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Overall, I absolutely adore Shadowlands’ base content, including its main questing zones, initial raid and all of its dungeons. They’re fantastic aesthetically and have interesting area-storylines. But the expansion is bogged down by an overly grindy endgame and some underwhelming patched content (Tazavesh is amazing, Sanctum of Domination is good, and Zereth Mortis is a solid zone tho), especially considering the less-than-ideal rate new stuff was released. The mainline narrative does not feel put together, and ultimately Blizzard failed to handle the scale of its implications properly.
Shadowlands is a good expansion IMO but Blizzard could learn a lot from the mistakes it made. Really looking forward to Dragonflight and hope the team learned some valuable lessons here.
Shadowlands is a bold step into unfamiliar territory for Blizzard. Well-established aesthetics that the company has cultivated for years aren't wholly present here. Bastion and Revendreth look unlike anything in the series thus far, and although Maldraxxus and Ardenweald boast familiar returns to plaguelands and elven iconography, the little shifts make them feel really distinct.
The introduction of Chromie Time and the level squish is the most proactive change the series has seen. You no longer have to go through 120 levels and jump between content from every expansion to catch up to the new stuff. Players can just go through a starting zone and get to the latest expansion with a single expansion of their choice. If it wasn’t for this change, I would have never come back to WoW. It gave me the opportunity to make a new character and play entirely through Legion (a beloved expansion I completely missed) before beginning Shadowlands, without having to trudge through all of the old content again. I’m still utilizing this feature today, jumping through Battle for Azeroth’s Horde and Alliance campaigns separately with new characters and tackling what I missed from Warlords of Draenor.
Additionally, Shadowlands does a great job making this expansion feel like a venture into a whole different plane. Blizzard's artists and environment designers knocked it out of the park here. Shadowlands is fuckin' gorgeous and if we were judging based on aesthetic alone, this expansion would be S-tier. More so than any other expansion, many corners of Shadowlands could be mistaken for a painting, sometimes hard to believe you’re even playing a video game. World of Warcraft has always been at the pinnacle of inspiration in art direction IMO (it’s what made me obsessed with environment and world design), and this whole experience reaffirms that.
Unfortunately, what Shadowlands gets wrong is obnoxious. Much of it exists as an unnecessary grind, making it clear that Blizzard hasn’t learned much after what happened with Battle for Azeroth. Renown, Anima, and Korthia’s Research all contribute towards a bland endgame grind that encourages progression through forcing the player to engage with daily and weekly quest rotations.
Similar to WoD, this is an expansion that suffered from long-periods of no content. Blizzard Entertainment offset this with some heavy grinds to create the illusion of progress, but most of the community was not fooled. Eight months of no new content and the main way a player could engage with content or improve themself was through world quests in one of the four zones tackling the daily/weekly systems and upgrading their armor with Anima. And when 9.1 came out, that gear was made redundant with a similar system, except they just replaced “Anima” with “Research” in the new zone, Korthia.
Korthia is a tiny little subset of The Maw where the players were meant to spend months grinding Research for upgraded equipment. The zone looks fine, it’s just massively disappointing after waiting so many months for something new, and then what we get is just a small but new portion of an already established area. What I do like about Korthia is the treasure hunting. It’s deemed “the city of secrets” and it lives up to that name, as my friend and I spent a lot of time digging through its corners and solving a few puzzles to find hidden items. Love that sort of stuff.
But then this Korthia gear was made redundant when 9.2 came out, which seems to suggest Blizzard realized these systems suck. No more Research-esque currency, although, once again, the new gear throughout Zereth Mortis completely makes the previous patches' stuff useless. Zereth Mortis is a good looking zone, though, and although I don’t like it more than any of the base areas, it’s still a compelling addition.
