An absolute classic that holds up near perfectly over twenty years later, but if you're reading this you probably already know and agree.

So for fun gonna list some of my favorite Sam Lakeisms from this playthrough

"The cops arrived, sirens singing in the off-key harmony of a manic-depressive choir."

"Everything was subjective. There were only personal apocalypses. Nothing was cliché when it's happening to you."

"He had a baseball bat, and I was tied to a chair. Pissing him off was the smart thing to do."

"An urban legend come true. You complete the jigsaw puzzle to discover it is a picture of yourself, finishing that same puzzle. A mad, green-eyed killer behind you."

"When the darkness fell, New York City became something else, any old Sinatra song notwithstanding. Bad things happened in the night, on the streets of that other city. Noir York City."

i'm a sucker for games that force you to make insanely stressful choices where it's impossible to please everybody (see also: Papers Please), and Yes, Your Grace is a magnificent example.

I was shocked at how legit invested I got into the story. The king's interactions with his family are heartfelt, i legit burst into tears from a few plot points.

If i have any major compliant, it's that some choices rely too much on guesswork without it being clear what the outcome will be. Sometimes it felt like I was just picking shit at random and crossing my fingers for the best, which lead to some negative outcomes being more frustrating than anything.

But, overall would highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys games with meaningful choices.

A perfectly competent open world title grafted from several major AAA franchises at the time (Arkham, Assasins Creed) that's elevated entirely by one really good unique mechanic: the Nemesis System.

The Nemesis System still holds up wonderfully, allowing you to create some compelling stories and relationships with your foes. It's a shame WB's legal dickery prevented anyone else from being able to try their own take on it. Even now it still feels like a truly next gen idea.

Also docking a point for the final boss fight still one of the biggest wet farts of a climax of any game this past decade.

A fun but much more shallow sequel to first game. It felt like they tried to overcorrect complaints from the first game, like removing the open world or making the mini games more "fun". But instead they removed the soul that made the first game so special, that made Santa Destroy feel like a real place. Suda's absence is very much felt and it's obvious the goal was just to redo what the first game did, but more so.

But, Travis' character arc concludes in a genuinely satisfying manner here and the actual combat is greatly improved (aside from those fucking gun enemies).

Also the final boss fight is so terrible that I'm docking half a star for it alone.

The best entry in the series yet. Cuts down on the tedium and more narrow storytelling from Little Hope, which was 100% the right call.

The writing is still DTV quality at best and it's kind of hilarious how the game is punching WAAAAAAY above it's weight when it comes to trying to tackle some Serious Political Themes, but that just adds to the charm.

The Dark Pictures series has become a yearly Halloween tradition for me now and I'm optimistic that The Devil Within Me will be even better.

The DTV sequel to Until Dawn's feature film, but as long as u keep that in mind and lower your expectations a bit it's not a bad time. HIGHLY recommend at least a few friends to play along with tho.

One thing I will give it over Until Dawn tho is that your choices do feel like they genuinely impact the story more beyond just who lives or dies, even tho that's still the big gimmick. It comes at the cost of less compelling characters and some serious jank (the game has a BAD pop up problem even by Unreal Engine standards) but it did make playing the game through twice more interesting.

Also also I am a complete baby with jump scares and this game got me BAD on a regular basis with them lmao.

Embarrassing Confession: Over a decade ago I bought Metroid: Other M at full price on day one, I was so excited for it.

I was so naïve.

Which is why I'm happy to say that Metroid Dread washes off the stink that Other M left on the franchise ever since. Everything I've ever wanted in a modern 2D console Metroid. Phenomenal, tough as fuck bosses, upgrades hidden just well enough that you always get a dose of good brain chemicals for discovering one, a haunting, lonely atmosphere.

It also wraps up many, many of the long running storyline threads throughout the franchise in a thoroughly satisfying manner.

If the franchise is gonna lay doormat for another decade again after this, at least it'll have left behind one of the best entries in franchise.

Legit the most fun game I've played this year. I wouldn't say this is Arkane's best title, but it's easily their tightest mechanically. Just shooting and moving around is a pure joy in a way that nothing else in their back catalog has reached.

The ending sucks but that's pretty typical of Arkane too lol, as long as you can accept that this game is about the journey and not the destination you'll be good.

Also Julianna Blake can stab me any time.

File this under "very badly wish i liked this more than i actually did"

Aesthetically this game is on point. The sprite work, music and art style are all fantastic (seriously it looks like a lost anime OVA from 1994).

But the gameplay is a mixed bag at best. The combat can be fun, it's satisfying to just mow your way through non-stop mooks, and some of the boss fights are fun. But the platforming, dear GOD the platforming. The controls feel way too clunky and imprecise, a bad fall got me more than any enemy or boss did. And the game LOVES to throw you into instant death traps any chance it gets.

It's to the point that it made the last third of the game in particular a chore to play that by the time I got to the finale, I was just happy to be done with it.

But I don't regret my time with it, and if the art style appeals to you and you have a LOT of patience for cheap deaths it's worth picking up on a sale.