Halo 3 is like a thrilling action movie that is constantly in its climax. Once the campaign begins it doesn’t hold back. Lulls in the action are minimal, set pieces are plenty, and the action is constant. You would think this would get old after a while, but Halo 3 does not overstay its welcome. Clocking in at an average of 8 hours the time flies by. The story is admittedly pretty lackluster especially in comparison to Halo 2. Instead of setting up characters like the Arbiter, fleshing out the motivations of the Covenant, and establishing the lore of the Forerunners and Flood, Halo 3 opts to stick to its guns--literally. We just blast our way from one set piece to the next leaving any desire for lore or character development to take a backseat. Mechanically, it plays a lot like Halo 2 but improved. The new brute weapons, addition of the badass Spartan Laser, and the new equipment feature add to the already break-neck pace of firefights. The new vehicles were a blast to ride around in as well, especially my new personal favorite the brute Chopper. In the end, Halo 3 is a thrill-ride that leans into fast-paced action but sacrifices depth and greater narrative. It is a blast to play but lacks that extra push that could take it over the top and complete the package.

The original Final Fantasy from 1987 is a nice little quaint adventure that served as a revolutionary stepping stone for what would become one of the largest JRPG franchises of all time. Given the history of this franchise and it’s current stature in worldwide culture, it is quite humbling returning to its core roots with the original title. It obviously has quirks that you can associate with older games from this era--an exorbitant amount of random encounters, a story that leaves out detail, a simplistic combat system, and mechanics that literally are so bugged they don’t even work. Even taking all of those things into account, Final Fantasy is still a blast. There is a kind of special magic that really works. Final Fantasy is a quaint, fun, simple adventure that impresses more with how much they accomplished with so little resources than it disappoints. It’s not an adventure I will want to return to anytime soon, but it is one I will remember.

FromSoftware, more than any other video game developer in the modern age, has influenced how I approach video games as a medium. I first played it back in college. My best friend had come over and we decided we would take turns playing this game that was notoriously difficult. He was already experienced with FromSoftware games while I was a complete newbie. I had seen Dark Souls before, but never committed to playing it. We decided that I would be primarily making decisions on our build and direction and agreed to swap control after every death. We popped the game in, got comfortable, and I began playing. Little did I know that this game would change how I interacted with my favorite medium forever.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew at this point that Dark Souls was infamous for its difficulty and I worried if I would enjoy such an experience. I mean, I had experienced annoying, tedious, or challenging parts of games before but never an entire game built around the idea of extreme difficulty. As expected, I died. A lot. Small mistakes, poor build choices, and general stubbornness were my undoing and I could feel the frustration settle in. But, as the game went on and as I saw how my friend was tackling each encounter and area, I decided to try and adapt. I began analyzing enemy movesets, played more defensive, picking and choosing when to strike with my blade and when to back up and see what the enemy had up their sleeve. I could physically feel myself getting better. By the time we reached Anor Londo, I was feeling fairly confident. Then, Ornstein & Smough happened…

My build was terrible. Probably the worst build I have ever created in any RPG before or since. I honestly half respect and half loathe my friend for allowing it to happen. It was a jack-of-all trades mixed bag as I tried to experiment with every little mechanic from sorceries to miracles to dexterity and strength weapons. By the time we reached Anor Londo, the build began to lose steam and you could feel it. When we finally reached the notorious duo of Ornstein & Smough, we were pretty weak. They tore us a new one. We spent hours trying to take them down, slamming our heads against a wall that would not budge. The sun began to set on the weekend and my friend went home, the fight unfinished. I could feel it. The frustration, the feeling of unfinished business, the looming reminder that I could not defeat the foe ahead of me. I woke up the next morning, went to my first college class of the day and proceeded with my normal daily routine. But, all I could think about was that fight.

When I got home I threw my bag down, grabbed a soda, and began going at it once more. It took almost all night. I failed. And failed again. And failed some more. But, I could feel incremental changes for each failure. A dodge here that could be timed earlier, an attack opening there. Finally, it all clicked. I kept the two in my line of sight, ensuring neither would get the drop on me. I kept them separated as much as possible, using the pillars in the environment to my advantage. I chipped away at Ornstein’s health bit by bit, dodging what attacks I could while conserving stamina. With enough time and careful use of Estus to heal in between their onslaught of attacks, Ornstein went down. Phase two began. It all came down to this. After another ballet of avoiding Smough’s most powerful attacks and his deadly yet awkward hammer shovel and scoop, he finally went down. I had done it! That massive wall that had blocked our progress for hours finally showed some cracks and I exploited them. I had finally broken through the wall that was Ornstein & Smough! I was ecstatic and overjoyed. It was a rush of emotions, the first time in a video game when I felt truly triumphant. As if there was a giant Goliath in my way that I took down all by myself. It was a feeling unlike any other.

From that point onward, I kept chasing that feeling. Ornstein & Smough forced me to re-examine my character's build and recognize its flaws. It forced me to recognize the flaws in my own skill and become better. It taught me to persevere even when all seems lost. I was transformed from that point onwards. When my friend next came over, I showed him what I had accomplished and we moved onwards to beat the game. I was legitimately proud of this achievement and decided I needed to prove myself more. When he left my house on the day we finished the game I immediately turned it back on, created a new character, and ran through the game again. This time, I would be all alone. When I reached the dreaded Ornstein & Smough once more, I was scared. They had easily been the hardest boss I had ever faced and I had only made it through last time by the skin of my teeth. This would be the true test to see if all I had learned actually paid off, if I actually got better. I beat them on the first try. I had proven that I could get better. This victory proved that I took the hard lessons as truth, adjusted, and improved. All of the deaths, all of the failures, all of the mistakes were not hindrances to progress, they were building blocks.

Fast-forward 7 years later and I have now beaten all games FromSoftware has put out since Dark Souls and even went back to play Demon’s Souls. I’ve played through Dark Souls multiple times and have finally, at the time of this review, achieved the ultimate goal of attaining the Platinum trophy in Dark Souls: Remastered. These games have become some of my favorites ever. After Dark Souls, I began always playing games on at least “Hard” difficulty if given the option. Part of this is to chase the high of accomplishment and achievement that Dark Souls gave me but also because I truly believe that the difficulty of Dark Souls is the reason why I learned so much about it. I only appreciate the mechanics, systems, level-design, and combat of Dark Souls as much as I do because FromSoftware forced me to engage in and learn all of these systems. You have to truly understand Dark Souls if you hope to complete it.

I only discovered how beautifully and expertly crafted this interconnected world was because they forced me to explore it. I only discovered how diverse and exciting building new characters could be because they give you so many different options to play around with. I only learned how to analyze an enemy attack pattern, find the correct times to heal, or even how to parry an attack because they forced you to learn if you hoped to defeat some of the game’s harder bosses. This isn’t even touching on the beautiful music, the crushing, oppressive atmosphere, and the deep lore that lies underneath it all. It is not a perfect game--there are sections of the game that are clearly unfinished such as Lost Izalith and its underdeveloped exploration where monsters are just copy/pasted in random areas all huddled together. There’s some jank involved with being an early game in the soulsborne catalog like no omni-directional rolling and some instances of the environment not behaving as you wish. The boss quality can vary from amazing to extremely poor. But, those flaws don’t matter in the long run. The main strength of Dark Souls is in its core mechanics, its amazing world design, and its intense atmosphere that still remains unrivaled.

Dark Souls holds a special place in my heart for being one of the most influential games of my lifetime. It completely changed how I view game mechanics, how I interact with games, and how I approach analyzing video games forever. Achieving the Platinum could be a tedious grind. Trying to get the Channeler’s Trident to drop is enough to make a man go insane. But, the achievement is worth it. It represents a recognition of what Dark Souls has done for me as a lifelong video game player and is a representation of my love and respect for this legendary game. It may not be perfect, it is not even FromSoftware’s best Dark Souls game let alone their best “soulsborne” game as the genre came to be called. But, for my personal gaming history, it is definitively their most important and it is an experience that will stick with me forever.

