would’ve gave this a 5/5 if it weren’t for that end event 💀💀💀 way too short and was essentially just a giant ad with no substance, eminem should’ve had like 10 minutes of time in the event at least imo. server issues that epic can never seem to fix for some reason made it even worse.

anyways this season was really great. it’s no surprise that i didn’t like chapter 4 that much at all so getting to go back to the map that i made some of the best memories on during late elementary/middle school was awesome. think this was the most fortnite i’ve played in years. og pass was really great, just wish it was cheaper instead of normal price since it was like half the size of a regular pass. og loot pool still the best in the whole game i think

more control, but this time alan wake is here! couldn’t ask for a better combo. overall very solid expansion, kinda wish there was more to it other than just following the same guy around and trying to kill him like 4 times but in the end this expansion is very enjoyable. i loved how this expansion sorta combined the gameplay of control with the mechanics of alan wake, having to use telekinesis to power light sources to get rid of the big boss of the dlc and get rid of darkness was full of creativity. really loved how this dlc sets up alan wake as well, the final line of the plot being “you have been warned.” from alan just tells me that aw2 will be hype as fuck. remedy killed it once again.

Control is a game i’ve attempted to get into several times over the years, and for some reason usually i could never get past the initial level. But thanks to the fact that i now have experience with remedy games thanks to alan wake, i was finally able to make the jump into the rest of the game, and god it was wonderful.

remedy really did some wonderful stuff with this one, the gameplay is masterfully crafted, gunplay is fun and addicting, and the powers like telekinesis and levitation add an extra level to it that makes it even more fun.

in typical remedy fashion, the story is confusing, like really confusing. but in a way that’s what makes it great, having to use the lore found in casper’s videos as well as documents and audio logs scattered around the oldest building to piece together the narrative was brilliant.

one of the best parts of this game is it’s graphics, there wasn’t a single moment during my playthrough where i wasn’t ooing and aaahing over the gorgeous set pieces. the ashtray maze especially is the biggest example of this, not only is it extremely gorgeous but it’s extremely impressive technologically. the fact that it’s constantly moving around you is one of the coolest god damn things i’ve ever seen in a video game. one of the most unique things about control is its use of live action filmmaking in its narrative. dr darling’s tapes and some screen transitions use live action, which i’ve never seen implemented in a video game like this before, i was constantly impressed with it.

my complaints with this title are very few and kinda nitpicky. sometimes i found the traversal between missions to be excruciatingly boring and complicated, the map doesn’t help much as it’s all 2d with no differentiating between floors. i also thought the ending felt a little rushed but it still does a good job of wrapping up the story, so i can’t complain too much.

all in all control is an absolutely brilliant game from the incredible mind of sam lake. from the gorgeous set pieces, to the masterful combat, to the unique methods of storytelling i can easily recommend this game to anyone willing to get past the initial bizarreness of this title.

now, it’s time for alan wake 2.

I was really conflicted on whether i wanted to give this a 4.5 or a 5/5 but for now we’re gonna go with 4.5/5.

I grew up as a mario fan, a huge one at that. but my problem was that i grew up on the new super mario bros games, which i of course enjoyed but i never had the ambition to actually finish any of them, which thanks to mario wonder i realize that’s because they’re just so bland and lack personality. Mario Wonder is everything the “New” games wish they were. Every level in this game is oozing with creativity, it was actually hard to tell what direction the next level would go in just because of how unique and random they got, thanks to the wonder flower feature. The gameplay is so unbelievably fun in this, the flower badge mechanic adds so much to the gameplay and i really enjoyed it. i especially really love how there’s animations with personality now, like when mario goes into a pipe from the side he has to grab his hat before he goes to the other side, or he does a little hop before going down a pipe. it’s a really tiny detail but it really heightens the experience since the new games just had mario stand there and slowly enter the pipe.

My complaints with this game are very few and minuscule which is most of the reason why i wanted to give this game a 10/10 so badly and still might. I really think this game could’ve used like 1 or 2 more worlds for the main story, and maybe some better pacing on the already included worlds, World 5 felt so short while world 6 felt so unbelievably long idk it’s weird but it doesn’t bother me too much. i also wish the boss battles had some more variety, don’t get me wrong i enjoyed em all but fighting bowser jr SIX TIMES got a little tiring sometimes, and don’t even get me started on the conveyer belt bosses on the airship levels 💀💀💀 they’re prolly just a neat callback to the original bowser bosses from the NES days but still they’re WAY too simple.

Overall i really enjoyed Super Mario Bros. Wonder and i think it’s a huge improvement from the last so many years of the new super mario bros games. might be the best 2d mario game, don’t be surprised if my rating changes to a 10/10.

Talking Flower best character of all time.

I’ll start my review by addressing the elephant in the room. Yes, this is a very biased review. I’ve been a Spider-Man fan for as long as I can remember, and I strongly consider Spider-Man PS4 as well as Miles Morales to be some of the best games I’ve ever played. With that I’ll start my review.

