A superb remake of a GOAT. For me, the artistry of Demon's Souls is in the level design and gameplay mechanics. These are preserved almost perfectly, and the high performance brings the whole thing to life better than the original. Even the most "Demon's Souls-y" patience checks in the game were unchanged - things that even other souls games nerfed because they were too much. To name a few:

-Bashing on a high defense enemy (bear-bugs) for minutes to kill it (and then moving on to 3 or 4 more)
-Farming for tons and tons of rocks from specific (sometimes rare) enemies for weapon upgrades
-Dragons that take lots of time (but not skill) to down
-A character that takes tens of minutes to kill, but can take you down in one shot

The stats and balancing appear to be the same, and NG+ is as brutal as ever. The only mechanic I can think of that was slightly nerfed is the swamp (by adding a difficult-to-find ring that cancels the mobility effects). All in all - this game retains Demon's Souls' soul.

Other aspects of the game are hit-or-miss: the sound design is remarkably good, the ost is blah, the voice acting was...ok, and the graphics and visual style are gorgeous. I'm a bit crestfallen by the ost, but again, none of these are absolutely essential for the Demon's Souls experience. This game was revolutionary for it's uncompromising gameplay and experimental ideas, and the remake is true to that vision.

Ok, to be perfectly honest, I'm kinda pissed about Doran's death yelp. Very unsatisfying in the remake. I'll get over it, though.

This might be the first game that truly captures the essence of getting beaten up in a dilapidated public restroom.

The most striking thing about this game (aside from the thousands of face-punches) is the dark tone. It's menacing and gritty without including any "adults only" content - no blood, gore, drugs, or sexual innuendo. The awkwardly named slum boss ("Damn'd") made me shudder when I first saw him in the arcade, and his laugh was pulled straight out of the uncanny valley. If you get a game over, your character is shown bound and trying to blow out the wick for a pack of dynamite. I mean, this is manipulative, but it's also darkly hilarious. I wonder how many quarters that continue screen earned them...

I love the character designs. Cody's Jean Claude Van Damme physique and stone-washed jeans, Haggar's WWF tree trunk arms; 80s action perfection. Katana, the subway boss, is a sword-wielding weaboo. On the West Side, you meet an angry cop who freaks out and starts shooting at you, killing his own minions in the process. So many more.

Side note: I think the first thing every kid did when they met the cop was to see if you can eat the disgusting wad of gum he spits out. You can, and I appreciate you, Capcom.

The intricate, macabre images and bosses presented in the pixelated graphic style hit somewhere in the uncanny valley. It feels like you're a kid playing a game and seeing things you shouldn't see. A+. The themes of Catholic guilt and self-inflicted suffering hit close to home (in a good way). Gameplay is fun and smooth and boss fights have well-calibrated difficulty. The one major flaw in this game is a significant bummer, though. Levels become monotonous after a while, and traversing the world looking for extras, playing through the same screens over and over, is drudgery. Then again, maybe that was an intentional design choice to fit the theme of penance and self-flagellation.

This is not your Mom's Boyfriend's Mega Man. Chibi-style robot masters with heads roughly the same size as the rest of their bodies and "[noun/verb] man" names are out, Gumby electric guitar solos are in. Mega Man X is radical and edgy. He climbs inside other robots with oversized fists and dash-punches opponents in the stomach. He killed Sigma's dog. He fights wicked-ass animal themed robots. Except maybe Boomer Kuwanger, he's like a samurai or something. Or maybe an ant. Don't change the subject. Mega Man X deserved to be loved.

This game is a love letter to horror movies and a sparkling gem of couch co-op. I didn't fully appreciate all the references and details as a kid, but this game is saturated. Most of the monsters are inspired by 40's and 50's horror, including Zombies, Vampires, Mummies, Pod People, gelatinous blobs, 50s-style aliens with sci-fi comic guns, and creatures from the Black Lagoon. Some hearken to 70's and 80's horror, including possessed dolls and chainsaw wielding maniacs that appear to be an unholy mishmash of Leatherface and Jason Voorhees. Gameplay is smooth, buttery, and fun with the only major exception being the giant baby (which feels like a final boss from a quarter-sucking 80's arcade cabinet). The game can get a bit repetitive, but little details give it some extra depth:

-There's a plethora of weapons that have a wide range of mechanics and effectiveness against different enemies (e.g., silverware is super-effective when plunged into werewolves)
-Secret areas and power-ups are hidden all over the place
-Bazookas can be used to open closed-off areas and demolish locked doors. If you're brave enough, you can lure chainsaw wielding maniacs to do the same thing and save your ammo
-When you kill a werewolf, you can watch the human soul escape the monster's body
-You can catch a glimpse of the chainsaw wielding maniac's butt crack if he slashes in the upward direction

Top tier SNES gaming.

A quality twin stick shooter full of 80s edginess and cheese. Games and movies based on spiraling crime and violence rates were common in the 80s and 90s, and some even had the exact same plot (The Running Man, The Killing Game Show). This one had thoughtful mechanics and was fun to play. The bosses were larger than life and intimidating, but unfortunately felt like they were designed to eat quarters. Watching the bosses' bodies deteriorate as you battle them was a fresh idea at the time, and just the right level of horrific.

I still don't know what my character is going to do with 4,000 toasters.

This game was rad. The main element, stealth, worked well. I felt the tension upon entering a room with enemy soldiers, and studied their movements so I could pick them off. The items and weapons were fun to use (remote control missile, sick!), but bosses kinda felt like an afterthought. I detest when NES games are hard to navigate because of repeated screens that all look the same, but that was only a small section in this one. It's a fun stealthy adventure, but I do have to wonder about the ethics of punching a man to death while sleeping.

In an alternate universe, Donkey Kong 3 and Stanley the Bug Man skyrocket in popularity instead of the series' first entry. Soon after this game, we're introduced to Stanley's brother, Eugene, in 1984's "Stanley Bros". In 1986, "Super Stanley Bros" solidifies Stanley as Nintendo's mascot, who proceeds to star in the classic titles "Super Stanley World", "Super Stanley Sunshine", and "Super Stanley Odyssey". Donkey Kong becomes known for releasing hostile insects rather than barrels, leading to a significantly different version of "Donkey Kong Country".