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Bioshock released and became an instant classic. It's excellent narrative and engaging gameplay leave it still feeling like a masterpiece despite its age.
It's hard to convey the greatness of Bioshock's narrative without spoilers. It covers the themes of power and capitalism in a great way. Andrew Ryan has some of the best quotes in video games and is an amazing character. The world of rapture is written very well and makes it one of the most unique game worlds I have experienced and its downfall is super interesting. This story getting added flavor through audio logs you find scattered about is a fun way to convey extra elements of the story. The big moment at the game's climax is unforgettable and unlike any other game I have played. The ending sequence of the game is very well done and the narrative decision you make isn't overly complex but it serves the themes well.
Bioshock's gameplay is probably its strongest design area. All of the different plasmids you can get offer a lot of gameplay options. There is also a good bit of weapon variety and you get to make your own build with the upgrade system. The boss fights in the game, besides the final one which was very well done, are a bit forgettable and feel like bullet sponges at times. Battling with big daddy's is an extremely fun optional experience that feel more noteworthy than any of the main bosses. The level design is also well executed and exploring areas never feels monotonous.
The art direction of Bioshock is also wonderful. I like all the glowing signs and the classic 1920's vibe they went for. When you look out of the glass tunnels and see the rest of rapture or just the sea in general it is stunning. The character design of big daddy's is also another fantastic addition to the art direction. The voice acting of the game is surprisingly good for its time and this enhances the game quite a bit since most of the story is told through dialogue or audio logs. The soundtrack doesn't jump out at you often but there are definitely times where it enhances the gameplay experience such as the classical music in the Sander Cohen section of the game.
Bioshock isn't a game with an extremely high level of replayability. There are standard difficulty options and the option to turn off vita-chambers. There is 1 major decision you can make that affects only the ending of the story and technically also affects the difficulty of the game. The rest of the replayability comes through large variety of weapons and plasmids. However, at higher difficulties some plasmids or weapons are so situational that there are dominant builds you will find yourself gravitating towards. Since the game is not very large, I would have appreciated a little bit more replayability.
Bioshock is a masterpiece that has aged quite well and is easily one of the best games released during its console generation. The story, gameplay, and visuals you experience when exploring rapture are one of a kind.
( 90/100 )
It's hard to convey the greatness of Bioshock's narrative without spoilers. It covers the themes of power and capitalism in a great way. Andrew Ryan has some of the best quotes in video games and is an amazing character. The world of rapture is written very well and makes it one of the most unique game worlds I have experienced and its downfall is super interesting. This story getting added flavor through audio logs you find scattered about is a fun way to convey extra elements of the story. The big moment at the game's climax is unforgettable and unlike any other game I have played. The ending sequence of the game is very well done and the narrative decision you make isn't overly complex but it serves the themes well.
Bioshock's gameplay is probably its strongest design area. All of the different plasmids you can get offer a lot of gameplay options. There is also a good bit of weapon variety and you get to make your own build with the upgrade system. The boss fights in the game, besides the final one which was very well done, are a bit forgettable and feel like bullet sponges at times. Battling with big daddy's is an extremely fun optional experience that feel more noteworthy than any of the main bosses. The level design is also well executed and exploring areas never feels monotonous.
The art direction of Bioshock is also wonderful. I like all the glowing signs and the classic 1920's vibe they went for. When you look out of the glass tunnels and see the rest of rapture or just the sea in general it is stunning. The character design of big daddy's is also another fantastic addition to the art direction. The voice acting of the game is surprisingly good for its time and this enhances the game quite a bit since most of the story is told through dialogue or audio logs. The soundtrack doesn't jump out at you often but there are definitely times where it enhances the gameplay experience such as the classical music in the Sander Cohen section of the game.
Bioshock isn't a game with an extremely high level of replayability. There are standard difficulty options and the option to turn off vita-chambers. There is 1 major decision you can make that affects only the ending of the story and technically also affects the difficulty of the game. The rest of the replayability comes through large variety of weapons and plasmids. However, at higher difficulties some plasmids or weapons are so situational that there are dominant builds you will find yourself gravitating towards. Since the game is not very large, I would have appreciated a little bit more replayability.
Bioshock is a masterpiece that has aged quite well and is easily one of the best games released during its console generation. The story, gameplay, and visuals you experience when exploring rapture are one of a kind.