Dragon’s Dogma is a melting pot of ideas. Some of it really works. The combat is fast, chaotic, and endlessly fun. The vocation system lets you swap your class at any time making it very flexible and fun to experiment with. The open world, while a bit lacking in storylines, makes up for it with individual stories you create as you explore and encounter emergent experiences with your companion Pawns. The Pawn system is an innovative and creative way to give the player a group of changing companions that also connects them with other players at the same time. Quests are unique and memorable even if the actual stories themselves are forgettable. Some quests are structured in a way that they are completely missable after certain points in the game, require you to jump through hoops to complete them, or involve some other design element that seems designed to frustrate and inconvenience the player. This may be seen as a negative for most, and it likely will be, but I actually appreciate much of this intentional challenge and resistance the game placed on the player. The music that accompanies your adventure sets a perfect tone.

However, some of the ideas really do not work. As mentioned before, the vocal performances can range from serviceable to laughable. Some of the voice acting is so absurd that it feels intentional. The story itself has some intriguing elements by the end but by-in-large is very forgettable. A lack of major side quest storylines can make the open world feel separate from the rest of the local towns and cities. Loot, while addictive to collect, can be a bit lacking in terms of material reward. The affinity system they have is also underdeveloped. Outside of a few characters who may give you a new piece of merchandise or perhaps another excruciating escort quest, there’s not a lot of reason for it to exist. I appreciate the attempt but my affinity with each character was never relevant to my interactions with them.

This game lives on its individual moments you encounter throughout the journey. I’ll never forget moments like when I exited the giant city of Gran Soren only to find a caravan of merchants being attacked by a giant Griffin. Most of the NPCs made it out just fine but their pack-animal was grabbed by the best and taken away. Later, I hunt it down to the top of a tower and just as it is about to transition into a more powerful phase, a random dude I had helped find a book hours earlier runs up and joins the fight out of nowhere, helping me slay the beast with some new magic he had learned. These unforgettable moments are interspersed with moments of blank void where it can feel like you sunk 4 hours into the game but can’t remember a single thing you did. Dragon’s Dogma has a lot of highs and lows. There is really not another game like it and I respect it for that. I only wish the game would have expanded on and deepened some of its elements to create something that was truly remarkable. Instead, what we have is a unique game trying to soar to great heights but with just a few too many flaws weighing it down.

Rebirth and Remake are opposites in many ways. Remake was a linear, narrative-focused game with cramped and narrow environments tunneling you toward specific objectives and story beats. Rebirth is an open, content-packed game with expansive areas that allow for endless hours of exploration. Many players are going to struggle to adjust to this new style of game especially if they expect a similar experience from Rebirth as they had with Remake. I too had to adjust to this new style. Remake created such a compelling gameplay loop that felt tight and rich in plot beats. Very rarely did you spend much time away from the main plot save for a few mediocre side activities or the occasional boss battle with one of Chadley’s many simulations. Rebirth on the other hand presents you with so many side activities that it can be a shock to the system. I did not fully adjust to the flow of Rebirth until I had already completely cleared the first major area. Once I did adjust, once it all became second-nature and I fully embraced what Rebirth had to offer, I found a game that, after 90 hours, all I wanted to do was play it all over again.

Rebirth tackles its open-world in a way that I was not sure about at first. It is very much a check-list style with massive open zones that have points of interest scattered around for you to go to and complete. It is most compared to a Ubisoft-style open-world and I believe that comparison is mostly apt here. In recent years I have shifted to preferring the open-world styles of a Breath of the Wild or an Elden Ring. Big open worlds with minimal markers. Games where you just get placed in a beautiful world and can go anywhere at any time and discover things without knowing what is coming up next. The adjustment from those kinds of open-worlds to this was certainly an obstacle, but it was one I broke through. By the time I began exploring and completing objectives in the second major open-area, it was all really beginning to click.

The actual actions you’re taking in the open-world can range from a simple 10 second button-press QTE to battles with special mini-boss fiends. This is to say that some are definitely more involved than others and not all objectives are made the same. However, they all serve the purpose of fleshing the world out and serving as an excuse to engage and explore these beautiful landscapes. Each open area also has a hub-town that you can explore, rest, gather items, equipment, and side quests to complete. The side quests are really where the game’s side content is at its best. These side quests can have varied purposes from deepening the lore of the world, giving more characterization to your companions, or even as a long joke. All are well-worth doing even for players who are not vibing with the open-world aspect of the game. They add so much flavor and depth that would otherwise be missed out on.

The activities just mentioned already would be enough to make Rebirth a much more expansive game than Remake. However, Rebirth decides it is not done yet as they introduce the player to literally dozens of mini-games to complete throughout your journey. Some are required for minor moments, others are tied to specific side quests, but most are completely optional. This will be the aspect that divides the playerbase the most. Players looking for that tight, streamlined, focused experience of Remake will likely not find much to love about the mini-games packed into Rebirth. Those who buy-into the world and enjoy engaging with a wide variety of content even if it deviates from the core gameplay will find a treasure trove of things to do. Admittedly, the mini-games can vary in quality. Some are fully fleshed out experiences all to themselves such as the in-universe card game Queen’s Blood. Most are fairly good to just OK. I only found a handful that I actively disliked which is impressive given the sheer size and quantity that are present.

A big problem some players will end up facing if they find themselves feeling negative about the mini-games will stem, at least in part, from the fact that the combat of Rebirth is so engaging. Remake was a game that already had on of my top 3 favorite combat systems of all time. Rebirth took that system and just expanded on it and easily surpassed the original. Every character is unique, serves a specific niche, has similar levels of complexity, and are a blast to learn and play. With this many characters to play as--6 in total for your main party--it can be easy for some to get lost in the shuffle as you tunnel into one party set up that you find comfortable. Rebirth solves this by having multiple story moments when the party composition shifts and changes as characters temporarily leave the party, go on a little mini-adventure, or whatever other narrative reason they have for shifting party composition. This can easily feel forced and frustrating but Rebirth makes it feel very natural. Never once did my party composition change and I was unsatisfied or outright annoyed by it.

The story is going to be one of the biggest draws to this game. Remake created a world, characters, and narrative that compelled old and new fans alike while throwing some major curve-balls at the end that confused and divided players. Rebirth maintains this trajectory for most of the game. The main story drip-feeds information slowly, creating two or three questions for every answer it might provide. In-between these moments of intrigue are emotional character moments, hilarious misadventures, and thrilling conflicts. The quality of the main story is every bit as compelling, excellently written, and engaging as Remake, if not moreso.

The adventure is certainly a lot wackier than Remake though. Remake had its moments of fun and games but generally maintained that dreary atmosphere of Midgar. Rebirth cranks the goof to another level. Despite how absurd some of the situations are that our characters find themselves in, it still maintains a level of writing quality that never veers too far into the cheesy quality you might associate with something like Kingdom Hearts (this is no shade to Kingdom Hearts either, it’s literally my favorite game series ever). This may turn off players who prefer a more serious, darker atmosphere. I found it incredibly endearing and made me fall deeper in love with this cast of misfit characters even more-so than I had before.
If Remake was controversial for its perplexing ending, then Rebirth will be even moreso. They do not shy away from the ideas they proposed in Remake, instead they double down. They attempt to create a thought-provoking ending that doesn’t give all of the answers. After all, there is an entire third game still to come. Most will be bewildered by it and that is to be expected. If endings that you have to sit with, digest, really dig into and theorize about are your style, then Rebirth will provide. If you prefer a story with a more definitive ending then Rebirth’s ending may not sit well with you. Either way, even during bouts of shock, confusion, and a million neurons firing in all directions in my brain as different revelations flashed before my eyes, the emotional resonance that the ending of this game attempts to give still came through, and it came through hard. Rebirth does not pull punches when it tries to deliver emotional moments and all of them hit like freight trains.

