A stunningly high quality release from a small studio that has no business releasing a game this strong, Helldivers 2 is some of the most fun you can have in videogames and delivers in every possible way.

Currently the game does suffer from some networking issues, which is the only thing keeping me from giving it a solid 5 stars. These have improved since the first week of launch but there are still decent odds that you'll log in to group up with friends and the matchmaking will just not work, which is a massive bummer.

If you have the patience to push through the issues with the online then Helldivers is incredible. The gunplay feels punchy and sounds amazing, the game looks gorgeous, and the gameplay itself is rock solid. Helldivers knows exactly what it's trying to do and it nails every aspect of its design. The voice acting also deserves special mention, listening to your character scream in panic while you struggle to enter the right sequence of keystrokes to respawn your dead teammates as a horde of murderous bugs bears down on you is hilarious every single time.

If you're on the fence about Helldivers 2, it's absolutely worth a purchase. It's only February, but I'm confident this is going to be a GOTY contender for 2024.

I really enjoyed Sanabi, but honestly I think its score is a little inflated from just how good the last 2 hours of this game are. This game has some absolutely incredible moments. The opening is very strong, a few story moments in the middle are neat, and as mentioned the lead-up to the end of the game is amazing.

But the game is just way too drawn out. Most gameplay sections could have had their length cut in half, probably dropped to 1/4 if you wanted to only leave the really good stuff. A lot of sections, especially once you get to the back half of the main plot, drag on far past the point they should have and I was begging to be done with a few segments long before I reached the end. This was generally not because of difficulty - This is not an overly challenging game outside of a few tricky platforming areas. Instead you'll just be seeing endless screen after screen of incredibly basic platforming challenges you'd already mastered twenty minutes ago.

This is especially painful because Sanabi's writing is often genuinely enjoyable, though sometimes a little clumsy, and is really the only reason I made it through to the credits. The characters are generally well written and the dialogue usually succeeds at being actually funny. I often found myself wishing dialogue scenes would stretch on a little longer just so I could spend more time with the characters, but inevitably the scenes end and you're due for another 30 minutes of silently grappling your way through repetitive platforming challenges.

Sanabi is frequently compared to Katana Zero and while I agree the vibes are similar, I think Sanabi's flaws become especially glaring when that comparison is drawn. Katana Zero's total runtime clocks in at around 3.5-4 hours, less than half the time it took me to beat Sanabi, but that game has cut all the fat that sometimes makes Sanabi such a chore. If you enjoyed Sanabi then I think Katana Zero is an easy instant recommend, providing a shorter, more focused experience.

I still think Sanabi is worth playing. The story is fun, and the characters are likable. But the endless padding really brings down a game that is otherwise so close to becoming one of the indie greats.