It Takes Two is the first Hazelight game i've had the joy of experiencing and it did not disappoint. I heard so many good things about their previous games however I had always put off playing them for one reason or another. But when my significant other suggested to pickup their newest release I decided what the heck and give it a try and I'm glad I did. For about two generations now I've been asking for another good couch co-op experience from the days of my youth with good co-op PS1 and PS2 titles and this game took me back to that feeling the entire length of the game. What I really enjoy about the gameplay in particular is that it constantly mixes up the formula chapter to chapter. Every new arc in the story comes with new mechanics for each of the players to solve different kinds of puzzles which results in always keeping stuff fresh. Despite this there are some chapters which shine far more than others, my least favorite out of all the chapters has to be the Garden segment of the game, because while it does have it's own unique set of mechanics and puzzles to solve, felt a little run of the mill compared to the rest of the game's offerings. Despite it's occasional low points the game is still packed full of adrenaline pumping sequences of quick cooperative puzzle solving that will surely keep most anyone entertained. On top of the solid gameplay provided is a realistic story about the hardships of a relationship and how two people can start to grow their separate ways... that is until a magical book named Dr. Hakim shows up to try to mend the broken relationship of both protagonists May and Cody not only or their sake but for the sake of their daughter. The story of a divorcing couple of parents reigniting their passion and coming together once again certainly isn't new, but it's this game's approach to the subject matter, and the dark comedy sprinkled in that keeps you coming back for more. All in all It Takes Two is a perfect game to play with a significant other, or friend that will leave you feeling satisfied at the conclusion, and I can't wait to give Hazelight's other offerings a go!

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask is not only the first 3D installment in there series but also marks the first 3DS game. The transition to 3D is as graceful as it could've been I suppose but that doesn't mean it's perfect. The core fundamentals of the Layton gameplay style we have become accustom to for the last four games remain largely the same, but have been turned on their head in such a minor way that it can throw anyone off. Previously the main visuals resided on the bottom screen of the DS while in this entry the main visuals find their home on the top screen, also the navigation has been completely overhauled as movement has been changed from tapping corners of the screen to instead tapping locales on the map. This in of itself is not a fault of the game in anyway and functionally works as intended but leaping from four games that function that exact same way into a new take on the control scheme is sure to throw anyone off. Also this game tries to mix up the Layton formula further by adding things such as on rail horse back riding, and dungeon crawling which is actually a welcome addition in my eyes to help break up the regular point and click and puzzle solving. Going back to the visuals for a second, while seeing the wonderful and zany character designs of Layton portrayed in 3D certainly is novel, I can't help but feel in this entry that some of the 2D artwork lose some of it's finer detail in translation. It's certainly not game breaking or ruins the rest of the series for me but I will kind of miss the illustrated character portraits from the first four entries. The story this time around tries to give us an emotional look back on the life of Layton much in a similar vain to Unwound Future, and while there are certainly some emotionally impactful stuff in here, a lot of it kinda falls flat thanks to the inconsistent pacing throughout the entirety of the story. I will say however my favorite chapters in the game are the ones where we get to live in the shoes of a teenage Layton as he attends school and lives in his small village, in fact I wouldn't mind a whole game like that but I digress. The main plot twist at the end of the game is perhaps the most predictable out of the whole series, certainly doesn't mean it's bad, in fact I quite liked it, but you can definitely see it coming a mile away. All in All Miracle Mask isn't the most smooth transition to 3D i've ever seen but it isn't a failure by any means. It is still up there as one of the better Professor Layton titles, and I strongly recommend it to any fan of the series who may have missed out on it on release as it certainly does not disappoint.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is an interesting case where a tie in game in game isn't necessarily great nor is it bad. The game takes place towards the final minutes of the final episode of the final season of Samurai Jack where it diverges from the show where Jack is stopped from escaping the evil Aku's influence and is instead dragged into a pocket dimension where he is forced relive and battle through some of his most iconic moments from the show. The game does require a little before hand knowledge of the Samurai Jack IP for you to understand the characters and their motivations as this game doesn't really provide much in the way of context, it just kinda expects you to know the world of SJ. The characterization of certain characters is on point, and many (if not all) of the voice actors return to reprise their roles for this entry, so