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is a lot. It’s a content-rich adventure that tries to simultaneously honor the original title from the late-90s, re-create the magic of its immediate predecessor, and become its own thing entirely. Which combination of things you do or don’t think work out will vary wildly based on your expectations, taste, and willingness to buy-in to all that Rebirth attempts to do.

I bought in, I embraced fully each aspect that Rebirth tried to accomplish. What I got in return was one of the best gaming experiences of my lifetime. What I got was a game that, despite its girth, will be a part of my library to return to forever. I received a magical experience that cascaded me with emotions that I had not felt since 2005 when I played Kingdom Hearts II for the first time. Little did I know it would become my all-time favorite game ever. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is not Kingdom Hearts II, but it is the first game I have played since that game to give me a similar type of feeling while playing. Awe, excitement, thrill, joy, sadness, despair, bewilderment, intrigue, exhilaration, all of these emotions and more combine to create two distinct experiences that will stick with me forever. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth reignited a feeling in me that I did not think would resurface again. It easily has become one of my favorite games of all-time.

Brimming with charm, sharp comedic writing, and steady pacing, Super Mario RPG for the SNES is a truly special experience that left me grinning ear to ear the entire time. I am no stranger to Mario RPGs. I have experience with both the Mario & Luigi series and Paper Mario. While those games reinvent, expand, and refine the formula started by Super Mario RPG, there is something incredibly endearing about the simplicity found in this game. The characters are charismatic, the world is wondrous, the music is jubilant, and the writing is impressively amusing. It is a rare RPG that I began and played non-stop until rolling credits, completely hooking me with its charm till the very end.

Lies of P is very close to rivaling that of FromSoftware’s own titles but comes up a bit short. The combat is done to near perfection. It is often compared to Bloodborne or Sekiro, but I think it also adds a bit of classic Dark Souls spice into its mixture as well. Parrying is extremely satisfying and highly rewarding if executed properly much like how it feels in Sekiro. Dodging is a mixture of quick-steps which can turn into rolls that evokes Bloodborne. But the way certain bosses and enemies are designed also encourages a bit of that “turtle shell” gameplay many find themselves in with Dark Souls, slowly poking and prodding your enemy as you patiently watch and analyze their attacks from afar before going in when the time is right. If you put this game in my hands and told me nothing about it, within the first couple of hours I would be convinced this was just a new FromSoftware game I had never heard of before, and that’s probably the biggest compliment I can give it. However, the deeper you get into your adventure in the unique, puppet-filled world of Krat, the more cracks begin to appear.

The world of Lies of P is unique and beautiful. The music, locales, graphical fidelity, art direction, and character designs all create a world truly unique not only in the souls-like genre but in gaming as a whole. It evokes late 1800s to early 1900s Europe in a way not many other games do. Splash in some jittery creepy puppets, zombified humans, and an odd monster here and there and you’ve got a world in Krat that is truly one to remember. At the Grand Hotel, the central hub of the game, there is even a record player in which you can listen to various songs that you find throughout your adventure, all of which are a feast for the ears and takes that extra step to make this world feel truly real. Sure, most of it is dead, but you can tell what it used to be, you can imagine how it used to look with bright lights, bustling streets, and grand ideas. The dreary yet gorgeous world of Krat elevates Lies of P in ways that can’t be understated and helps separate it from a crowd of souls-likes that is ever growing and ever blurring together.

An essential part of any game emulating a soul-like formula is in choosing your build. How you choose to spend your experience, what stats you choose to increase, what weapons you choose to use and upgrade, they are very important choices. A lot of times you will end up needing to make a definitive decision one way or the other due to scarcity of resources. You are only afforded a certain amount of upgrade materials and so making the most of them tends to be key. Lies of P is a mixed bag in regards to builds and RPG mechanics. On the one hand, I think the weapon system is absolutely brilliant. Being able to take almost any weapon and break it into two pieces, the blade and the handle, was genius. Being able to customize almost any weapon you want in this way allows for unique thought processes and build considerations. Do you want a weapon that has a long reach? Do you want one with your preferred favorite weapon ability? Do you want one that is lighter? Have you considered scaling? All of these things and more really put you in control of your build and allow for diversity which is always a plus. However, the rest of the customization options are lackluster. Armor is just a slow progression of finding better things to replace your worse pieces with. Sometimes one piece may resist a certain element more than another, sometimes you will need to consider slashing versus piercing damage, but by and large these considerations are secondary. The armor system could use some expanding and more customizability.

The weakest portion of the game and the reason why it still stands out as a tier below FromSoftware proper, is in its level design. Outside of the last handful of hours, exploring the world of Krat is generally streamlined and quick. Each level can be summed up as a fairly straight line with some branching paths here and there that never go too far off the golden path and are never too hard to find. If you put any effort into exploring whatsoever, you are bound to find almost every secret, optional area, and unlock every shortcut without too much thought. This is where FromSoftware separates itself from the rest. Part of the magic of FromSoftware titles is in how each area of the world feels connected. Shortcuts are so magical in these games because they aren’t just a faster way to get back where you were, they also serve to connect one part of the world to the other. To make the levels one coherent entity rather than multiple separate parts connected by a hallway. Lies of P fails at capturing this magic. By the time you reach the final area, you will have gotten used to the general structure of how levels are designed. I stopped thinking, “hmmm how do I get there?” and started thinking, “Oh, I guess I’ll make it there later.” Some might prefer this more streamlined, almost railroad approach to level design, but I personally find it lacking and is the key reason why Lies of P doesn’t quite hit at the same weight class as FromSoftware.

Lies of P is the first game since Nioh and Nioh 2 which actually challenges FromSoftware in their own arena. It goes toe-to-toe with the best FromSoftware has to offer and holds its own fairly well. It has a unique identity, world, and vibe which is hard to find in other games, especially of this genre. Its combat is right up there with the polish that the best the genre has to offer. However, there is just a sort of secret magic missing from it that keeps it from fully cementing itself on the same level. While combat, world design, art direction, music, and weapon builds all elevate Lies of P, its lack of armor and streamlined, simplistic level design keep it from reaching truly enormous heights. The potential for improvement is there and with DLC coming soon and almost certainly a sequel coming later down the pipeline, I could see Studio 8 really patching things up and nailing it. For now, Lies of P deserves a spot in the conversation as a challenger to the greatness that FromSoftware is known for and should be played by any and all players who are as addicted to this genre of game.

Outer Wilds Review
(Spoiler Free)

We live in a busy, fast-paced world. It can seem like everyone is moving at break-neck pace rushing from place-to-place, thing-to-thing, without a second thought. Our world has conditioned us to live in this manner. There is always something more to do, something on the horizon you're trying to get to. When you do take a second to look around and breathe, life can sometimes throw you curve balls and slap unexpected things down on your lap: a sudden illness, car break downs, refrigerator going out. It's in a busy world such as this that the meaning of life and those who you live with, the meaning of your experiences, the purpose of your being, can often be forgotten or set aside for the sake of "the next thing to get done." It's an exhausting existence at times.

Sometimes a piece of art comes along and changes your perspective. It can make you rethink your past experience and actions. It can ask you, in the way only a piece of art can, to reexamine what really matters.

A week after finishing, The Outer Wilds is still challenging me to rethink my day-to-day life. It's not just the music, or the incredible planetary vistas, or the charming--albeit brief--moments with characters, it's the core of what The Outer Wilds is as an experience that makes it so special and powerful. It's an experience that asks the player to slow down, to think, to examine, to ponder. It asks players to return to places tread before in search of something new. It asks players to discover at their own pace, come to their own conclusions, and think about the universe and their existence in it in their own way.

The game on the surface is very simple. It's just you, your spaceship, and the universe around you, now go out and see what is there. There is no combat, no complex RPG mechanics and systems, no resource management outside of watching your Oxygen and Jet Fuel meters. It's a game that wants you to think about and engage with its world and the story therein. It wants you to spend time in its world and it's story rather than in its menus.

