I was gonna write something long about this game, but I suck at writing so I’m gonna do something nice and quick. TOTK is without a doubt a masterpiece. Despite its shortcomings in how it approaches the so-called freedom that it wears on its heart, and lacking improvements to the world that may or may not hinder exploration and the magic of playing this game, I still adored it. I was engrossed with nearly every aspect of this game from its creative use of building to provide players an open sand box of creativity to its rich world and lore with exciting characters and stakes, all the way to its smaller scale quests about family and love. This game has it all, and is now my new favorite Zelda game. It’s not the epitome of what the series has been working towards, but it’s a step in a direction that’ll only create new grounds for not just the series, but for gaming. This game is just a preview of an extremely bright future full of bliss and memories waiting to be made.

My five hours of playtime felt longer than my just completed 27 hour playthrough of Hollow Knight. The game is extremely frustrating and yes this may just be a “get gud” typa thing for me, but the game design here is so brain dead and boring that I lack motivation to overcome challenges. I got to the fourth area, saw I needed 8 modules to get to the boss, and officially shut the game off. The structure is so tedious - obtain 4 modules and beat a boss in four separate areas. It’s basically like if BOTW was just the divine beasts for the whole game without 97% of the rest of the game. Shits ass

I was gonna write a review for this game, hell I already made a draft, but there’s just too much to cover and I hate how I write sooo I’ll just say that this game is an undisputed masterpiece. Despite its hiccups involving story progression and a roughly executed plot that doesn’t really give you the time to take anything in, it’s highs overcome the lows in such a way that makes it hard to give the game less than the highest score possible. The gameplay is phenomenal, the cast is the best in gaming, and the story is, well, perfect. Takahashi was playing 4D chess these last few years and ended up creating the best trilogy in gaming in the process.

Brief bulletpoint thoughts on the game:

- extremely charming and full of life
- the story and especially the ending are great
- game isn’t cryptic all too often but when it is, it’s nearly unplayable without a guide
- most challenging and thought-provoking dungeons in the series
- great score
- artstyle is beautiful; makes the vibes of the game incredible
- eagle tower sucks balls

I’ve played four soulsbourne titles over the last year or so, and I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve kinda just accepted that no series will ever top this one and no other developer will ever top Fromsoft when it comes to the video game market.

Dark Souls 3, Sekiro, and Elden Ring are probably in my top 5 games of all time, but I just like to say they’re tied because it’s nearly impossible to say one is better than the other - that is until I played Bloodborne. Bloodborne is a flawless game, with little to none of the draw backs that are present in the rest of the series. It’s combat is stellar, the world design is the best I’ve ever seen in fiction, and the score? Jesus christ man. Just listen to any boss theme and you’ll instantly ascend to a new plane. BB really culminates everything about Fromsoft and what they’re good at without having any parts that drag or any moments that are insufferable. It’s the most consistent game I’ve ever played, as it only gets better and better as you progress compared to let’s say Elden Ring which has a weak third act, or Dark Souls 3 which has a weak first act. It’s literally perfect.

And this is something I mentioned very briefly in the last paragraph, but it’s something that needs to be addressed even further. The world and story of Bloodborne are among the best in gaming - Miyazaki and his team at fromsoft excellently craft a dreadful depiction of sadness and pure anxiety unlike any other piece of fiction has done yet. Every corner of the map tells a story and is highly detailed, as if even the most irrelevant spots got someone’s full attention. There is so much care and work put into crafting this world to be SO depressing, and yet, it’s hopeful? Bloodborne, despite having this world, is still hopeful as much as it is dreadful. You look at the world of Bloodborne and see nothing but anguish and despair, and compare that to our world, while it isn’t the best, it’s easy to be grateful for what we have now when looking at a game like this. Sure this might sound cheesy, but it’s true. And another external factor could be the fact due to this being such an incredible fucking game, I had more of a reason to get up every day just so I could play this game - really, this can be said for any FromSoft title that I’ve played so far, but Bloodborne is truly just the highest peak.

Usually when I complete a game I let my thoughts sit for a bit in order to come to a full, unbiased conclusion. But for Elden Ring, my thoughts have been concrete since the second I entered the Altus Plateau - so I can safely say that that this is not only the best souls game I’ve ever played, but the best game I’ve ever played period.

After 95 hours, I became the Elden Lord and concluded the best gaming journey I have ever been through. Sure I still have a few bosses to go and DLC (that’ll only reaffirm the top 1 spot) to look forward to, but the experience from the start of the game all the way to the credits will never be matched.

Elden Ring feels like a culmination of every idea and mechanic put into the Souls series from what I’ve seen so far - topped off with the freedom and exploration of Breath of The Wild. All of this is able to create the best, most alive, and most realistic world in gaming. Elden Rings world is so vibrant and full of life; there is never an empty area or place that feels lacking from the rest. Even the smallest areas will be full of things to do, mini dungeons to complete, and bosses to fight. So much care and effort was put into this world and it really shows when compared to most of the lackluster AAA open world games that are releasing today. It’s a breath of fresh air, one I haven’t gotten since BOTW - it feels really nice to play an open world game to completion without ever feeling tired of repetitive side objectives and exploration that feels auto generated. The world is easily the highlight, but I can’t praise it without mentioning the story and lore written by the humble George R. R Martin. I’m not gonna act like I fully understand the story, but what I do know and gathering from the stuff I don’t even understand, it’s pretty easy to say that the world building here is immaculate and really furthers my take that this is the best world in gaming - and possibly ever. Side quests do not feel like side quests; optional activities that feel restrained and separate from the main story, but instead feel like branches of a much larger story and path. So many memorable characters brought to fruition with stellar voice performances really brings these quests home.