you will feel right at home as a Samurai Jack fan. The visuals are also as accurate to the show as a you'd expect a 3D rendition of the show could be, and sometimes it can leave you breathless with how beautifully some set pieces transition to a 3D space. That can't be said for every environment however, as many of the levels, while interesting to go through can be pretty barren of details to keep your attention. It also doesn't help that a lot (if not all) of the game's animations are mo-capped which can look great in other games, but for a show like samurai jack that uses limited animation to it's advantage the fluid mo-cap feels a little weird from fans coming from the show. The gameplay is another point of contention I have for this game as the combat feels pretty stilted. I'm not really an elitist when it comes to action games, as I have a pretty high tolerance and appreciation for stiff combat (I love how the legacy of kain series and original NieR games play for example.) But this game can feel particularly stiff, especially at the beginning where you haven't leveled up Jack's skills at all. Certain animations can not be stopped once started such as for the dodge animation which can really break the flow of gameplay especially since the dodge is particularly slow. If you can master the timing on the animations though it makes it less of a headache to deal with but is still annoying none the less. When you do a dodge roll or get knocked down you have to wait until the complete animation executes before you can pull off another move whether it be an attack or another dodge and it can really throw you off if not prepared. The balancing also fluctuates a little too much for this game as in one room you can clear 20 enemies with ease but 5 minutes later your on a moving train fighting a boss rush where no matter what weapons you use you can only chip damage them. Thankfully there are things such as skill upgrades, and weapon upgrades that should help you on your journey but this game could definitely benefit from having better balancing overall. In conclusion Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a fun, but mediocre romp through the world of Samurai Jack that takes the story on a little detour to enjoy some of the series' most iconic moments. It's certainly a game for the fans as I feel an outsider would be hard pressed to find much enjoyment out of the gameplay alone. But if you are a fan of Samurai Jack, and love the series for what it is, it certainly is far from the worst tie in game ever made, and it certainly is far better than other of the Samurai Jack video game offerings.

Hitman 2 Silent Assassin is an interesting experience to say the least as some one who came directly from the reboot trilogy. There is very little about this game that feels particularly polished yet you can't really blame the devs too much as this was back when they were trying to find that Hitman formula we have all come to love. The first game, Hitman Codename 47 started development as a standard FPS game but was later transformed into a pseudo-stealth game by release, however it didn't really accomplish that goal too well. With this entry IO got a chance to start over again while continuing 47's story. This game introduces mechanics such as corner leaning, and crouching which help you maneuver through the maps in a somewhat of a stealthy manner. This game unfortunately does fall flat in this regard though thanks to the incredibly slow pace of the stealth movement and the super jank of the enemy AI. You can be following any enemy's particular movement path while crouching and doing everything right but for no discernible reason the enemy will just turn around and ruin your run. There is also the problem where some of the maps are just too big for their own good. Stuff like St. Petersburg, and the mountains of Japan are just colossal (for a Hitman game) for no real reason outside of padding the play time, which speaking of padding there is a lot of it in this game with it's stuffy 21 locations you visit, some of which are pretty fun to play around in. My favorites include the Yakuza Stronghold mission, and the Indian Cult Island as they provided a real template of what future Hitman games would build their level design around. As for the story, it is nothing too crazy which is inline with the other Hitman games, however unlike the other Hitman games i've played the story does have a vary particular level of funk, and cheese in it's tone that I really don't hate. Following the end of Codename 47, Agent 47 has decided to find a new lease on life by trying to live peacefully at a catholic monastery before being thrust back into the life of murderer for hire when his priest buddy gets kidnapped. Speaking of B-Movie cheese this only compounded by the wonderful score fro Jesper Kyd. The Euro-pop/Movie score soundtrack really fits this world that IO had developed and it makes me kinda wish we got to see what he would've composed if he stuck with the reboot trilogy, my favorite song being the Main Menu theme. Despite it's jank, and despite my lukewarm feeling on it I recognize this game as a very important piece of the Hitman pie, as it is the first true stealth game in the series, even if it doesn't pass with flying colors and you can play much worse for 13-14 hours.