This philosophy allows for the experience to center completely around you and how you engage with the universe. That, really, is the point of The Outer Wilds. It is hard to describe the feeling and thoughts I began to experience in the closing hours of this game without revealing details. What I can say is that I walked away from the game not only appreciating the game for the excellent experience that it was, but also appreciating everything and everyone around me and my role in this universe. I'm still grappling with the final moments of this game. But, as I sat there, back on the title screen after all of the credits and end-game sequences wrapped up, I realized that all of this business, all of this moving from place to place without ever taking a second to appreciate what I was doing, was a ridiculous way to live.

The universe can often be described as cold, uncaring, existing regardless of us. The scale and scope of the universe can often be used to make our existence seem small and unimportant. Maybe it is in that grand scheme. Maybe our existence on his planet won't have any affect on the universe long-term. But, that doesn't mean it is all meaningless or pointless. What I do matters to me. Who I choose to live my life with or who I choose to care about matters to them. What I decide to do here, right now, will have some effect, no matter how small, on those who walk behind me. Who cares if the universe as a whole won't remember me. The people I care about will, and I will remember them. I should appreciate and spend as much time with those people as possible. Once they're gone, all I will have is memories, so why shouldn't I try to make as many of those as I can? I think we all can learn a lesson from The Outer Wilds. That, despite our fast-paced world, despite the grand scale of the universe and our smallness within it, we do matter and the people we care about matter. And it's important to take a second, or two, to slow down and appreciate those who we care about, appreciate what we do. We are all we have, and maybe, that's all we really need.

In 2012, if you had asked me who my favorite game developer was I would have enthusiastically and unequivocally said “Bethesda.” This was largely due to the 2011 release of the uber-successful The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. You see, in 2011 I was just entering high school at the age of 14. With teenage years came a pivotal transformative time. I had grown up a typical nerd in every sense. As a young boy with often crippling asthma which had taken me near death’s door twice, school athletics were never really my thing. Instead I tended to retreat into superhero cartoons, computer programs, and of course video games. I played some great titles to spark my childhood fascination with games starting out with Spyro: The Dragon on PSOne, followed up by Pokemon: Red which I played on my backwards compatible Gameboy Advance SP. However, my small size and nerdy hobbies, along with my ADHD getting loud and out of control, led to me being bullied frequently. As I grew older I attempted to hide these hobbies of mine, hobbies which had been with me since I can remember having consciousness, in favor of being able to “fit-in.” I gave away all of my Pokemon cards, started playing games less and less, started caring more about watching ESPN all day rather than keeping up with the latest video game titles. I was changing as a person but something never felt quite right about leaving all of those things behind.

When 2011 came around the only games I had really played were Call of Duty titles because, well, what 14 year old didn’t? However, I made a friend earlier that year, a friend whom I still talk with to this day. We sat together in the back of the classroom during first period and often talked about some of the more nerdy things I was scared to talk about with anyone else lest I get bullied again. When November came by, the main game on my radar was, of course, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 which was to release on the 8th. I told this friend about it and asked if they were going to play it. The response was a resounding NO. They were going to wait and ask their dad to buy a different game releasing 3 days later, a little game called The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

After much convincing and reading through a GameInformer magazine that covered the game prior to release, I convinced my grandmother (affectionately called Nene) to get it for me. I was immediately hooked. I cannot recall a time in my entire life prior to this moment where I had legitimately taken a game home, began playing it, and before I knew it I saw the sun, not setting, but rising as a new day dawned unbeknownst to me who thought only a few hours has gone by at most. This moment was defining. This one game, which I have now put hundreds, maybe even a thousand or more hours into, changed my life. From then on, I began talking to this friend about new games, listening to them on what looked good and what I should keep an eye on. 12-years later and gaming has now become my number one hobby and pass-time. That being said I hope it comes clear that the contents of this review come from the heart and from someone who literally would not even be writing this review at all, had it not been for Bethesda Game Studios.

It is no secret that Bethesda Game Studios has been in a bit of a rough patch in recent years. For most, the disastrous release of Fallout: 76 was the most catastrophic and obvious of their recent blunders. Not only had the game released in a horrid, bug-filled, empty mess but even external variables hindered the release such as a recall on the collector’s items. The countless re-releases of the aforementioned Skyrim has also garnered unrivaled notoriety and meme-material. My personal frustration with modern Bethesda Game Studios goes as far back as 2015 with the release of Fallout 4. Not a bad game by any means, and clearly a massively successful one at that receiving great review scores and sales numbers. For me personally though, it was a step-back. It was a step in the direction of broader appeal and more simplistic systems than their previous titles. No more weapon endurance as had been a staple of the Fallout franchise up to this point. A dialogue system which left a lot of variety on the table, favoring a more streamlined approach. A fully-voice acted character which took away from some of the role-playing elements. And, a brand new system, built from the ground up, to revolutionize how you play Bethesda games, settlement building. All of these culminate in an experience that, while not terrible, left me with the feeling that Bethesda was stepping in a direction I was not on board with.

Much like Skyrim was a defining game for my life, Starfield is a defining game for Bethesda Game Studios. Not only is this their first game being released since Microsoft bought the studio, but it also is a brand new IP, the first in decades. It is a chance for Microsoft to find a tentpole franchise, a truly next-gen experience which will bring gamers all over flocking to Xbox. It is a chance for Bethesda to right the wrongs of the past and deliver a game which can spawn a massive franchise and fan-base. For me, it was a chance for Bethesda to win me over. To show me they still got it. Based upon sales numbers, it seems Microsoft could very well be pleased with the result. Critics see the results as a bit more mixed. Personally, I am unfortunately disappointed with the end product.

Starfield is an extremely ambitious game, perhaps the most ambitious that Todd Howard and the folks at Bethesda have ever undertaken. This is a grand space adventure with over 1000 planets to see and explore, space to fly around in, people to meet, loot to grab, and quests to complete. It was pitched as an entire universe to explore where you can land at any point on any planet and explore dozens of locations and see countless sights. This is a game that could potentially become a thousand hour experience if done right and an endless one if done perfectly, especially with mod support. There are also a number of systems to back this all up. A remarkably fun and engaging combat system where guns feel heavy, have real kick back, and respond well to the trigger. A level up system that, while having some odd quirks--the inability to realistically stealth or use melee power attacks until investing a skill point stand out--still adds a level of depth and specialty to your roleplaying builds. There are backgrounds that can affect dialogue choices. Relationships to build with other characters, perhaps even climaxing into full romance. There is even an in-depth ship building system that, I must admit, I spent hours in trying to create the sickest ship I could. Meshing it all together and you could perhaps have what has been noted as “Skyrim in space.” A truly grand and almost infinite adventure traversing the stars, exploring planets, uncovering the universe’s secrets, and having an incredible time.

The magical thing about Skyrim, and for that matter all of Bethesda’s RPGs up to this point, has never been the scale. That isn’t what makes them truly special. It’s scale mixed with density. These games are often paired with the saying, “if you see a mountain in the distance you can go to it,” as if that is the driving factor. I would argue it is not. The goal in those moments is not the mountain itself, rather the things that happen along the road. The random people, enemies, and dungeons you find along the way which make the world feel alive, feel active, and spin you chasing off into a hundred other directions before 5 hours later you forgot where you were going in the first place. This is a key defining factor of Bethesda games and what truly makes them special. When you are heading to a quest location or to some landmark you thought looked interesting, you constantly find other things along the road which distract you. This key magic present in all of Bethesda’s other ambitious RPG titles is lacking here in Starfield.