( 90/100 )
Persona 5 Royal was the first game from this beloved series that I played, and it lived up to they hype. Somehow I found myself anticipating getting out of class so that I could go home and attend school in game. P5R does everything very well but doesn't really go above and beyond at anything.
The narrative is pretty solid. Every side story is similar to your own, something happened that caused the character to get labeled a certain way and you spend time with them and help them overcome this. This mirrors how you were initially a criminal and everyone at the school thought of you that way. I think that since the game is all about peoples perceptions, going into the heart and seeing their distorted perception of the world is such a cool design. My only complaint about the story of the game is that there is a bit too much dialogue that is reiterating the same point. Also, I think that the original ending for the game felt better and having the game continue afterwards felt a little awkward. I enjoyed the new royal content, however, I think I would have preferred if the original ending was the full conclusion.
Persona is really two different games mashed together. It's an engaging social sim, that also gives benefits within a JRPG dungeon crawler. This blend fits it so well because I want to strengthen my bond with characters due to how engaging the social sim aspects are, and getting rewarded in the dungeons for doing so only makes it feel better. Near the end of the game, the combat does begin to get stale since it doesn't have the most depth. But this point didn't hit for me until I had already enjoyed it for about 85 hours.
The artistic direction of P5R is fun and simplistic. The anime style cutscenes look fantastic whenever they appear, but when cutscenes are done using the models they end up looking a little clunky and awkward. The best part of the game is it's soundtrack by far. So many songs are extremely catchy and I still listen to them months after I have beaten the game. Voice acting in the game is hit or miss. Sometimes a character says a line and you really feel the emotion, but other times it feels bland and forced.
The game offers a few different difficulty options and a new game + mode in terms of replayability. It could also be fun to replay just because you can use different personas and level up confidants in different orders which would make the gameplay experience at portions of the game vastly different. Since the game gives you a very generous amount of time to do everything you want in one playthrough, there isn't much new content to be found on future playthroughs.
P5R is an incredible game that doesn't have any areas where it is excessively weak. Its soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, but everything else about the game is just above average. I wish that there were more meaningful decisions to make throughout the story so that replaying the game had more differences from your initial playthrough.
( 90/100 )
The narrative is pretty solid. Every side story is similar to your own, something happened that caused the character to get labeled a certain way and you spend time with them and help them overcome this. This mirrors how you were initially a criminal and everyone at the school thought of you that way. I think that since the game is all about peoples perceptions, going into the heart and seeing their distorted perception of the world is such a cool design. My only complaint about the story of the game is that there is a bit too much dialogue that is reiterating the same point. Also, I think that the original ending for the game felt better and having the game continue afterwards felt a little awkward. I enjoyed the new royal content, however, I think I would have preferred if the original ending was the full conclusion.
Persona is really two different games mashed together. It's an engaging social sim, that also gives benefits within a JRPG dungeon crawler. This blend fits it so well because I want to strengthen my bond with characters due to how engaging the social sim aspects are, and getting rewarded in the dungeons for doing so only makes it feel better. Near the end of the game, the combat does begin to get stale since it doesn't have the most depth. But this point didn't hit for me until I had already enjoyed it for about 85 hours.
The artistic direction of P5R is fun and simplistic. The anime style cutscenes look fantastic whenever they appear, but when cutscenes are done using the models they end up looking a little clunky and awkward. The best part of the game is it's soundtrack by far. So many songs are extremely catchy and I still listen to them months after I have beaten the game. Voice acting in the game is hit or miss. Sometimes a character says a line and you really feel the emotion, but other times it feels bland and forced.
The game offers a few different difficulty options and a new game + mode in terms of replayability. It could also be fun to replay just because you can use different personas and level up confidants in different orders which would make the gameplay experience at portions of the game vastly different. Since the game gives you a very generous amount of time to do everything you want in one playthrough, there isn't much new content to be found on future playthroughs.
P5R is an incredible game that doesn't have any areas where it is excessively weak. Its soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, but everything else about the game is just above average. I wish that there were more meaningful decisions to make throughout the story so that replaying the game had more differences from your initial playthrough.
( 90/100 )
Santa Monica Studios dropped a masterpiece in 2018. God of War somehow serves as a continuation of Kratos' story while also being a reboot of the series. You can definitely play the game without any prior knowledge of the previous ones, it only enhances the experience.
