This was the only classic Mario I never played cuz it wasn't in the All-Stars pack, but... WOW

Levels are awesome
Cape is so cool
So many secret exits to find
It's probably the best of the bunch

It's clear so much effort went into this but the result failed for me on most every front. Combat continued to focus on breadth not depth, and the system for leveling up your combat items was odd, making it hard to justify using anything but the default blades until way too late in the game.

The story tries to humanize Kratos more but doesn't convince, and you can feel the painful way they're trying to slot a story into a part of the timeline that's ill-suited for any particularly dramatic character arc.

Adding to the lack of the sort of fiery single-minded mission the other games had is horrible pacing, with long-in-the-tooth puzzle+combat slogs that just had me exhausted by the time I was even halfway through the game.

One good thing! The boss battles are pretty jaw-dropping (though overly reliant on quicktime events). Phenomenal for a console that's about as powerful as a Nintendo Switch - and hard to think of many games two console generations later that can match them for polished spectacle.

This might be the best a video game narrative has ever been. Kratos and Atreus have an arc that made me laugh, cry, and cheer out loud multiple times in my playthrough. The expanded cast is so well realized and acted; Odin as a mob boss with a family that obeys him out of fear is so well done.

The visual design is a treat with so much variety, and the set pieces are stunning. The scene of the wolf chasing an arrow into the sun as the sky parts into nighttime might be my new favorite single visual moment from a game, ever.

The gameplay lives up to its narrative too, with a steady balance of challenge and progression. I found the optional bosses to be as difficult but much less frustrating than the first game. Exploration is a delight, clearly the developers took the positive feedback about the first game's boat conversations to heart. The amount of contextual dialogue here is extremely impressive.

I have extremely minor quibbles with some of the upgrade systems, and one of the post-game quests in particular, but when 99% of the game is such an out and out masterpiece, its hard to dwell on any of that. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

Really holds up, actually? - probably still my favorite as much as 2018 wowed me (though it's such a different beast that feels like comparing a death metal album to a novel). Has a sense of scale, broad operatic story, and (most importantly) skeletons that reminds me of the 1963 Jason & the Argonauts. The macho rage revenge myth story has a bit less pity for Kratos and a bit more pity for his victims here than in the original, the only one of the original trilogy to get that balance right - and it felt less cringe in its male-gazey character designs than the first as well, though that's really not saying much.

My biggest complaint is the weird purple spear weapon doesn't fit in mechanically or visually - feels like a discarded asset from Jak II or something.

Completely spoiler-free review.

"What is the point, then?"
"There IS no point! God has forsaken us!"
-Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter, 2013 (Mini-Series)


Making a sequel is an unfathomably cautious endeavour. How does one deliver a follow-up that isn't too similar to its predecessor, but also doesn't renew the formula too drastically?

I am fully against the statement "the first one was better". It leaves no room for appreciation for what the installment had to offer. As if the mere association with a classic or well-received title instantly renders the game inferior in all respects.

Yes, it's good to point out flaws, but constantly comparing it to a previous title never does any of the compared parties justice.

Without further ado, here goes my spoilerfree review for The Last of Us part II, with the spoiler-heavy one pending.

The Last of Us part II is deeply emotional.

It is a game that deserves its runtime. The gameplay is difficult but never inconsistent, there is a focus on characters and conflict, and, most notably (for me), the world is filled to the brim with small stories that are worth discovering.

It may be a long ride, but at the end it will, at the very least, have been a memorable experience.

Take the time to sit with this game.

Let this game sit with you.

That is all I will say.

Where the original Mega Man games up to this point emphasized careful platforming with limited movement options while trying to shoot peas at bug-eyed bots, the psychos behind Mega Man X said "FUCK THAT! Wall-jumping, dashing, huge charge blasts to destroy these robot goons!"

Mega Man X spoiled me so much that I can't really look at the previous games too fondly, it feels way too good to move and shoot in this game. They cranked the pace of this so much that it must've been hard for some fans to even consider it a Mega Man game. The iconic soundtrack also adds to the atmosphere, and I love the secret pathways that are often found by brute force, rather than leaps of faith like the original games. A cool detail they never really reprised for the series was how clearing certain stages would effect other stages, such as beating Storm Eagle would make his ship crash into Spark Mandrill's domain.

This is simply another game I can't even attempt saying what hasn't been already said. Mega Man X has insanely good movement options and controls, while still managing to blend in that careful platforming of the original series nicely.

probably my favourite naughty dog game, jak and daxter is a perfectly-executed adventure platformer

it's not got a ton of ideas going on, but its execution is just top-notch

the graphics hold up fantastically, it controls great too, the interconnected world is brilliant, and it's just so much fun to explore