Starfield has massive locations to be sure. The cities of New Atlantis, Neon, and Akila are all large hubs which you can spend dozens of hours exploring, talking to people, and taking on quests. But their previous games had these too. I immediately think of the famous Whiterun where, though not as big in size as New Atlantis, certainly can take up dozens of hours as you run to and fro, talking to NPCs, collecting quests, delving into the frozen tundra of Skyrim to complete quests, and then returning. This is the key, you must dive into the world immediately surrounding Whiterun in order to complete many of these quests, which in turn leads you to some random place or random NPC that spirals you off into another questline. By contrast, any quest in Starfield which takes you off world lacks the same experience. Instead, planets are more like set dressings for the central location that Bethesda crafted for it. Take New Atlantis as an example. The planet it sits on is called Jemison. There is indeed an entire planet to explore surrounding New Atlantis itself, you can see it from inside the city and can even jump over the city’s buildings to explore it if you wish. But rarely, if ever, do interesting quests actually ask you to go explore out there. Instead, those spots are there if you want them, but there is no guiding force taking you in those directions.

Say you took the explorer idea to heart and said “forget it! I don’t need a quest to take me to a new place, I’ll do it myself!” Great! The problem is nothing happens until you reach that destination. The distance between points of interest on a planet are massive, sometimes being up to 1500 meters away or more. This wouldn’t be a problem if there were interesting events occurring or interesting places to go for a pit-stop along the way, but there are not. In most cases, it is all empty. Some rocks to scan and mine here, a plant to scan and harvest there, an animal to scan yonder. When you finally reach that destination, there is a high likelihood that it is a copy/paste of a location you have already seen a dozen times before. In my time with Starfield attempting to explore planets, I found the same exact Abandoned UC Research Facility at least a dozen times. The same layout, colors, enemy locations, loot spots, the works. You can imagine the disappointment when I found a new point of interest, ran all the way there, just to find that there was nothing interesting about it. This is the unmistakable magic that elevates the likes of Skyrim or Fallout 3 and detracts from a Starfield.

There is plenty to do. Let there be no misconception. When you are in the big cities or even a decently sized space station in orbit, there are plenty of people to talk to and quests to collect. The way in which the game is set up though, these quests feel less like exploring a universe of my own volition and more like fast-traveling to designated waypoints with planets surrounding them as set dressing. Fast-travel itself takes center stage in Starfield. You simply cannot play this game without fast-travel. Though it is not recommended nor do I think it the best way to play, you can, for all intents and purposes, play almost the entirety of Fallout or Elder Scrolls without fast traveling at all. Everything is connected on the one giant map meaning everything is within walking distance. This simply is not the case in Starfield. Planets are separated by fast travel and loading screens. This is a reality you have to accept in order to find enjoyment in this game.

“Space” exploration, meaning truly flying in the stars and exploring the wide cosmos, is severely limited. There are no seamless transitions from flying into a planet from space or vice versa, it is all handled by loading screens and cutscenes. This is not necessarily a deal breaker for me as long as space itself feels vast and worth that process. Unfortunately, this is another key flaw in Starfield. Much like how planets seem to be glorified procedurally generated set dressings for the main location Bethesda wants you to explore, space feels equally like set dressing for specific events and encounters. When launched into space you can essentially fly around in this little box in the orbit of whatever planet/moon you are currently at. You can meet friendly ships passing by, trade with merchants, be attacked by pirates, find a derelict ship which starts a questline, and many other encounters which feel very much like that classic Bethesda magic. The problem is that it is confined to this little box. “Space” in Starfield is not a massive, flyable, open area where you can fly from one planet to the next before entering a loading screen to drop down. Instead, it is legitimately a little box you can fly around in that may have an event or may not. If it does not, then there is virtually no reason to fly around in it. Once this realization struck me, I began to see the game for what it is.

Starfield is not a traditional Bethesda RPG. It has elements of them, true, but it does not capture the same feel nor does it control the same way as a Skyrim or Fallout. It is much more like a space “hopping” adventure than a space “exploring” adventure. You hop from planet to planet, explore the main location that Bethesda has designated for that planet, then hop out and go to the next thing. This was how I ended up playing the game. Exploring random planets in every solar system I came across simply led to disappointment and boredom as I constantly ran from map marker to map marker with nothing really happening in between just did not spark interest or inspiration in me.

Todd Howard once said that Starfield is a game where they wanted some people to be able to just finish the main story and factions and call it a day while also being a game where someone can just chill out somewhere, pick some flowers, and vibe. In discussions with friends and voices online, I have found this is becoming a strict divide. Those who are really into just the “vibe” and enjoy the feeling of being in empty space, contemplating the universe from the comfort of their outpost on a random planet out in the big wide cosmos will find a lot here. Those who want a grand space adventure with cool concepts, a good story, interesting locations, and solid gameplay can also find that here if they mainline the story and factions. Those looking for the authentic Bethesda experience they remember from days past? You may be out of luck.

Starfield is a contradiction of itself. It is a game that builds its entire premise and storyline on the idea of exploration. Literally the entire theme of this game is curiosity and how far that can take humanity as a whole. It is a game that opens an entire universe for me to explore, and yet doesn’t give me much to see in 90% of it. The core elements of a Bethesda game are here, but too many elements of a completely different kind of game are also here. Is it trying to be No Man’s Sky? Or Outer Wilds? Is it Skyrim in space? Or a larger scale version of Mass Effect? There is no easy direct comparison for Starfield because Starfield truly is its own thing. It attempts to meld together aspects from all of those games and mash them into one gigantic, expansive space adventure. Unfortunately, that left me with a bit too little to latch onto long-term. After 100 hours of “golden pathing” the main quest and factions, I feel like my time with the infinite expanse of the starfield has come to an end. Though I am glad with the time I spent in it, I cannot see myself returning to for years like I have with Bethesda’s previous titles. And that’s a darned shame.

Source: https://smashtonbound.wixsite.com/smashton-plays/post/final-fantasy-xvi-review-one-month-later

It has been almost a month since I rolled credits on the latest entry in the Final Fantasy franchise. Yet, here I am writing a review... why? Final Fantasy XVI's ending (don't worry, no spoilers here just emotions) is heavy. It is one of those endings which left me staring at the credits screen as my mind came to grips with the finale of such a long journey in this rich world. I was thinking back to the world, the music, the characters, and the gameplay. In that moment and in the days after, I was very high on the game overall. But, I did not feel quite ready to put those thoughts in writing. So, I decided to give myself some breathing room, come back to my keyboard when I had enough distance from that emotion to truly reflect on this game and give final thoughts.

Here we are almost a month later and I am finally putting my thoughts down on digital paper. The conclusion I have come to after a great deal of distance away is not all that different from my initial thoughts after rolling credits. Final Fantasy XVI is a triumph in so many ways. From the graphical fidelity, to the world, the soundtrack, characters, and gameplay, everything melds together to create a truly blockbuster experience that not only shows grand spectacle but also wears its heart on its sleeve in such a way to make each explosive eye-catching moment have true emotional and impactful meaning. It comes with some caveats and flaws as all games do. However, the flaws can be quickly lost in one's memory as the sheer epic scale of this game shrouds those blemishes.

Every great Final Fantasy needs an incredible world to live inside. A place unique, a place with an identity. We see this shine through in past entries in the franchise. Final Fantasy VII has arguably the most iconic of them all with its cool blend of steampunk, science-fiction, and fantasy elements mixed into one. Final Fantasy X is another that comes to mind with its emphasis on island atmosphere, desert oases, and grand religious temples. I would place Final Fantasy XVI right up there with them as an iconic and incredible world. It tows a line between fantasy and pure medieval Europe in such a way that makes every location, enemy, and character design seem fantastical enough to know you are exploring a place of magic and wonder, but grounded, dirty, and gritty enough to be a reflection of the dreary Middle Ages. The game has often been compared directly to Game of Thrones in more ways than one. While I do not fully agree that they are one-to-one comparisons, especially in story and character, I can't deny that this game's world fits the bill perfectly. This is not even to mention the interconnected struggles between rival peoples and kingdoms that you meet and explore throughout the game. A complex web of relationships and history which could be easy to get lost in, as it often is in Game of Thrones, but that always guides you through easily thanks to the new Active Time Lore feature and a special NPC who can outright lecture you on what is going on in the world at the time.