I’m not bothered by the awful grind when it’s limited to getting gear with higher item level. I already experienced the bulk of Shadowlands’ content, so that’s not going to sour my experience. But Shadowlands locked campaign content behind Renown, a reputation based currency that needed to be acquired by grinding weekly quests (and sometimes killing world bosses/beating raids/dungeons). Players cannot access the Covenant campaign and 9.1’s Chains of Domination campaign without having a certain amount of Renown. I refused to do Chains of Domination because I did not want to continue the Renown grind; I did it the first time (for the covenant campaign) and did not enjoy having to wait a week to begin the next story quest. Why the hell am I even paying $15 a month? This system is reminiscent of free-to-play energy mechanics that prevent you from playing too much at once. Heck that.
Blizzard can be as egregious as it wants with locking gear behind a dumb grind, but taking away my campaign and main questlines away from me? That’s like… the reason I play this game! To be fair, the Covenant campaign isn’t particularly compelling, although I actually liked Chains of Domination quite a bit. Once again, 9.2 solved this by awarding Renown at an alarming rate and allowed me to get to 80 Renown (the max) by finishing the Sepulcher of the First Ones campaign. I hope Blizzard has actually learned its lesson and reflects this appropriately in Dragonflight.
Shadowlands’ mainline narrative is largely underwhelming. Anduin’s big arc is barely given the spotlight, so many characters say NOTHING during key moments, and the Jailer is an underwhelming villain. I’m intrigued by the final twist but ultimately, he kinda just feels like a less menacing Sargeras. What did he want to accomplish by remaking reality again? Honestly not sure, maybe someone could explain it to me lol. Also don’t like the implications of Shadowlands’ lore. Feels like Zereth Mortis should’ve been more important, and the gravitas of what is coupled with all this crazy shit feels like it wasn’t given the weight it deserved. It’s such a monumental moment for Azeroth and its characters but it feels like Blizzard just wanted to rush through the story and then pretend it never happened. That’s not to say all elements of the story are bad: Uther’s arc is solid, and I like all the individual arcs of the zones. Seeing Ysera made me sob, and Tyrande got some cool moments, although I wish they did more with her. Wish the Night Warrior arc got more attention, still cool though! Sylvanas’ redemption is a total asspull, but they don’t do a terrible job towards the end wrapping it up. Pretty mixed feelings towards this.
Shadowlands’ dungeons are really solid, not much else to say otherwise. Had a lot of fun running through them and enjoyed how they utilized the separate aesthetics of each zone. Castle Nathria and Sanctum of Domination are both solid raids, but Sepulcher of the First Ones is only just OK. I expected a lot more from the dialogue, and wanted Jailer’s fight to be more elaborate, and also expected for Anduin’s battle to have more complexity? Honestly, it felt a bit easy overall. Planning to try this raid on Normal and see if it’s more complex. Big issue here is that the gear the player gets from Zereth Mortis is far stronger than the minimum ilevel for Sepulcher’s easiest difficulty (LFR) but significantly weaker than the minimum ilevel for Normal difficulty. Doesn’t seem properly balanced, and if I wanna do the normal version, I now have to do a lot of mythic dungeons to upgrade my armor. Actually don’t mind this though, Mythic dungeons are fun as hell. Just wish my initial LFR run was more challenging.
The highlight of Shadowlands as far as endgame content is Tazavesh, the game’s eight-boss mega-dungeon. That marketplace is ripe with creativity, and takes the player through so many unique and challenging ideas. Purchasing gizmos from shady merchants, playing in a jazz band for a group of outlaws, battling a massive loot dragon, and fighting a metal mailman delivering ticking bombs leads to non-stop wildness and I loved it; spent five hours trudging through this hard-as-nails Mythic dungeon with a really kind group and was the most fun I’ve had in Shadowlands.
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Overall, I absolutely adore Shadowlands’ base content, including its main questing zones, initial raid and all of its dungeons. They’re fantastic aesthetically and have interesting area-storylines. But the expansion is bogged down by an overly grindy endgame and some underwhelming patched content (Tazavesh is amazing, Sanctum of Domination is good, and Zereth Mortis is a solid zone tho), especially considering the less-than-ideal rate new stuff was released. The mainline narrative does not feel put together, and ultimately Blizzard failed to handle the scale of its implications properly.