It’s been a long 5 years of waiting for this title, and i’m absolutely thrilled to be able to say that Insomniac Games has cooked once again. This is easily the best superhero game I’ve ever played. I find it so hard to believe that despite how good the first two games were, Spider-Man 2 genuinely manages to improve upon everything from the first games. The swinging mechanic has so much more depth to it due to the addition of things like loop-de-loops and web wings, as well as just how fast you can swing around New York compared to in the previous games. The combat becomes so much more fresh due to new symbiote abilities and power/gadget shortcuts, the graphics are just so god damn beautiful, and the story is god damn magnificent, although I do find the story to be about on the same level as the PS4 game.

As always the side content is phenomenal as well, I really love how Insomniac always emphasizes the “friendly-neighborhood spider-man” part of Spider-Man. Having the ability do simple things like help someone with their homecoming proposal or help find someone’s grandpa, it adds so much more to the overall experience that just helps amplify my enjoyment even more.

And god damn let me just say the voice cast in this is phenomenal. Yuri Lowenthal gives the performance of a lifetime here. He really does it all in this one, he goes from cracking jokes, to acting like a complete dick, to delivering gut wrenching moments all within the same game, it’s really impressive just how well he sells his performances. Nadji Jeter, Laura Bailey, Stephen Oyoung, Graham Phillips, etc all give wonderful performances that add to the emotion in the story amazingly. and don’t even get me started on Jim Pirri and Tony Todd!!!

Overall Insomniac’s Spider-Man game is seriously the superhero game i’ve always wanted. Through its bold, cinematic story and its wonderfully fun gameplay, I find that this was definitely worth the 5 years of waiting since 2018’s Spider-Man. Easily one of my new favorites of all time, as well as my game of the year. I plan on getting the Platinum Trophy for this game just as I have for Spider-Man PS4 and Miles Morales, and will most likely add to my review once i have done so.

Edit:
Platinum trophy achieved on 10/29/2023!! What an absolute blast to 100%. thoroughly enjoyed it the whole way through. side content was absolutely phenomenal and loved everything it sets up for future games. insomniac is once again cooking.🧑‍🍳

TLOU1 rating: 5/5
Left Behind rating: 4.5/5

While not being the most justifiable remake out there, I had an absolute blast playing The Last of Us Part I. Getting to replay the first Last of Us game was such an enjoyable experience, I honestly think i enjoyed it more this time around than the first time i played it. I finally got around to playing Left Behind for the first time too, and thoroughly enjoyed it as well. The complete visual overhaul on the graphics and the combat tweaks made the overall experience so much more enjoyable, i constantly found myself gushing over the graphics and enjoying the combat a lot more than i did with the ps4 remaster.

Overall i really enjoyed my time with this remake, i can easily recommend it to anyone who owns a PS5 or PC (as long as the port is actually good now) who somehow hasn’t played this masterpiece of a game already. can’t wait for whatever naughty dog has planned next, whether it be a new last of us or a new ip, y’all better believe i’m there no matter what.

Finally got around to playing this expansion after all this time since I’ve been finishing up the PS5 remake of TLOU1, honestly cannot tell you why i’ve never played this before i started it yesterday but i definitely wish i played it sooner because jesus what an expansion this was. I definitely think i enjoyed the flashback segments more than the segments finding medicine for joel.

those flashback mall segments made me laugh so much and then made me sad just seconds after thanks naughty dog

half a star deducted because honestly i just don’t like playing as ellie during combat segments 💀💀💀 there’s a part where ellie has to fight like 12 guys at once and they spawn you in in the most inconvenient position ever it made me so mad but that’s prolly just a skill issue

Alan Wake is a very unique horror game that i enjoyed a lot. There’s a lot i liked about this game and a little bit i didn’t. To start, the combat in this game is very unique, i enjoyed having to be tactical by using light to defeat enemies, with that said however a lot of times fighting multiple enemies at one time SUCKED. The story was also very unique too, i’m typically not a fan of episodic games outside of a few telltale games but it worked very well in this game. i think the ending was a little bit rushed but it still did a really good job at getting me even more excited for the sequel. i also think the gameplay got a little clunky at times especially with the dodge mechanic but hey, it’s a game from 2010 so it’s pretty much to be expected.

Overall, Alan Wake is a great game that does a great job at making itself very unique compared to other survival horror games, i could absolutely see my rating going up to a 4.5/5, and i’m beyond excited for the sequel.

God damn phenomenal game. Don’t think I can praise this one enough. When I played RE2 all the way back in 2019, Leon instantly became one of my favorite gaming characters ever, and my love for him only increased with this one. His character improves in every possible way (except for his mental state), his writing is fucking fantastic in this one. To extend on that every character is especially great in this game. I very quickly became a huge fan of characters like Ashley, Luis, and Krauser due to just how well written they were. The plot in this game is amazing, even if it loses a great deal of the silliness the original had, it still kept finding ways to keep getting better and better as it went on. Gameplay is really well designed in this game as well, this game probably has my 2nd favorite combat system in a shooter right behind The Last of Us Part II. The graphics are especially gorgeous, I kept finding myself using photo mode just to admire the views and capture screenshots.