Any screenshot from this game would clue you to the fact that Final Fantasy XVI is a stunner. Honestly, the screenshots don't do it justice. When exploring the world or taking on hordes of enemies in certain encounters, the game consistently looks visually stunning and easily one of the best looking games ever made. It truly shows the power of the next-gen hardware. I preferred playing in performance mode, as I often do especially with action-based games such as this one where precision and a few frames can mean the difference between a dodge and a massive damage hit, yet even in this mode the game consistently blew me away with its stunning vistas, detailed textures, and vibrant colors.

The soundtrack is nailed in a way that only one like Masayoshi Soken, the composer of Final Fantasy XVI and the critically-acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, can do. The atmosphere is knocked out of the park with each musical piece fitting locales and scenes perfectly to completely immerse you in whatever mood the game is attempting to convey. The massive and grand spectacle scenes shown during eikon battles are accompanied by epic and bellowing musical pieces which will have you adding them to your playlists for years to come. This is easily the best soundtrack to come from a video game this year and rivals the best of all time.

Gameplay seems to be the defining and dividing factor surrounding conversation of this game. Final Fantasy is well-known for its turn-based ATB battle system which has been used and refined since the original all the way back in 1987. Times change, however, and though I am still a huge fan and proponent of turn-based games and see how they can still evolve in the modern day--see: Persona 5, Divinity: Original Sin 2, among others--it seems Square Enix wants to take the franchise in a different direction. Final Fantasy XV was the first example of this, followed by Final Fantasy VII: Remake which adapted elements of the classic ATB battle system but still implemented it in an action RPG system. Final Fantasy XVI is the next step, fully embracing an action style many have compared to the likes of Capcom’s Devil May Cry. While I do understand those who miss the classic turn-based system, I can’t deny that there is something so exciting, thrilling, and engaging about action RPGs that appeal to wider audiences.

Final Fantasy XVI’s combat has been mostly compared directly with Devil May Cry, and while I agree there are similarities, I think there are huge differences which make Final Fantasy XVI’s combat purely its own style. Devil May Cry is known for the extreme speed, combo-heavy attacks, quick and successive attacks, and unabashed style. Final Fantasy XVI is much more grounded and methodical in comparison. While you can do some insane combos and ridiculous damage in Final Fantasy XVI, it is not typical and requires some fine tuning, practice, and a good mind for the systems. This is not to say that Final Fantasy XVI’s combat is worse in any way, just different. Once you get a chunk of hours in and start unlocking new abilities and begin experimenting with different combinations of them, you discover that the combat has a great deal of freedom in how you execute encounters and how you build your specific Clive’s loadout.

Each combat encounter is fun, thrilling, and engaging. When I saw powerful looking enemies, no matter if they were in a giant horde or a singular threatening looking boss, I was also excited to jump into the fray and slash my way through the battlefield. Combat is smooth, has great feeling when connecting moves, and has just enough complexity as you keep up with cool downs, dodge enemy attacks, and execute your own combos, that it never really got old. The only downside to this would be in difficulty. I found the game fairly easy even with a very basic loadout on Clive. You get ample healing items, attacks are fairly telegraphed for the most part, and your damage output always feels good enough for whatever encounter you tackled so long as you kept up with your equipment. I died perhaps twice the entire playthrough and this was for completely optional fights, one of which had an unfortunate one-hit kill move I was just not aware of. Granted, difficulty varies from person to person so this is just a personal note.

The second part of the game to get the most controversy is the RPG systems or, as some would claim, the lack thereof. I will say upfront that I truly believe that Final Fantasy XVI is a Final Fantasy and RPG through and through. Games have been implementing RPG systems for many years now with titles like God of War: Ragnarok and even Halo: Infinite, game series which were not really known for their RPG systems, implementing them in essential ways. But, Final Fantasy XVI is still deeper than these titles. It is not as surface level as some claim. It certainly can be if you simply take the most basic loadout you can find, get comfortable with it, and never swap off of it or experiment. Perhaps that is a flaw in the game itself. As I mentioned previously, the game never really forced me to swap around my build due to difficulty or even something as simple as elemental damage being more or less effective against certain enemies. Instead, I believe this game relies on its spectacle to encourage players to experiment with new abilities. You get to see them first-hand most of the time and can view them in the abilities menu thanks to a handy video which showcases each ability in action. I believe the game is hoping players will see these abilities, associate them with specific moments in the story, and try them out on that basis alone. Is this the best method of encouraging player experimentation? Perhaps, perhaps not, your mileage will vary.

However, there is one glaring element in the moment-to-moment gameplay of Final Fantasy XVI that is screaming for more depth, crafting. As you explore the world of Valisthea you will come across shining lights on the ground which represent items you can pick up by simply moving near them. These can be anything from potions to accessories, but more often than not it will be some sort of crafting material. The unfortunate part about this is that often they really didn’t matter. The most important things to craft in this game are armor and weapons. Yet, you’re almost never required to actually pay attention to what materials are needed, which ones are rarer, which ones you may want to go out of your way for in order to get the best equipment. Just doing some basic exploring and progression throughout the story gives you all you will need to keep Clive in a reasonable stat range for the next section of the game. There are stronger weapons and armor you can craft by doing certain side activities, and while the numbers do certainly go up in the menu screen, it never seemed like enough of a boost to feel worth it even by the end of the game when I had the best armor and weapon possible. The best kinds of crafting systems are ones in which you’re given a lot of options, need to plan out what kind of build you desire, and take note (mentally or physically) of what rare materials to keep an eye out for. Unfortunately, this is not one of those systems, making the crafting feel very tacked on.

Another point of improvement is in the RPG staple, side quests. There are plenty of side quests and a lot of variety in Final Fantasy XVI. Anything from helping a chef cook a new meal to taking important characters on life changing journeys. However, the execution of them leaves much to be desired. There is seldom a side quest that does not boil down to: Talk to a character, go to a place, kill some enemies, return. Very rarely, you might go to two places, or might fight two encounters of enemies, oh joy! Maybe you will be sent on a gathering mission to pick three flowers instead! How thrilling! The stories they can tell are often spectacular, but the actual process of completing them often felt like a chore.

At the end of the day, no matter how vast, beautiful, and scenic the world is, no matter how deep its lore, no matter how great the soundtrack or fluid the combat, none of it would matter if the people you are interacting with and spending your time dealing with in a Final Fantasy game were dull, boring, and uninspired. Previously, I mentioned how Final Fantasy XVI often gets compared to Game of Thrones in its world design and even atmosphere. I partially agreed, but countered by explaining that this game wears its heart on its sleeve. The characters and story are where this occurs and these are the elements which really take this game to such a high level. Characters in Final Fantasy XVI, as with any great Final Fantasy game, are memorable, charming, complex, evolving, and the undisputed best part of the game. Every character from Clive himself to side characters like Cid, Jill, Dion, and--my absolute favorite--Gav, all have full developing storylines, character arcs, and distinctive personalities that you can latch onto and enjoy. Any time I saw one of these characters on screen or even with a side quest, I was anxious to see what would unfold and how their character would develop as the story progressed forward. It is this reason why the story, as grand and epic in scale as it is, still felt grounded. As typical with Final Fantasy titles, the story heads places that may boggle the mind or reach levels of extreme grandeur and scale, but the attachment I held to these characters and to this world they lived in was so strong that it made the world-level events occurring actually matter.

The most advertised aspect of this title was the massive, larger-than-life, gorgeous eikon battles which you undertake over the course of the game. During previews it seemed as though these might become the weakest part of the game, being basic glorified cutscenes with rudimentary fight scenes and QTE sections. However, the more eikon fights you encounter the more complex they become, keeping it fresh by giving you more abilities to toy with. On top of that, you would think after seeing a few eikon fights, that the spectacle would become old or tiresome. This could not be further from the truth. Every single eikon fight is a grand finale to itself. These battles could legitimately be the final boss or ending climax to any other video game by themselves, and yet in Final Fantasy XVI they are just one of many. They always found a way to increase the scale, the scope, and--most importantly--the stakes of each battle. Again, as mentioned before, the heart of the game is in its characters. The eikon fights are reflections of the characters, their emotional struggles, and their resolutions in the form of massive monster battles that would give Godzilla a run for his money. These fights would mean nothing if they were just big monster battles with no heart or soul. Because each of these fights involves characters who we care about, or even perhaps hate, because each of these fights is a conflict of not only physical nature but mental and emotional nature, because each of these fights serves not only to push the plot forward but also to further the story of the characters themselves, they become special.

