PocketOcean
2024
Played this with my group for a few sessions, good for a laugh - being able to capture footage in the camera is a real stroke of genius that sells the entire thing.
2017
Played in one sitting in the dark with some friends who took it seriously, which was ideal.
Went straight into the deep end playing 5 player games that would take weeks to resolve so it was confusing and overwhelming but when you finally grok it, it feels really good.
2023
My multiplayer group had a lot of fun with this, an easy recommendation.
To me, the real magic of this game is how whenever you launch it, you'll find some fun in seconds.
2017
I miss Sony's smaller studios so much man.
2017
Yakuza 2 (kiwami or otherwise) is a a great sequel to Kiwami 1, it's up there for me with Yakuza 0, largely because it does some really engaging stuff with Kiryu's character arc and how it relates to the overall story all bundled into a well paced and structured game.
2016
I remember playing Yakuza on PS2 when it came out and honestly something was lost from the aesthetic and overall vibe of the original in the translation to HD/Kiwami - but newcomers to the series starting with 0 can at least have a smooth(ish) transition to get onboarded to the rest of the stor
It's a good game, an engaging noir-y romp with some awful boss battles, which is emblematic of the series as a whole.
It's a good game, an engaging noir-y romp with some awful boss battles, which is emblematic of the series as a whole.
2018
I feel like Y3's orphanage and slice of life stuff is great but the overarching plot is really weak - far weaker than 0,1, or 2, so when I played them in that order it really stood out. A fine game but a weaker one in the series.
2019
I love this game to pieces.
2018
Hades is a really good time, with great mechanics and music, but the loops/runs get exhausting over time, so the middle third drags (weirdly like Deathloop) before it goes out on a high note.
2018
Played with a group, we've tapered off after a few sessions. The core conceit is fun - building a house on a boat, but crafting A to get B to get C always slides off my brain, it's just not what I play games for.
2023
I think Jusant comes very close to capturing the magic of a Fumito Ueda game but has a few frustrating flaws that hold it back from true greatness.
For a game about ascent, for the most part it the climbing feels incredible - the mechanical process is quite involved but never overwhelming.
The art direction, music, sound design is exacting - nothing too detailed or overworked feeling so drinking in the experience of climbing and wandering around this tower and the ruins is great. The world feels perfectly lived in and not over detailed.
Occasionally I found figuring out where to go a little awkward, and the journal entries ok but not that interesting. I think they are serviceable but go against the vibe of the rest of the game. I also wish that the climbing was a bit more free form at certain moments to test your skill at planning and using your rope length smartly. I would start to get excited when I thought I would have some more options but they always funneled down to 1 or 2 critical paths. That said, the final 2 chapters' climbs are really good and and really engaging. How rare is it for a game to go out on a high? I felt like the team behind this had a good grasp on the production from start to finish.
For a game about ascent, for the most part it the climbing feels incredible - the mechanical process is quite involved but never overwhelming.
The art direction, music, sound design is exacting - nothing too detailed or overworked feeling so drinking in the experience of climbing and wandering around this tower and the ruins is great. The world feels perfectly lived in and not over detailed.
Occasionally I found figuring out where to go a little awkward, and the journal entries ok but not that interesting. I think they are serviceable but go against the vibe of the rest of the game. I also wish that the climbing was a bit more free form at certain moments to test your skill at planning and using your rope length smartly. I would start to get excited when I thought I would have some more options but they always funneled down to 1 or 2 critical paths. That said, the final 2 chapters' climbs are really good and and really engaging. How rare is it for a game to go out on a high? I felt like the team behind this had a good grasp on the production from start to finish.
2017
Mario Odyssey is an incredible game, full of creativity and fun, with excellent music and spaces I just want to hang out in a drink up. Controlling Mario is a joy.
And then unfortunately you roll credits and it keeps going, and it turns into an near endless slog. Mario post-games are tricky things to get right, and Odyssey thinks that more is more, stuffing each map beyond reason, making you repeat boss fights over and over which is a shame.
And then unfortunately you roll credits and it keeps going, and it turns into an near endless slog. Mario post-games are tricky things to get right, and Odyssey thinks that more is more, stuffing each map beyond reason, making you repeat boss fights over and over which is a shame.
This is fine, but perfunctory. It lacks a lot of the really nicely paced sequences from the main game, which I understand as you can't get the same resources for a 4 to 6 hour experience. It's fun but cannot compare to the core game, it feels slightly worse and cheaper in almost every way.