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is the final game in the main Layton series, and it takes the story to heights the likes of which we haven’t seen before in these games. Being a prequel game to the series it feels a bit odd as the stakes laid out over the course of this games story are so grandiose in comparison to the original trilogy that the stories told in that game dwarf in comparison. But that said, that isn’t necessarily a great thing, I feel that the huge leap in what’s at stake can almost feel like a jump the shark type scenario for the series despite being built up from through Last Specter and Miracle Mask. Despite my shaky feeling about the larger than life narrative what makes me really appreciate the game once again is it’s characters. The new cast of characters introduced for the prequel trilogy seemed a bit shoe horned in at first, but as the trilogy told its story I became more invested in the microcosm that they inhabited watching all the characters relationships unfold into an ultimate climax in this entry was very satisfying. As for the gameplay, it takes the 3D Layton formula set up in Miracle Mask and improves on it just slightly to make the whole experience more enjoyable. Navigating the map and looking around an area remain largely the same but have been refined ever so slightly that it feels more enjoyable to control and explore, which was my biggest gripe with Miracle Mask. The game’s puzzles seemed to ease up on the math puzzles which I greatly appreciated but one thread that has continued throughout the prequel series the almost lack of any real creativity with the puzzles that we saw in the original trilogy. This does not mean the new puzzles are bad, far from it, but looking back at puzzles from Curious Village you can tell they were starting to run out of steam here. As for the environments you explore this game perhaps may be the largest in the series yet, as Layton and Co go on a globe trotting adventure exploring places like the Wild West, a tropical island, a Romani Village, amongst many others which are all displayed in high detail and brought to life with lovable NPCs and wonderful music. Overall I had a great time with Azran Legacy, and it is a great send off to the mainline series of games even if it bites off more than it can realistically chew. Any Layton fans should leave this game feeling satisfied at the very least.

A Way Out is an interesting cinematic co-op centered game from Hazelight Studios. My first exposure to Hazelight Studios was with their most recent entry (at the time of writing this) It Takes Two which was also a co-op game that had numerous fun puzzles to solve that require both players to think fast and outside the box. Going into A Way Out I was just expecting something very similar, and what I was left with was something that definitely had some light puzzle solving, but focused more on the cinematic tale brought to us from the perspective of two convicts named Leo and Vincent. The gameplay is split screen and allows both players to control their own separate character chosen before loading the game up. In this game you will do a lot of interacting with the environment and talking to NPCs, or blazing through quick action set pieces which is a way different pace than It Takes Two, and while that’s not what I was expecting it certainly wasn’t bad. In fact, for the story it was trying to tell I felt that the style of gameplay this game takes is most definitely effective and keeps the players engaged as they go through the story full of twists and turns. The game starts off with our protagonists scheming a plan to escape prison to get revenge on a common enemy, and as the game goes on you get to explore many different locations big and small and witness the growth of both protagonists. A majority of the puzzle solving is to be had in the prison segment of the game but there are still some small ones here and there later on in the story. Everything comes to a head for an epic conclusion at the end that will really test both players skills which was very satisfying and emotional. While A Way Out is not as refined as its follow up, It Takes Two, it still stands on its own with its own merits as a great game and awesome co-op experience. If you are coming in from It Takes Two you may be left a little disappointed knowing that the puzzles kind of take a back seat with this game, but I truly believe if you give it time it will grow on you.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is an excellent port of an excellent game (keep in mind I am playing on PS5.) It is everything I love about nocturne and more with new added dialogue, upscaled textures and minor QoL features that make this game worth replaying or anybody who has played it before. For new comers there has never been a better way to experience Nocturne officially, and I highly recommend anyone who is slightly curious about SMT to pick it up, at least on PS4 and PC. WARNING: EXTREMELY UNPOPULAR OPINION AHEAD.... I know a lot of people have complained about the game not running on 60fps or higher but honestly I don't think you need 60fps for a turn based RPG. Would it have been nice if it did? Sure, but when paired up with the original that didn't run at 60fps to begin with I have no qualms with what we got. I know the switch version in particular likes to dip below 30fps, but I have yet to encounter this once in my 60 hour play through on the ps4 version through PS5 backwards compatibility. Overall this is everything to love about Nocturne with the engaging Press Turn System combat, and challenging and memorable boss fights. Even if you are a fan coming in from P5 and P5R I highly recommend trying this out as this was directed by Katsura Hashino, director of P3, P4, and P5 and you can definitely see the DNA of those games in this one. Keep in mind it is a game that originally came out in 2003 so it isn't perfect, but the minor adjustments they made here should keep it fresh for any new comer.