Shadowlands is a good expansion IMO but Blizzard could learn a lot from the mistakes it made. Really looking forward to Dragonflight and hope the team learned some valuable lessons here.
2004
Shrek meant a lot to me as a kiddo and still does, although that's mostly limited to the first two films. I had seen both a hundred times throughout my childhood and vividly recall pretty much every scene and every beat. I did the watch the other two Shrek's but I don't remember much, outside of a couple moments from the third one. I could not tell you a single thing about the fourth tbh.
The quality of a movie-tie-in game isn't determined by the film it's based on, but it honestly helps a lot when the developers have a better foundation to work with. It's also easier to feel attached to what's presented when you actually care about the world. Shrek 2 is a decent example of why, as my fondness for the film made exploring those portions of the game more enjoyable.
Otherwise, this is just a collection of goofy mini-games and gimmicks inspired by what was popular in gaming at the time, stitched together with a four-player beat-em-up standing in as its base. Shrek 2 isn't particularly well-made but its competent enough to be enjoyable with friends. Most of the levels are visually distinct and the short sections that have you do silly little things diversify the gameplay pretty decently (whether that be a mini-game as Fiona where you sing to birds, a 2D platformer as puss-in-boots, or Crash Bandicoot-esque running towards the screen sections).
Playing this with a friend certainly enhanced my opinion on it. I played the first three or four levels alone, but after jumping in with someone else, I had a better time. It's easier to get into the ridiculousness of it all, as there are tons of little issues you can't help but laugh at.
As a franchise, Shrek has always poked fun at classic fairy tales, and I think the game does a decent job putting all of that together. Each of the levels utilize different aesthetics and it's quite nice, whether that be a silly open kingdom portion where you can actually get stars like GTA or a dark forest with witchy vibes.
The final three or four levels are pretty impressive design-wise. They're genuinely fun and have some cool ideas. I quite liked the darker tone towards the end, as going through a dark dungeon with the big bad wolf to blow walls down and murder spiders was cool. Also was a fan of the potion shop section, as it legit looked kinda ethereal in a very surreal way and the color palette was nice and vibrant with this bizarre neon aesthetic. Also the final boss was fun, altho very weirdly made!
Overall, Shrek 2 ain't bad at all. It is kinda weird that I don't really remember this game from my childhood all that well, perhaps outside of the first level. I'm like 90% sure I played it as a kid, though.
The quality of a movie-tie-in game isn't determined by the film it's based on, but it honestly helps a lot when the developers have a better foundation to work with. It's also easier to feel attached to what's presented when you actually care about the world. Shrek 2 is a decent example of why, as my fondness for the film made exploring those portions of the game more enjoyable.
Otherwise, this is just a collection of goofy mini-games and gimmicks inspired by what was popular in gaming at the time, stitched together with a four-player beat-em-up standing in as its base. Shrek 2 isn't particularly well-made but its competent enough to be enjoyable with friends. Most of the levels are visually distinct and the short sections that have you do silly little things diversify the gameplay pretty decently (whether that be a mini-game as Fiona where you sing to birds, a 2D platformer as puss-in-boots, or Crash Bandicoot-esque running towards the screen sections).
Playing this with a friend certainly enhanced my opinion on it. I played the first three or four levels alone, but after jumping in with someone else, I had a better time. It's easier to get into the ridiculousness of it all, as there are tons of little issues you can't help but laugh at.
As a franchise, Shrek has always poked fun at classic fairy tales, and I think the game does a decent job putting all of that together. Each of the levels utilize different aesthetics and it's quite nice, whether that be a silly open kingdom portion where you can actually get stars like GTA or a dark forest with witchy vibes.
