Campaign Review:

Yeah, took me a while to get around to finishing this. Like Halo 4, it's a mostly forgettable campaign that's saved by some solid action in the last 4-5 levels. But far more than any previous Halo, this made me realize how much I hate it when modern AAA titles craft huge, detailed, yet forgettable areas that you just walk through without interacting with anything. There were a few times where my team of four Spartans was just walking across an alien planet with nothing else going on. It was all style over substance, but the style wasn't impressive or memorable. To be clear, I love a lovingly crafted environment in a game, but if it's in a linear level and you pass through an area in 30 seconds without engaging with the environment in any way... what was the point?? It doesn't contribute anything to the game, it just felt like adding more work to the dev team for the sake of adding more work. I dunno man, it got me real cynical.

Speaking of style over substance, Halo 5 has a habit of putting stuff in cutscenes that we should actually be playing, like killing the Elite boss in the beginning level, or a set piece in which Spartans are jumping across falling panels over lava. There's a cutscene where Locke briefly fights Chief, and I can't think of a single reason why it wasn't playable other than "it looks cooler this way". I'm not here to watch characters do cool stuff, I'm playing games to DO the cool stuff AS the characters!

Anyhow, everything I said in my Multiplayer review still applies to the core mechanics. The weapon variety is unmatched, and being able to use The Answer to take down a couple of bosses was just delightful. It's still frustrating that there's no split-screen, but whatever. My wife and I beat this with one of us on XCloud and one on console, and the streaming was fine about 80% of the time. At least when we play the Infinite campaign we'll be able to actually install in on a PC. Why is this the only Halo not on computers?!?

It's a fine campaign, but definitely the weakest in the series. Ending felt kind of pointless, and there really wasn't much in terms of standout sequences other than the huge numbers of enemies in the Battle of Sunaion. Glad I've finally beaten it, just wish it was better!

When BOTW released and I got my switch for the release of that game, the hype was real. And I loved playing the game, even though I took breaks here and there and it took me a while to fully complete it. I loved playing the game a lot, but it didn't feel like the best game i've ever played. I saw all of it's strengths and it felt revolutionary in many ways, not because it invented many new things, but because it stripped the game of things that I expected in an open world game and it because it stitched aspects together so well, that made other similar games enjoyable.
The moment I started really diving into TOTK however, there was only one question popping up in my head over and over again: Is this the best game ever made?
After spending so many hours almost entirely completing all the game had to offer and almost the same amount of time spent in BOTW, I can say that I never felt as close to being sure I know the answer to that question.
I feel like i don't need to really say a lot more about the game. The Switch Zelda Games are a phenomenon talked about at length everywhere and unless you lived under a rock the last couple of years, you probably know all you need to know about the games. Instead, I rummaged through my notes and want to just leave a couple of bullet points here, that describe points in the game that pushed me more and more towards knowing the answer to the question, whether this is the best game ever made or not.

- That moment when you climb up to one of the highest points in the game and watch the sunset. The minimalist soundtrack and visuals are absolutely singular and the sense of freedom I felt right at that moment, is something i barely ever felt in a game.
- From a technical standpoint it's still unbelievable the game runs on the switch hardware. Somtetimes I wondered what the devs would be able to achieve with a much more capable machine, but I think the result would be something entirely different. I think the limitations actually led to the beauty of this game. it's timeless and unique and i'm sure it will feel the same way in 20 years.
- It's a game that makes you feel smart and gives you all the power you crave as a protagonist in an open world
- TOTK is testament to the devs understanding what the community loved about BOTW and why they kept on playing. The way they doubled down on the sandbox freedom and the glitch-culture by implementing that into the gameplay loop, is one of the best iterations on a videogame formula i've seen, period.

Das war sehr gut. 20h+ und von Stunde zu Stunde mehr Spaß. Bosse natürlich auf easy, weil ich ein Erwachsenenleben zu führen habe 😊

+ Kampf Tutorial ist gut und bringt sogar Geld lol
+ Fotos als Marker auf der Karte sind sehr gut
+ Das Spiel ist insgesamt sehr vergebend, es gibt viele Checkpoints und wenn man stirbt, verliert man nichts
- mehr quick travel wäre gut gewesen
+ beim Beenden "X Minuten seit letztem Speichern"
+ Gefällt mir von Stunde zu Stunde besser, nach 15h endlich double jump <3<3
+ easy mode für bosse

Was für ein Ritt!
+ Sehr kreatives Leveldesign
+ Toller Soundtrack
+ NEON!
+ Schwere stellen einfach skipbar <3

Wider Erwarten tatsächlich ziemlich wonderful
+ SEHR abwechslungsreich
++ Jede Welt halt “Bonusblume”
+ Neue Fähigkeiten: Elefant, Driller, Wasserblume
QoL: Restart/Quit Course
++ Badges, die Fähigkeiten geben
++ Yoshi und nabbit invincible
++ Level oft in freier Reihenfolge

hat mir wesentlich besser gefallen als die letzten 2D-Marios. An ein Odyssey kommt es aber dennoch nicht ran.
Dafür gibt's aber Multiplayer 🤩

Wie auch schon bei den anderen DLCs: mehr PowerWash Content ist guter Content.

Als erster kostenpflichtiger DLC für den PowerWash Simulator könnte man sagen, dass die Ansprüche auch etwas steigen, aber es war auch lange überfällig den Entwickler:innen mal wieder etwas zurückzuzahlen.

Mit der SpongeBob-Erweiterung haben sie die Engine komplett an den Look aus der Serie angepasst, inklusive der Character-Models und Hochdruckreiniger. Das sollte man schonmal nicht vergessen.

Es sind insgesamt sechs neue Maps enthalten, also eine mehr als in den anderen kostenlosen DLCs. Auch hier gibt es wieder einige schöne Level mit vielen Easter-Eggs aus dem Universum, die ich im Vergleich zu Final Fantasy auch wieder besser wertschätzen konnte.

Es gab zwei Maps, die ich sehr schön fand und gerne gespielt habe. Eine Map ist nicht allzu groß, aber hat ein sehr witziges Gimmick mit dabei. Zwei Maps sind verhältnismäßig klein und kleinteilig, was ich nicht so gerne mag. Die letzte Map ist zwar sehr groß, aber leider nicht ganz so einladend.

Insgesamt bin ich aber sehr zufrieden damit und freue mich auf weitere Crossover, gerne auch gegen Geld.