Metal Wolf Chaos is as ridiculous as it's reputation makes it seem. The story is complete and utter nonsense, yet it's immensely enjoyable. In between the absurdist lines of dialogue in the script are some pretty funny jabs at the American political system that are just as relevant now as it was then which makes it all the more amusing. The gameplay for the XD re-release is also a ton of fun, I ran into 0 frame issues, and the controls were snappy. I wasn't expecting this game to be very good, but I was very pleasantly surprised!

Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart is the long awaited sequel to the series that continues where Into the Nexus left off. The story picks up the plot threads left by the "Future" series but many years later where the titular Ratchet and Clank are now feeling out of shape as heroes since they haven't been on an adventure in many years. But they are quickly thrust back into action when Dr. Nefarious gets his robot claws on Clank's Dimensionator which sucks them into a parallel dimension where Nefarious always wins. It is here where Ratchet and Clank get separated and clank meets up with the alternate reality version of Ratchet, the rebel lombax, Rivet. It is here where Ratchet and Rivet's fates intertwine on a journey to send Ratchet and Clank back to their dimension and stopping Nefarious from conquering the multiverse. In this game you play between 4 main characters, which mirror each other resulting in honestly just 2 different play styles. Ratchet and Rivet play the exact same as each other in the typical R&C format. Quick gunplay while strafing with occasional melee and platforming. There are some minor additions such as "Ghost Shifting" and the use of Rift Portals which help you zip and fly around battle arenas. The gameplay is a ton of fun as is the case with most of the Ratchet and Clank games. Clank, and his counterpart Kit play the same segments where they enter dimensional rifts where they solve simple puzzles to reach an objective. These puzzle segments aren't as complex or difficult as Clank's puzzle segments in Crack in Time, but they feel just as rewarding when you solve them. The visuals, as are with most PS5 first party games, are absolutely stunning, and a great example of the PS5's power. The non existent load times also help keep the flow of gameplay at a constant stream which will keep any player engaged to the gameplay. I really hope Sony is willing to see the excellence and sales of this game and seek to bring back the golden Playstation trio of Sly and Jak back into the fold with this type of fidelity, but only time will tell. My only major complaint for the game was I wished there was a little more diversity between Rivet and Ratchet's play-style but I understand why the didn't, and honestly that's just a minor complaint. Overall this is a great return to the main story line of ratchet and clank, and I cannot wait to see what insomniac has in store for us next.