The final three or four levels are pretty impressive design-wise. They're genuinely fun and have some cool ideas. I quite liked the darker tone towards the end, as going through a dark dungeon with the big bad wolf to blow walls down and murder spiders was cool. Also was a fan of the potion shop section, as it legit looked kinda ethereal in a very surreal way and the color palette was nice and vibrant with this bizarre neon aesthetic. Also the final boss was fun, altho very weirdly made!
Overall, Shrek 2 ain't bad at all. It is kinda weird that I don't really remember this game from my childhood all that well, perhaps outside of the first level. I'm like 90% sure I played it as a kid, though.
1999
Honestly, pretty cool!
Didn't expect a PS1 first-person shooter from 1999 to hold up as well as it did. Controls are obviously outdated but beyond that, it's palatable to modern tastes. Genuinely fun level design and impressive audio/music. I love that enemies roll around on the floor and will try to throw your grenades back at you, although it kinda makes them unusable. Also gotta love William Sheppard's narration, adds a lot to the game!
What I don't love is some of the game's more outdated elements. Low render distance, super inaccurate hitboxes, and buggy AI. But honestly all that is part of the charm; not only is this a history game but it's of historical significance for the medium. Pretty neat to see one of the foundations for the modern military shooter.
Could certainly see myself bumping this up to a 7 after some more reflection!
Didn't expect a PS1 first-person shooter from 1999 to hold up as well as it did. Controls are obviously outdated but beyond that, it's palatable to modern tastes. Genuinely fun level design and impressive audio/music. I love that enemies roll around on the floor and will try to throw your grenades back at you, although it kinda makes them unusable. Also gotta love William Sheppard's narration, adds a lot to the game!
What I don't love is some of the game's more outdated elements. Low render distance, super inaccurate hitboxes, and buggy AI. But honestly all that is part of the charm; not only is this a history game but it's of historical significance for the medium. Pretty neat to see one of the foundations for the modern military shooter.
Could certainly see myself bumping this up to a 7 after some more reflection!
2022
I played this game for eight hours straight on my first day. It's the best Smash-inspired brawler out there, the property diversity is already great, and I can't wait to see what else gets added over the next few years.
Team-based mechanics add a whole new life to this. Knowing that my abilities exist to not only kick ass, but occassionally service the teammate I've been playing with is a great feeling. The sense of comradery between you and your friend is a sensation that I never realized Smash was missing, and it's been lovely seeing how different characters synergize in these chaotic beat downs.
I do have issues with the game, but what has me worried are the microtransactions. Every character is unlockable through free-to-play, but after playing for eight hours straight, I only managed to unlock a single brawler from straight gold-earning (I'm not going to count the abundance of gold the starting quests give you, because those will probably never come back again). The unfortunate truth is that without level-up bonuses, you're looking at 5-10 gold for winning a match. Characters cost anywhere between 2,000-3,000, so you can already imagine how much of grind it'll be to unlock everyone.
What's most frustrating is that you receive 0 gold for playing custom games with friends. You have to matchmake. While this may seem "normal," it takes a huge chunk of the fun out of it for me. I certainly enjoy matchmaking, but playing against friends is what I most love. But doing so means I can't unlock new characters, so if I don't jump into matchmaking every once in a while, I'll be stuck with only like... five playable characters. Being pushed away from the way I want to play this game is a sucky feeling.
Speaking of custom games, the options in MultiVersus are rather limited. You can't do a free for all with only 3 players, there isn't a classic "stocks" system, and knockout counters only go up to 4. This needs a lot more diversity.
Also, battle passes are garbage. Purchasing one is an obnoxious commitment. If I'm going to spend money, I should receive what I'm paying for. Basing it off of progression and forcing me to engage with the game even more just to get my moneys worth is awful, awful design. No way in hell am I spending money on something that doesn't exist until I unlock it, and if I don't unlock it in the time frame, the thing I bought disappears. It's absurd.
