Scaregoat
This game definitely feels like a few different ideas stitched together and then padded out. Making you do so much of the network and almost all of the Colosseum to get through the main story is brutal.
On the bright side, the new combat additions are fun. I liked whipping people around with Spider and mowing through crowds with Serpent. Also, there are some solid new characters, and a scene toward the end that's genuinely affecting.
On the bright side, the new combat additions are fun. I liked whipping people around with Spider and mowing through crowds with Serpent. Also, there are some solid new characters, and a scene toward the end that's genuinely affecting.
2023
Some really cool sequences, especially the ones that mix live action footage with CG rendered game assets. Also, great use of music. I think it relies too much on its fairly basic gun combat, which make its combat encounters go from tense to just kind of annoying.
2023
A platformer by sickos, for sickos. The movement strikes a remarkable balance of making the game feel like pure chaos while still giving you fairly precise control of your character. The level design, art, and music are constantly throwing new ideas and twists at you, and even if they don't all work well they at least don't overstay their welcome. My opinion is definitely influenced by the soft spot I have for the hyper-expressive children's cartoons that the graphical style uses as inspiration.
My biggest criticisms are that, as much as I love playing this game, it makes me feel exhausted after an hour or two. There's just so much going on and it can be demanding on your hands. Also, I like that the game is actually fairly easy to get through if you disregard score, and I wish that extended to the boss battles. The bosses are pretty tough, and it'd be cool if you could opt to skip their later phases in return for lowering or capping your score.
My biggest criticisms are that, as much as I love playing this game, it makes me feel exhausted after an hour or two. There's just so much going on and it can be demanding on your hands. Also, I like that the game is actually fairly easy to get through if you disregard score, and I wish that extended to the boss battles. The bosses are pretty tough, and it'd be cool if you could opt to skip their later phases in return for lowering or capping your score.
1994
The movement tech in this game seems so ahead of its time, plus the spritework is nice and most of the puzzles are fun to solve. The biggest downside for me is the annoying RNG in some of the levels (basically every time Donkey Kong Jr. is controlling some part of the stage), but that doesn't come up too often.
2023
This game's approach to puzzle design is sleek and frictionless in a way that I largely don't find rewarding. It wasn't until the last ~30% of the game where you have to start really thinking about putting orbs within orbs that I actually had to stop and work through what I needed to do.
The character and environmental design did a lot to help me enjoy Cocoon more. I thought the biomechanical insect beings were cool, and each of the orbs had a unique spin on a standard video game biome.
The character and environmental design did a lot to help me enjoy Cocoon more. I thought the biomechanical insect beings were cool, and each of the orbs had a unique spin on a standard video game biome.
2019
Aside from being an impressive collection of music and early-Internet-inspired artwork, this game really understands all the different ways the Internet can be a funny place. The petty drama, the unskilled yet earnest self expression, the fixation with bizarre cultural artifacts, all recreated here like a terrarium of Geocities pages.
2023
The only game to scratch my Bloodborne itch since... well, Bloodborne. While it shamelessly rips from its inspirations, I liked the twists it put on the standard FromSoft gameplay. Weapon assembly got me to experiment with builds more often than I usually do, and healing charge recovery enabled me to pull off some exciting victories when normally I would have consigned myself to defeat from lack of resources. Also, the fact that you have three defensive options for most scenarios (dodge, block, or go for the parry) added a lot to the second-to-second decision making in combat for me. I love how Lies of P takes its source material seriously to the point of silliness. I still smile thinking about the game's loading bar being Pinocchio's nose stretching across the screen. It lags in some departments, such as the linear level progression and the uninspired cube and spectre features, but it's one of the few SoulsBorne games to get this close to the genuine article.
2005
This is one of my favorite games to look at. The high-contrast lighting style, the UI, the mission select menu, nearly all of Killer7's visuals are firing on all cylinders. They perfectly suit the tone of the world, which operates using the logic of conspiracies.
My two main gripes about are that the gameplay gets a bit repetitive (not helped by certain rooms that contain combinations of enemies who are a slog to fight together), and some story and character details are explained in supplemental material. I'd prefer if those details were included in the game or just left unanswered. If any game can accommodate unanswered questions, it's this one.
My two main gripes about are that the gameplay gets a bit repetitive (not helped by certain rooms that contain combinations of enemies who are a slog to fight together), and some story and character details are explained in supplemental material. I'd prefer if those details were included in the game or just left unanswered. If any game can accommodate unanswered questions, it's this one.
2023
This game has probably the best multiplayer experience of any 4X strategy game I've played. The fact that you take your turn simultaneously with your fellow players AND that you can play asynchronously makes this game feel respectful of my time.
In the 4X genre, I find it's hard to get through even a single multiplayer game when you're playing with friends who are adults with full lives and a lot of other responsibilities. The way multiplayer works in AoW4 lets me make the most of the little time I have to play games with other people.
In the 4X genre, I find it's hard to get through even a single multiplayer game when you're playing with friends who are adults with full lives and a lot of other responsibilities. The way multiplayer works in AoW4 lets me make the most of the little time I have to play games with other people.
2023
Had a lot of quibbles with this game. I wish this it let you control the targeting more, the scoring system is opaque, platforming feels both too tight and too loose, and I didn't care for the protagonist (both his writing and visual design). The combat feels absolutely incredible, though. I hope this gets a sequel that irons out some of my issues with it.
2001
Incredible tech for 2001. I still can't believe how good the dollar bills floating through the air look. Character animations have a ton of personality. Solid core gameplay, though I found the last two bosses aggravating.
1998
The story explores uncommon topics for video games of the era like nuclear proliferation, and it creatively uses its nature as a video game with setpieces like the torture scene and Psycho Mantis fight. It's easy to see why Metal Gear Solid cemented Hideo Kojima's reputation as a genius game designer.
The controls haven't aged very well, though, and its reliance on standard action movie beats/video game structure hold it back.
The controls haven't aged very well, though, and its reliance on standard action movie beats/video game structure hold it back.
Improved controls and a story with more radical things to say make this entry easier to play than the original Metal Gear Solid, but at the cost of worse level design, less charming visuals, and a more intrusive storytelling style. The introductory Tanker level makes such a great first impression, which the subsequent Plant level lets down with its monotonous rooms and platforms.