Layton's Mystery Journey is the newest, and final (at the time of writing this) game in the Professor Layton series, and what else can I say other than what a bad way to end the series. I must make it clear from the start, this game's biggest issue is it's complete and utter lack of focus. The game is about the daughter of Professor Layton, one Katrielle Layton as she starts her own private detective business in London. The game, much like the previous entry, Layton Brothers, is split up into cases for you to piece together and solve, but unlike Layton Brothers, this game just lacks a central focus and plot line to follow. Instead we just get little slice of life chapters with very simple and predictable mysteries that struggled to keep my attention in fact my main enjoyment from the game was the very minor call backs to the previous games in the series. I don't necessarily think the characters or the set up of the game is bad, in fact it's far from it, the problem stems from the fact the game completely ignores all the interesting plot points it sets up for the complete opposite. For instance the set up shows Professor Layton leaving Katrielle on a foggy night setting up for an interesting premise.This plot point is never brought up again until the post credit scene, but more on that later. Next we have Sherl who is allegedly a human trapped in the body of a dog introduced in the first case who tags along with the main team for the complete length of the game. Sherl, and Katrielle's fates intertwine when Sherl reaches out to Katrielle's detective agency to help find out how he turned into a dog, but guess what, that plot point is completely waved away, and is NEVER brought up again for the remainder of the game. In stead we spend around 15 hours lolly gagging with Katrielle and crew as they solve, quite frankly, very boring cases that you can probably guess the answers to before you even start them. The only case that really was interesting to me was the 12th and final case 'Diamonds Aren't Forever.' The mystery is compelling enough, and the big reveal was genuinely surprising to me, but too bad it felt like one of the shortest cases in the game. The gameplay overall is the best part, as the typical layton formula is translated well enough to the nintendo switch system. Map navigation, interaction and puzzle solving feels true to the series and or that I honestly cannot complain. Some of the puzzles were a little too simple, but with the passing of the original puzzle master for the main series, I feel like they picked up the pieces as best as they could, and I can't fault them for that. All that said, this brings us back to what's up with the """"central"""" mystery of the game, what happened to Professor Layton? Well instead of making a sequel game, they decided to make a follow up anime that is 50 episodes long and is only officially released into japan that answers that exact question. And seeing as how Level5 USA is no longer existent it feels surreal that us in the western audience will potentially never get a conclusion to this question. Sure there is fan subs out there, but this is honestly less than ideal. I genuinely hope this is not the end of the Layton Series but seeing as the sales and reception for this game aren't particularly great, this might actually end up being the lasting legacy of the series which is actually incredibly depressing. I feel like the better route for the series was to perhaps continue the Layton Brothers story, but instead we got this (which does reference characters to Layton Brothers.) I didn't mind Katrielle as the one to continue the torch of the series, but she really needed to be in a better overall game. Sad to see it end like this, honestly.

Strangers of Paradise, is a strange game indeed. It tries to take the world and characters of the original Final Fantasy and explore some stories that were never told before. Simultaneously this game tries to set up a multiverse concept for all the Final Fantasy games to exist in parallel dimensions, so to say this game is ambitious for a spin off is quite the understatement. The game sees us take the shoes of Jack, and his group of buddies as they seek to destroy the evil force known as Chaos. Along the way we encounter various familiar locations from Final Fantasy games prior, while also fighting our way through hoards of enemies. The gameplay is not to dissimilar to Team Ninja's other offerings in the NioH series, but with a couple key differences. Namely there is no stamina bar, but instead a break gauge which will deplete with the more damage you take. Also the leveling system takes more after the Final Fantasy series as opposed to the NioH series, with the Job system, which lets you level up, and mix and match certain classes to unlock new ones. While overall this game is a fun and unique take on the Souls/NioH genre, and the story actually picks up towards the end the game isn't without it's issues. Much like NioH I am not a fan of the loot system in this game. The fact that almost every enemy drops a puddle of loot which is just the same piece of armor you got 30 times before but with slightly better stats is not a very engaging way to incorporate gear in my opinion, especially when loot will constantly be outclassed every new mission you go into. The constant stream of loot also clogs your inventory meaning every level or so you'll have to be scrapping piles of gear for mostly useless upgrade materials that you will seldomly use. And my other major gripe is the level design. While it is nice to see certain areas of Final Fantasy past be re-imagined, especially for games that haven't been in 3D before, the level design leaves a lot to be desired. Linear Souls like games such as Demon's Souls, and NioH both have little meandering paths, and hidden goodies for you to find, while this game mostly feels like grand open hallways with very little to find, or worth exploring. I feel like given a little more time this game could've been something truly special, but as it stands it's just a good, not great, action game that will go down as one of the more bizarre moments in the history of Final Fantasy. I hope this game receives a sequel which allows for more refinement, and maybe something that doesn't rely on pre-established lore to tell it's story. What they have here in a combat system is truly compelling, and something I think fans of Souls likes, and Final Fantasy will both equally enjoy.