Final Fantasy XVI is a triumph of a video game. Its vast, beautiful world, its unmatched soundtrack, its fluid and thrilling combat, its incredible scale and epic spectacle, and its engaging and emotional story, come together into one amazing package that Square Enix can be proud of. Is it the turn-based, extremely complex, classic Final Fantasy experience some fans may have wanted? No. But, we knew that going in and we’ve seen the trend since 2016. What it is instead, is a massive accomplishment which will bring in new players and enrapture veterans who embrace the changes that the series is going through. By the time credits roll, I was not thinking about if this was a “true” Final Fantasy or if this was a “real” RPG. I was thinking about the world and the characters who I came to adore so much and how I longed to continue the journey just a bit more. It is uncertain where the franchise will go from here, if they will return to their roots or if they will continue to expand upon the action elements brought about in this game. One thing is for certain, I will be remembering Final Fantasy XVI for many years to come and I fully expect it to become another tent-pole entry in this long running franchise alongside the likes of Final Fantasy XVI, VII, and X.

Review Source: https://smashtonbound.wixsite.com/smashton-plays/post/pok%C3%A9mon-violet-review

Introduction

Pokémon has always been a comfort game. Beginning with the original Red and Blue games on the Gameboy when I was just a small child, all the way up to Pokémon Platinum on the Nintendo DS, Pokémon has always circled around my life. I’ve made and deepened friendships through it, as a kid I consumed countless hours of the anime and its corresponding films. Even in school, during “reading time,” you could find me reading one of the instruction manuals or one of those thick game guides for Pokémon Emerald if I was lucky enough to convince my parents to buy it for me. Yet, as I got older and began expanding my tastes, as I started seeing what other Japanese RPGs were doing in their franchises, this comfort franchise began to turn into discomfort. The flaws and problems inherent to this franchise had started to become something that could not be ignored or brushed away. As Pokémon Scarlet and Violet released I began to wonder if new Pokémon games can ever capture me the same way their older, sprite-based predecessors could.

To say the 3D era of Pokémon has been a mixed bag would be an understatement. Pokémon X and Y on the 3DS were nice novelties but lacked staying power. A similar experience can be found with Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, remakes of the third generation (Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald) which I hold extremely dear. Then, Pokémon Sun and Moon released, games which were going to finally change the formula--no gyms, z-moves, a more mobile and explorable environment! Despite these exciting deviations from the traditional formula, these (along with their counterparts Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon) would be the first Pokémon games I never finished. Pokémon Sword and Shield fared no better. I actively disliked these, finding the open-zone exploration mechanic to be a singular bright spot with loads of potential in an otherwise basic game. Had my love for this franchise waned? Was Pokémon no longer the game franchise that I found so much comfort and nostalgia in? Had I moved on from it?

Then, came Pokémon Legends: Arceus. A semi-open world Pokémon game focused entirely around exploration and capturing Pokémon. Set in an ancient Sinnoh region--my favorite region of all time--and with a style that seemed to greatly deviate from anything we had seen Pokémon do before, I couldn’t help but find myself excited by its release. But, I was trepidatious. I had a similar feeling with Pokémon Sun and Moon and yet those flopped for me. How would this be any different? Would I be proven once again that Pokémon is too formulaic, too by-the-numbers, too simplistic for my tastes? Despite the fears, Arceus became an incredible experience. Exploring the open-zone areas was rewarding, the graphical style--while in need of major polishing--was unique and interesting, the moment-to-moment gameplay and goals were addicting. I actually, for once in my life, considered completing the Pokédex. It had its flaws, no doubt: performance issues plagued the game, graphical limitations made everything seem a bit washed out at all times, and some of the zones seemed to have more care put into them than others. But, overall the experience rekindled an enjoyment for Pokémon that I was unsure I had anymore. Thus, when Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were introduced as expanding upon the open-zone idea of Arceus and turning it into a true open-world experience, filled with trainers, gym challenges, evil team battles, and more, I once again found myself incredibly excited. Pokémon Legends: Arceus had just shown me the potential this franchise still had left. The only question remaining was: could they achieve the same level of innovation twice?

The Cufant in the Room

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have major issues which should be addressed right off the top. The most obvious being in its performance and bugs. The game, quite frankly, runs like a bicycle in mud. It almost never can hit a consistent FPS and quite often feels like it is running at the 15-20 FPS range at best. At its worst it can feel like 5. Texture and character model pop-in is insanely noticeable as well with the player seemingly needing to be within 5 feet of a character or Pokémon before the game decides to render them into the world. The textures on trees, rocks, buildings, and all around you look ripped straight out of an average PlayStation 2 game, sometimes worse. There are quite often bugs as well which can shatter immersion. Pokémon randomly appear inside your body as you unpause the game, Pokémon being thrown into walls which they cannot escape, Pokéballs disappearing inside floors… and that’s the tip of the iceberg. It is honestly a shame and embarrassment that The Pokémon Company and Nintendo even allowed this clearly unfinished, unpolished game to hit shelves. It is one thing to talk about Bethesda’s glitch woes when playing a game like Skyrim or Fallout on release, those are massive titles that attempt to have at least a good level of graphical fidelity, depth, and complexity. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet find themselves on a different level. These games needed at least 3-6 more months in the oven before they were hot, fresh, and ready to go. Thankfully, outside of one crash, my experience with Pokémon Violet’s bugs and glitches were exclusively visual in nature, though I have seen horror stories from others online.

New and Missing Features

I would also be remiss if I did not point out the several features which Game Freak ripped out of this game that were as natural to Pokémon as trees to a forest. Having no Set mode, a mode which prevents the game from asking if you want to switch your Pokémon out after knocking out your opponent’s, is one which baffles the mind. Set/Switch mode had been a mainstay of Pokémon games since the very beginning only to be suddenly removed. Individualism and player choice has also been somewhat reduced as your ability to customize your player character is severely limited. The only things about your character you can really change are small things like your choice of hat, your socks, and gloves. But the school uniform stays on. Oh, and absolutely no way can female characters dare have skirts or dresses, not in this family friendly Pokémon game (despite characters having dresses in this game already and previous female leads having skirts and dresses already). A more minor but still aggravating change which has stuck from the recent titles is a perpetual EXP share which cannot be turned off. If, for any reason, you do not wish a Pokémon to receive EXP, you are required to place it in your box, it cannot be in your party or else it will continue gaining experience no matter what. Removing features present in previous games is not a new thing to Pokémon, but not features so basic and inherent to the game itself such as Set/Switch mode.

To their credit, there is one new feature in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet that I had been advocating more games include--especially turn-based JRPGs--auto-battling. Back in the mid-1990s a little game studio called Ape had already figured this mechanic out with a Super Nintendo game called Earthbound. In it, after you had become strong enough or had defeated the boss of a certain area, any smaller enemies you encounter would automatically be defeated and grant you the proper amount of EXP and rewards. This allowed for two things: it allowed for traversal to become a lot easier after you had already completed an area, and it allowed for easier grinding. At long last, a traditional Pokémon game includes auto-battling in a way which makes sense and is useful for grinding. Granted, Pokémon Legends: Arceus had a similar feature, but I think Pokémon Scarlet and Violet improved upon it and I couldn’t be happier about its inclusion. The only gripe I can find with this new auto-battle system is that each Pokémon has a different speed with which they walk around with you which can slow your progress. Some pokemon even specifically need to walk with you using this feature--called the “Let’s Go” mechanic--in order to evolve. In one instance, Pawmo, the Pikachu equivalent in this game, needs to walk around with you for over 1000 steps before it will evolve into its final form, Pawmot. But the little guy is so small and waddles so slow that you have to slow down your exploration or else he will fall too far behind and just fly back into his Pokéball.