Overall the Resident Evil 4 remake is absolutely phenomenal, and i can’t recommend it enough to anyone wanting to either get into the Resident Evil series, zombie shooters, etc.

is 5 stars too high of a rating for this game? probably. do i care? not in the slightest.

mortal kombat 1 is the fighting game i’ve always wanted. i’ve been a big fan of the series for a good few years now and i’ve always loved the games but i could always tell there was something missing. luckily mortal kombat 1 fills in what i felt the past few games needed. the gameplay is smooth and fun, combos are a lot easier and fun to pull off, kameos make for a fun new addition, the graphics are absolutely gorgeous, so on and so forth. i also thought the campaign was really great, probably my favorite fighting game campaign thus far. in short, netherrealm studios promised greatness with this title and absolutely delivered.

johnny cage better than ur fav btw

i feel the exact same way about this one as i did. chapter 4 season 2. at the beginning of the season i did not care for it at all, i found it to be hella boring but then once the season was about halfway done i realized i was only at level 30something and decided i was gonna grind to get the bp done because i was NOT gonna miss out on optimus prime.

i got from like level 35 to 150 in 2 weeks.

anyways chapter 4 is proving to be hella mid so far, haven’t got to play any of season 4 yet but apparently it’s super fun so hyped to play it

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is everything i’ve ever wanted from a Star Wars game and then some. Ever since i was a little kid i’ve always wanted a star wars game with the best combat, wonderful force powers, an amazing story, and a cast of characters to truly care about. Jedi: Fallen Order almost gave me all of that, the only thing it lacked for me was the force powers, and i thought the story wasn’t anything extraordinary. Jedi: Survivor takes everything Fallen Order did and does it even better. The combat is vastly improved with new lightsaber styles, new attacks, and many new force attacks. The story in this game is absolutely phenomenal, by far one of the best Star Wars stories ever told. The boss fights in this game are top tier, i could easily call the last 3-4 boss fights some of the best i’ve ever played. The core movement in this game is especially improved with new abilities like the air dash, which makes parkour so much more fun. the graphics are also phenomenal, yes it’s no secret that this game had a rocky launch when it came to graphics, there were an insane amount of frame drops, screen tearing, and other small visual bugs even on high end pcs and consoles, but playing the game recently has shown just how much the devs have been attempting to get rid of these issues, recently i’ve seen little to no frame drops or screen tearing at all. the set pieces are all gorgeous, there were often moments on planets like Koboh or Jedha that i’d often just have to pause for a while and take in the gorgeous views.

Overall Jedi: Survivor is an absolute masterpiece, despite its rocky launch it managed to come back harder than ever and absolutely blow me away. Without a doubt one of my favorite games ever.

it’s been nearly 2 years since i finished Yakuza 0, and now i finally finished another game in the series. why did it take me so long? i really don’t know.

Yakuza Kiwami is a step down from 0 in a few big ways, the biggest is the boss fights. the boss fights in this title are nowhere near as good as they were in 0, this is mostly due to the fact that most bosses spam dodges and grabs, and of course because of the shitty healing ability they all have for some reason. The story in this one isn’t necessarily a step down from 0’s, in fact i’d say it’s almost just as good. the first half of the story took a while to get going, i think it had some serious pacing issues, but that second half is so damn good it makes up for it immensely. stuff like the majima everywhere mechanic also made for a fun new addition, i always laughed at the completely absurd ways majima would use to force kiryu to fight him.

In short, Yakuza Kiwami is indeed another excellent title in the Yakuza series, but throughout this game i just kept thinking to myself “man, i wish this was more like 0.”

The Callisto Protocol is a game i have very conflicting feelings on. Back in 2022 this was one of my most anticipated games, I foolishly expected it to be a masterpiece on the level of games like God of War Ragnarök, or maybe even The Last of Us, but sadly this was not the case. For the most part there’s a good amount of things I like about this game, the graphics are gorgeous, the atmosphere is on point, and although the combat feels very clunky, once I got used to it, it was very fun when 1 on 1 with an enemy. The biggest problem I have with this game is that it feels like a very big identity crisis in my opinion. It felt like it was trying too hard to be Dead Space while also feeling like it was trying too hard to be The Last of Us in space (during the 2nd half of the game a new enemy is introduced thats literally just the clickers but not programmed nearly as good lol) while also trying too hard to be it’s own thing (hopefully that makes sense). Going back to my previous statement about the combat, I do completely believe it’s fun on 1 on 1 fights, but once a 2nd enemy shows up it instantly becomes horrible since there’s literally no way to use melee to fight 2 enemies at once. The story is… ok. The first half of it in the prison was pretty great! but once you escape the prison it kinda takes a nose dive. The characters aren’t very interesting either, I liked Karen Fukuhara’s character Dani a lot, but I found myself barely caring about characters like Jacob (although i did enjoy playing as him) and Elias. Not to mention how uninteresting characters like the Warden and Leon. The final boss was ok, nothing more than that, at least it was way better than fighting a 2 head 7 times like the game also makes you do. Also the ending is very obviously DLC bait lol and i’m not buying that shit

In conclusion, The Callisto Protocol is a decent game with very great ideas, but the execution just isn’t anywhere near as good as I hoped it would be.

7/10