Team-based mechanics add a whole new life to this. Knowing that my abilities exist to not only kick ass, but occassionally service the teammate I've been playing with is a great feeling. The sense of comradery between you and your friend is a sensation that I never realized Smash was missing, and it's been lovely seeing how different characters synergize in these chaotic beat downs.
I do have issues with the game, but what has me worried are the microtransactions. Every character is unlockable through free-to-play, but after playing for eight hours straight, I only managed to unlock a single brawler from straight gold-earning (I'm not going to count the abundance of gold the starting quests give you, because those will probably never come back again). The unfortunate truth is that without level-up bonuses, you're looking at 5-10 gold for winning a match. Characters cost anywhere between 2,000-3,000, so you can already imagine how much of grind it'll be to unlock everyone.
What's most frustrating is that you receive 0 gold for playing custom games with friends. You have to matchmake. While this may seem "normal," it takes a huge chunk of the fun out of it for me. I certainly enjoy matchmaking, but playing against friends is what I most love. But doing so means I can't unlock new characters, so if I don't jump into matchmaking every once in a while, I'll be stuck with only like... five playable characters. Being pushed away from the way I want to play this game is a sucky feeling.
Speaking of custom games, the options in MultiVersus are rather limited. You can't do a free for all with only 3 players, there isn't a classic "stocks" system, and knockout counters only go up to 4. This needs a lot more diversity.
Also, battle passes are garbage. Purchasing one is an obnoxious commitment. If I'm going to spend money, I should receive what I'm paying for. Basing it off of progression and forcing me to engage with the game even more just to get my moneys worth is awful, awful design. No way in hell am I spending money on something that doesn't exist until I unlock it, and if I don't unlock it in the time frame, the thing I bought disappears. It's absurd.
A well-made Crash-clone that's far shorter than I'd like but does a good job ensuring most of what it presents is tight fun. Although the first world's forest environment is unexciting, Goin' Quackers VERY quickly turns up the heat by taking players through Duckburg!
Honestly not surprised this is the part of the game I most vividly remember, as its urban streets, colorful buildings and cartoony enemies are all immensely cute. It encapsulates that old animation vibe really well and the game doesn't stop there.
The next world is an AWESOME surreal array of endless haunted hallways and rooftops. It legit feels like a fever dream, it clearly makes no sense for these buildings to be as continuous as they are but it just enhances the vibe tenfold. The final level is a bit too Crash Bandicoot for me (would've preferred if it continued with the Donald Duck vibes), but it's still super fun and all the levels are tightly designed.
Not much else to say here. This game is worth the time and I'm glad it has held up :)
Honestly not surprised this is the part of the game I most vividly remember, as its urban streets, colorful buildings and cartoony enemies are all immensely cute. It encapsulates that old animation vibe really well and the game doesn't stop there.
The next world is an AWESOME surreal array of endless haunted hallways and rooftops. It legit feels like a fever dream, it clearly makes no sense for these buildings to be as continuous as they are but it just enhances the vibe tenfold. The final level is a bit too Crash Bandicoot for me (would've preferred if it continued with the Donald Duck vibes), but it's still super fun and all the levels are tightly designed.
Not much else to say here. This game is worth the time and I'm glad it has held up :)
Hello! Notorious monster lover and huge Kaiju fan here (yes, I've seen every Godzilla film). I was pretty excited when I heard about Kaichu! It honestly seemed UNBELIEVABLY tailored to my tastes, so it breaks my heart to say that I just don't like this game.
I only gave it 30 minutes (which was a single playthrough) and found it to be really shallow. You just run around, select a location, and answer questions. There's nothing else to do. All the dialogue is narrated by a couple of newscasters so it never feels like I can actually connect with the personality of the Kaiju I'm romancing. Having a good date also isn't rewarding when the same kiss animation plays every time. I wish there were unique drawings tossed up on screen whenever you're victorious, or at least semi-frequently enough to keep things spiced up. Or maybe just different animations that showcase more interactions. It's just not satisfying at the moment.