On the surface, God of War tells a basic story of trying to climb a mountain to spread Kratos' late wife's ashes. Of course, there are many challenges that stop them along the way and prolong the journey. However, the true story is told through the character development of Atreus and Kratos. It is a touching story about family and Kratos being scared that his son will grow up to be like him. It's beautiful to see Kratos struggling with whether or not he can be a good father after everything he has done. The theme of family is even portrayed through all of the side plots within the game such as Brock and Sindri, and Baldur and his mother. It is very rare to see a game that has a narrative theme rooted so deeply within itself and it is one of the strongest aspects of GoW.
The gameplay is not overly complex but very fun. The combat has enough variety to not feel overly boring, and it even gets added depth after Kratos gains his second weapon. Valkyrie fights are where the combat system shines the brightest. They feel fast paced and give a good challenge in order to keep players engaged. Some low points of the combat are the low diversity of enemies. Fighting so many of the same minibosses and enemies starts to weigh on the player, especially near the end of the game. When not in combat, the game has simplistic puzzles or climbing sections that keep the player slightly engaged while characters talk to each other and reveal more of the story. I think that this was a great design and works very well in place of cutscenes for dialogue. These sections get slightly obnoxious near the end of the game due to the heavy amount of backtracking.
The designs and animations of the characters in the game are very high quality. Whenever Kratos lands a killing blow you are in for a treat. Even when you watch the same one on a troll for the 15th time. The score is also very well designed in the game, but, none of the tracks really jump out and stick with you after completion.
The side quests in GoW are extremely well designed. Almost all of them are in line with the games themes and add extra content to the game. There is a good amount of postgame content for players such as the Valkyrie fights or finding collectibles throughout the realms. The game has replayability options in the form of changing stats for different builds, and difficulty options. The only issue with replaying the game is that the dialogue and walking sections are far more annoying once you've already completed the game once.
All things considered, GoW 2018 is an amazing continuation of the story and could also serve as a good introduction to new players. With fun reactive combat, beautiful animations, a solid OST, and one of the most well written narratives in a while, it is easily one of the best games I have played in recent times.
( 92/100 )
On the surface, God of War tells a basic story of trying to climb a mountain to spread Kratos' late wife's ashes. Of course, there are many challenges that stop them along the way and prolong the journey. However, the true story is told through the character development of Atreus and Kratos. It is a touching story about family and Kratos being scared that his son will grow up to be like him. It's beautiful to see Kratos struggling with whether or not he can be a good father after everything he has done. The theme of family is even portrayed through all of the side plots within the game such as Brock and Sindri, and Baldur and his mother. It is very rare to see a game that has a narrative theme rooted so deeply within itself and it is one of the strongest aspects of GoW.
The gameplay is not overly complex but very fun. The combat has enough variety to not feel overly boring, and it even gets added depth after Kratos gains his second weapon. Valkyrie fights are where the combat system shines the brightest. They feel fast paced and give a good challenge in order to keep players engaged. Some low points of the combat are the low diversity of enemies. Fighting so many of the same minibosses and enemies starts to weigh on the player, especially near the end of the game. When not in combat, the game has simplistic puzzles or climbing sections that keep the player slightly engaged while characters talk to each other and reveal more of the story. I think that this was a great design and works very well in place of cutscenes for dialogue. These sections get slightly obnoxious near the end of the game due to the heavy amount of backtracking.
The designs and animations of the characters in the game are very high quality. Whenever Kratos lands a killing blow you are in for a treat. Even when you watch the same one on a troll for the 15th time. The score is also very well designed in the game, but, none of the tracks really jump out and stick with you after completion.
The side quests in GoW are extremely well designed. Almost all of them are in line with the games themes and add extra content to the game. There is a good amount of postgame content for players such as the Valkyrie fights or finding collectibles throughout the realms. The game has replayability options in the form of changing stats for different builds, and difficulty options. The only issue with replaying the game is that the dialogue and walking sections are far more annoying once you've already completed the game once.
All things considered, GoW 2018 is an amazing continuation of the story and could also serve as a good introduction to new players. With fun reactive combat, beautiful animations, a solid OST, and one of the most well written narratives in a while, it is easily one of the best games I have played in recent times.
( 92/100 )