Another feature that should be given credit is the move re-learning feature. In previous games, if you wanted a Pokémon to relearn a move you would need to find a specific NPC designated as the “move relearner” and go through a few text boxes before being allowed to do so. Now, all of this is located directly in the menu and is easily accessible at all times which not only makes this process more convenient but also allows your Pokémon team an added level of flexibility for different scenarios. Need a designated “catcher”? Just change one of your grass types to have moves that help you catch other Pokémon. Need that same Pokémon to shift into an offensive move-set? Just use the menu to re-learn its more powerful moves before it goes into battle. It’s all quick, easy, and very convenient. As much as I may gripe about some of these legacy features being removed, the quality of life changes in this game do help even out the loss.

Terastralization will get a brief mention here as, though it is a neat mechanic in concept and is certain to shake-up how competitive Pokémon is played, I did not find myself overly fond of it. It was pretty and could have had potential to be a game changing mechanic that shifted the tide of battle at the right time, but I often forgot its existence until a Gym leader or Elite Four member used it on me.

An Alluring Adventure or a Dull Disappointing Drag?

Since this is Pokémon's first true attempt at an entirely open-world adventure, there are two things it has to do right: the new Pokémon need to be well-designed, and the world needs to have enough character and rewards to encourage exploration. To the first point, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet succeed in the best way since Pokémon Black and White. The designs of the new Pokémon are fun, interesting, and tow a line between modern Pokémon design philosophy and classic style. While I am not a huge fan of the new starter Pokémon, there are some genuinely incredible designs littered throughout which have become some of my favorite designs in recent memory. A few examples that stand out from the early game are the aforementioned Pikachu clone, Pawmi, a new fire-type Charcadet, and the paradox Pokémon. Typically, I dislike many of the Pikachu clones because of how knock-off and basic they feel, but Pawmi and its subsequent evolutions are a nice mix of cute, cuddly, and yet a bit aggressive. Charcadet is another which is making its way up my list of favorite designs due to its chibi yet sharp and defined style. The new Paradox Pokémon are interesting and a neat way to spice up old designs without explicitly creating new regional forms or new evolutions. When it comes to the world at large however, things are a bit more mixed.

The Paldea region has its highlights. It has plenty of different zones to explore from beaches to forests, to rocky canyons and snowy mountains. Game Freak has done a solid job littering little items throughout to encourage going off the main road. I acquired anything from potions, to Pokéballs--whether that be standard, unique, or even high-level Pokéballs like the ultra ball--to various types of berries. TMs are one of the more lucrative benefits of exploring and can be found littered around the world.

TMs work a bit differently in this game. Pokémon has shifted how TMs work a few times over the years. Originally, they were one-time use items which could only be recycled if they were purchasable in the department store or as a casino reward, all others were one-time deals. Later on, TMs became of infinite use--if you have one, you can use it forever. Now, TMs are once again limited to one-time use, however, they are much more easily recycled. There is a vendor located at every Pokémon Center which allows you to take materials and convert them into TMs. Materials can most commonly be found laying around in the world or attained after catching or battling a wild Pokémon. You unlock more TMs to create by playing through the main campaign stories as well as by picking up new TMs out in the open-world. This new TM system encourages not only exploration but also effective use of the auto-battle system in order to efficiently get new materials to craft the TM you need.

The main problem with Paldea is in the landmarks and major locations. The cities, towns, and notable locations are severely lacking. Each time you enter a new city in a Pokémon game it should function as a grand new experience. Typically there should be at least one or two interesting side-bits or quests to check out for small towns, and in big cities there typically are numerous different attractions to sink time into. I can remember fondly back to the Poke-athalon, the Pokémon Contests, huge department stores, dress-up shops, unique poke-ball shops, casinos or game-stores, and loads of other fun attractions in previous games. Scarlet and Violet, however, seem heavily devoid of anything remotely close to interesting in their towns and cities. The only thing Scarlet and Violet rely upon to make their locations seem unique is in the Gym Challenges you must tackle before battling that town or cities’ gym leader. All of which are simplistic, easy, and brain-numbingly dull.

Story Worth Telling

The story in Pokémon games is rarely the main selling point. Get the gym badges, become champion, complete the Pokédex, and occasionally defeat an evil gang which is determined to destroy the world. The characters are typically simplistic too, the quirky professor, the evil bad guy, the hot-headed rival. It would be easy, in fact expected, for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to follow this trend. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised by how emotional and resonant the storylines in this new adventure actually were.

The game features three main paths to complete before wrapping all of them up into the final act: Victory Road, Starfall Street, and Path of Legends. Victory Road is your standard path of tackling the 8 gyms scattered throughout Paldea before being able to challenge the Elite 4 and Champion. Starfall Street is where the “evil” team storyline is located. Evil is in quotation marks there as the actual malice has been slowly degrading in Pokémon's antagonist teams over the years and Scarlet and Violet are no exception. Path of Legends is the most unique inclusion in which you follow around with a pal, Arven, on a quest to discover and subdue the “Titan” Pokémon. These Titans are large, towering Pokémon which serve almost like mini-raid bosses. Each path can be completed in any order you so choose and all coalesce into a singular final act by the end of the game.

By far the highlight out of these is the Path of Legends. Taking down these massive titan Pokémon is occasionally a decent challenge, especially if you run into one under leveled. However, the real treat is in the story that begins to unfold with your companion during this questline, Arven. His storyline is easily the best in the game and genuinely brought me close to tears during the first few encounters. Victory Road is the typical Pokémon gym storyline with only slight deviations. Starfall Street is a decent storyline which relates to school-life and attempts to make a commentary on bullying, but the major twist surrounding this storyline is far too predictable to have the impact it was going for.

The end of the game is just absolutely bonkers. The way this game wraps up its main storylines is in true JRPG fashion with wild, world-changing events and major twists which, admittedly are easy to see coming but are nevertheless insane to see unfold. On top of this, the actual challenge faced at the end of each storyline, including the final act, can be quite the challenge if you go in unprepared. The final few hours of this game is a force of non-stop climax after climax, boss after boss, and a major area with powerful Pokémon ready to ambush you at any moment. To be quite honest, it was thrilling.

Blending it All Together

When blending together every aspect of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, both good and bad, you end up with a game that has incredible potential, strong foundations, but weak supporting pillars. The game runs poorly and likely will continue to do so even after the promised patches drop in February. The game includes fantastic quality of life improvements while removing features which had been present in the franchise from the very beginning. It boasts a fantastic array of new Pokémon to see and encounter in the open-world while dropping the ball on major destinations like towns and cities. It has a fantastic cast of characters and stories which do come together into a wild ending, but some storylines are clearly a cut above the rest. It is definitely a mixed bag on paper. And yet, it is just so compelling. Almost every moment I experienced in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet had me glued to my Switch. Exploring new areas to find new Pokémon I had not seen before, trying to figure new paths to get to an item I wanted, running around in “Let’s Go” mode with my Pokémon on auto-battle, it all came together to create a rough and yet incredible experience.

The simple moment-to-moment experience is hard to describe, but it legitimately makes you feel like a 10-year old kid setting off on a huge Pokémon adventure. The ability to freely explore anywhere, go challenge anything at any time even if you’re under leveled gives a sense of freedom and excitement that the rigid, linear structure of the previous games couldn’t accomplish. It has a lot of ugly spots that need to be straightened out if Game Freak follows this same formula in the next title. But, with this foundation, a bit of tweaking, and some added depth, Game Freak could certainly use Pokémon Scarlet and Violet as a strong template to make something truly incredible and special in the next go around. For now, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a solid adventure that I feel any Pokémon fan owes it to themselves to try out, rough edges and all.