I've played lots of dating sims where there's some sort of system at play to attain stats or interact with other elements of the world. In this sense, there's so little here and it's honestly the least gripping dating sim I've tried :(
It gets points for being cute to look at. I'm also not a huge fan of the Kaiju designs themselves, they're funky looking but not in a way that appeals to me. I did enjoy Seadora's design which is why I romanced them first. They're very cute and I actually did enjoy learning tidbits about their royal oceanic past!
I am sadly disappointed in this game but it's hard to be upset because it is rather inoffensive. It's just cute Kaiju dating goofiness, so I don't regret buying it even though dislike it. The developers deserve the money.
I only gave it 30 minutes (which was a single playthrough) and found it to be really shallow. You just run around, select a location, and answer questions. There's nothing else to do. All the dialogue is narrated by a couple of newscasters so it never feels like I can actually connect with the personality of the Kaiju I'm romancing. Having a good date also isn't rewarding when the same kiss animation plays every time. I wish there were unique drawings tossed up on screen whenever you're victorious, or at least semi-frequently enough to keep things spiced up. Or maybe just different animations that showcase more interactions. It's just not satisfying at the moment.
I've played lots of dating sims where there's some sort of system at play to attain stats or interact with other elements of the world. In this sense, there's so little here and it's honestly the least gripping dating sim I've tried :(
It gets points for being cute to look at. I'm also not a huge fan of the Kaiju designs themselves, they're funky looking but not in a way that appeals to me. I did enjoy Seadora's design which is why I romanced them first. They're very cute and I actually did enjoy learning tidbits about their royal oceanic past!
I am sadly disappointed in this game but it's hard to be upset because it is rather inoffensive. It's just cute Kaiju dating goofiness, so I don't regret buying it even though dislike it. The developers deserve the money.
I actually don't think the levels here are that big of a dip from the base game. Some of them are pretty great and I like the new mechanics introduced, especially when trying to get the fastest runs possible.
But the bossfight is a mess. It's too ambitious without the best part of this game: actually speed-running. The boss is broken up into three phases, and it resets your time after each phase, but it's all stuffed into one level. It would've made more sense to make it three separate levels and then allow users to speedrun them with leaderboards included. I was pretty surprised when I finished it and didn't have any time saved or leaderboards present, but I understand why that wouldn't be the case as it's broken as heck. The final phase doesn't reset properly, and the second phase is full of random deaths that I cannot explain. It was frustrating :(
But the bossfight is a mess. It's too ambitious without the best part of this game: actually speed-running. The boss is broken up into three phases, and it resets your time after each phase, but it's all stuffed into one level. It would've made more sense to make it three separate levels and then allow users to speedrun them with leaderboards included. I was pretty surprised when I finished it and didn't have any time saved or leaderboards present, but I understand why that wouldn't be the case as it's broken as heck. The final phase doesn't reset properly, and the second phase is full of random deaths that I cannot explain. It was frustrating :(
Day 318
"We've been out here for nearly a year. No degree of preparation could have prepared me for what we've seen thus far. It feels like everyday something goes wrong. Traversing further than even the Webb Telescope could see into space... is bringing me some unrest. I can't help but fe-"
"BRO! LOOK OUT YOUR WINDOW! THERE'S SOME WEIRD SHIT FLOATING AROUND."
"Huh..."
...
"Oh my god... is that what I think it is?"
"We've been out here for nearly a year. No degree of preparation could have prepared me for what we've seen thus far. It feels like everyday something goes wrong. Traversing further than even the Webb Telescope could see into space... is bringing me some unrest. I can't help but fe-"
"BRO! LOOK OUT YOUR WINDOW! THERE'S SOME WEIRD SHIT FLOATING AROUND."
"Huh..."
...
"Oh my god... is that what I think it is?"