Less of a game and more of an interactive short story, A Mortician's Tale gives you a glimpse into the interesting, if somewhat morbid world of one who cleans, embalms, and cremate corpses. The premise is intriguing enough, but ultimately, the tale being told here is nothing groundbreaking.

I'm a pretty squeamish person, so I appreciate that the graphics of this game are somewhat cute and stylized. If I had to clean and preserve realistic corpses, I would be done with this game in seconds. The art style, while simple, makes the so-called "death industry" far more digestible than it is in real life.

I knew going into this game that it would be short and story-based, so I wasn't expecting riveting gameplay. That being said, I wish they could have done a LITTLE more to make what little play there is a tad more interesting. I suppose the repetitive gameplay loop is slightly intentional, as you're meant to ponder on what it means to be involved in a "death industry", but the lack of shake-ups left me wanting more.

As I mentioned, this is a game that emphasizes its story. I expected more choices to make this aspect of the game interesting, but there's only one such choice to be found and I don't believe it has any bearing on how the story unfolds (I believe said choice exists as an accessibility option more than anything, which I can appreciate). The game only lets you in on the plot through emails, with your character's day-to-day life and conversations being implied rather than directly shown to you. It's a neat way to tell a story, but I would have liked to see more on-screen development to see how the main character reached her (admittedly, heartwarming) decision by the end of the game.

I first completed Halo: CE around 10 years ago. Having been introduced to the series through Halo 3, I wanted to give the previous games in the a series a shot. I remember thinking highly of CE's campaign at the time. Having just replayed it via The Master Chief Collection, however, I feel that its campaign is showing its age. That being said, for the time of its release, it's easy to see why Halo was so groundbreaking.

From a presentation standpoint, Halo still holds up remarkably well. I gave both the Anniversary and original graphics settings a fair shake during my playthrough. While the OG graphics are a little simple by today's standards, I think they actually contribute to the game's atmosphere quite well, especially in the open, outdoor maps. The atmosphere is backed up by a phenomenal soundtrack that always seems to nail whatever mood it is that the designers were going for at any given time. These elements have aged very well all things considered.

The gameplay of Halo is solid, if a little basic by today's standards. Weapon variety is limited, but the weapons that are there each provide something unique. That pistol is still legendary. There's also a couple of vehicles to use, but the vehicle controls are rather tough to get a grip on after two decades of improvement. My main issue with the campaign is just how repetitive it feels. The first several missions start off pretty bombastically. You escape a space cruiser and wander the installation in order to rescue survivors, but things get really boring when you have to venture interior areas. This game constantly asks you to trek through identical hallways and rooms in its latter half. Then it has the audacity to make you go through those same boring areas again in reverse. I guess I didn't notice it in the past, but it's really apparent now and makes getting through the last third of the game a real slog.

Halo: CE will always be a classic for what it contributed to the genre, but it's got some issues that make it harder to go back to today.