I’ve said my praises about the world and story which are already enough to showcase my love for the game, but I can’t leave out the gameplay. I’ve only beaten Sekiro and Dark Souls 3 + played a bit of Bloodborne, Dark Souls 1, and Demon Souls so I think I have quite the understanding of how the souls series functions from a gameplay standpoint. And because of this understanding, I can gather that Elden Ring is the best rendition of the Souls formula yet. The combat is so unique, so creative, and filled to the brim with possibilities when it comes to builds and how you tackle the game. The difficulty plays a big role in this as well - with Elden Ring being the hardest game I have ever beaten. It’s challenging but fair, and sometimes a little tedious but not very often, so the overall difficulty is super consistent and fun. There were so many bosses in the game that took me what felt like ages, but even then I had a blast learning their patterns and beating them (even if I pussied out a lot and used summons). The sense of accomplishment that comes from the bosses is really something that drives the entire series home for me - it is what makes the games so fun yet in the end is such a small piece of this vast series.

Elden Ring is nothing short of a masterpiece - it is everything you could ever ask for in a game and more. It will easily go down as one of gamings greats and I cannot fathom how far the inevitable DLC will push this agenda.

The Mario series will always be the king when it comes to the platforming genre - the series presents so many different ideas and innovations with each passing game and Mario Odyssey the game that truly marks the series as one of the greats of all time.

Mario Odyssey can only be described as a dream - it is everything you’d want from a video game and more. It’s innovative, fun, and creative with 0 bullshit or padding leaving you with a nonstop consistent journey that stays with you even after the credits roll. The content is fantastic and the actual movement is some of the best ever; Mario is so satisfying to control and there are no limits as to how the game can be played. The movement compliments the structure heavily, as both hold no restrictions on the player whatsoever. The worlds are large and vast, each having their own identities and stories to tell just from exploration alone. But that’s besides the point, the point here is the structure within each world: Mario Odyssey gives the player so much freedom to experiment with a large array of options when it comes to tackling it’s insanely large amount of content. Think of a roller coaster that just never stops and with each turn and bump comes a brand new idea and you get one of the most fun games to ever be made.

This is the fifth or sixth time I’ve played this game, with two hundred hours clocked into it. I’ve dug my teeth so far into this game that it’s basically become a part of me, and I’m so glad that it is. Mario Odyssey is a once in a lifetime experience that can never be replicated ever again - a true modern classic.

Intricate level design topped off with breathtaking atmosphere and immersion that makes you feel like you’re truly exploring this gigantic world in person - while also telling a story just through exploration. All brought together by a terrific score that you can’t find anywhere else and combat that’ll just make you feel ‘good’. You can’t forget the bosses either, easily the highlight, so many greats in here with unique designs that you’ll never forget…. like fr, hollow knight is soooo good!

Ok real review fr: Metroid Dread is a pretty good game, but it’s a little bit inconsistent. Hollow Knight kinda spoiled me and made me think all metroidvanias played a certain way, so maybe I went into this with the wrong mindset, idk. But why is it inconsistent? Well, one second I’m enjoying it and the next second I want to blow my brains out and this happened at least 10-12 times during my eight hour playthrough. There is a lot of good though, the combat is fantastic and traversal is honestly better than Hollow Knight, but the actual level design just isn’t that good. The game isn’t really immersive, at all. I never felt like I was truly exploring this world for myself while watching a story unfold right before my eyes by just taking in the atmosphere. Also, this game gives you no freedom if I’m being honest here, and this is my BIGGEST complaint with the game. In Hollow Knight there is always a ‘right’ way, a way the game wants you to go, but it also wants you to take alternate paths and explore the world in depth. So really, there isn’t a right way in HK, the way to progress is up to YOU, the player. Stuck on a boss? Simply leave and come back later. Don’t like this area? Do the same. But in dread you can’t really do this due to how linear the game is, making the 1-2 times where I got lost feel REALLY tedious. If you’re lost in HK there is always going to be some type of path that leads to something new outside the “main” path. In dread, this doesn’t exist. If you’re lost you have to find the ONE right way. But maaaaybe this isn’t a big problem because this only happened about 1-2 but I’m not gonna act like it never happened. There are also the bosses which my god these fucking suck ass. There’s only three, maybe four bosses in the game I enjoyed, and one of those bosses you fight like 6 times so by then is it really a good boss anymore? However the final boss is fantastic, peak gaming I unfortunately have to say. Just wish the entire game kept up with that quality.

Despite its faults, Metroid Dread is still a really good game and one I’d easily recommend to people trying to get into this genre… before you play Hollow Knight though, so you aren’t disappointed by how much this game pales in comparison. Still great though!