Catherine is a game truly unlike any other. It's definitely weird and has a lot of "Atlus-isms" that is found in a lot of their games, but the story that the game withholds is truly something special. Its an incredibly mature and self-centered story that I think a lot of adults can truly get behind. The main character of Catherine, Vincent Brooks is very compelling for a guy who truly isn't that special. He is a human just like all of us, who makes mistakes, gets stressed, and is arguably not a very good person. But he truly is what makes this game shine as his struggle is something all of us go through as adults looking for love, and no I don't mean cheating.

Don't let the fact that it's a puzzle game turn you away, as the story is too good to ignore. I highly recommend Catherine to any Atlus fan or just anyone looking for a unique game to just enjoy.

Elden Ring is the best game I have played all year. Period.

I wouldn't say I'm the biggest fan of the Soulsborne Genre. I've played the two major staples (Dark Souls and Bloodborne) which were both fun challenges but I never really fell in love with them as I had with many other RPGs. Elden Ring blew me away.

From its presentation to its gameplay, Elden Ring truly shines within its genre becoming in my opinion the best Soulsborne. It takes inspiration from many gaming staples perfecting their systems to fit within not only the setting but the structure of the gameplay. Exploration in Elden Ring is incredible. The world is gigantic and filled with interesting characters and wonderful scenery. You can go anywhere here no matter of level. Will you regret it? Probably. But you may come out stronger and wiser than before.

Elden Ring truly allows players to master the expected challenge of the genre. Elden Ring may be the most "casual" Soulsborne but that's not bad at all. It's still hard as fuck and it made me wanna jump off a cliff a few times, but the journey that the player goes on allows for mastery, making you become the challenge as you learn more and more.

Character builds can range from the overpowered to the absurd, to the downright broken. And that choice is fully in your right to create. the game WANTS you to do it. It gives the player total freedom to do what they want. Its freedom is Elden Rings's greatest strength.

Is the game itself perfect? Of course not, no game is. Some bosses just suck more than others and some dungeons have some poor design (The one with the gremlins and the guard dog comes to mind) But these are minor compared to Elden Rings' grand scale. I can say that Elden Ring has made me an official fan of not only the Soulsborne Genre but Fromsoft as a whole. I highly recommend it, and I hope that this game can reach as many players for them to truly become Elden Lord.

Did I have fun with this game? Yeah. I can say I had fun, which when it comes to Lego games is the only thing that really matters. However, I can't help but feel throughout my playthrough that this game was missing that special spark that made its predecessor special.

It's not a secret that this game fully plays into our nostalgia for Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The game was a large part of many of our childhoods and Skywalker Saga plays into it fully. However, the game comes off as a lazy and uninspired imitation, and of its many delays its missing key features and content that not only the complete Saga had, but most modern Lego games contain. Key parts from the films are missing such as the Battle of Coruscant and the Death Star 2 replacing them with boring boss fights or uninspired levels to make up time. The entirety of ROS was a major disappointment, as the entire film was just Boss Fight after Boss FIght. Most of the levels and puzzles feel repetitive and lazy making the later films a jog to play, and half of the roster is just costumes for known heroes. Also, the exclusion of Character creation was an awful decision that has no reason to not be in the game.

The ship levels in-game are some of the highlights in its defense. Ship combat can be fun and excited, and the Death Star Run and The Battle of Hoth are two of the best levels in the game by a long shot.

As for the collectibles, it's a mixed bag. getting True Jedi and the Minikits are still fun little distractions in levels that help escape boredom, but the planetary overworld of the hidden blue bricks is a total chore. I wanted to attempt to 100% this game such as TCS, however, after almost 4 hours of collecting on Naboo realizing that I had been doing nothing productive, I gave up. Besides boring upgrades, I found no real reason to collect these things and I have no idea why the maps aren't filled with more side quests instead of these monotonous blue bricks.

For a game hyped to be "The Best Lego Game Ever" it truly feels like it's missing what made most of the classics special. Maybe I have grown up and I bet a kid right now is loving the game, but as a Star Wars Fan and Lego Fan, I feel like this game was lacking.

Tales from the Borderlands is a fantastic game. Telltale created a heart-wrenching story of adventure about a band of outcasts within one of the strangest franchises ever, Borderlands which is known for its FPS Looter-Shooter action. It expands upon the lore of the series and the aftermath of Borderlands 2. The characters are what carry this game, and the journey they take to find a vault against almost all odds was just as captivating as it was fun. Tales is one of Telltale's best games along with The Wolf Among Us and is a must-play for any fan of the Borderlands Franchise.

I gotta give this game a lot of credit because it's a helluva lot of fun. I was never big into racing games at all and usually ignored them as I never really saw the appeal. My roommate however loves cars and racing, and because of him, I began to have the same love as well. When he booted up Forza for the first time, I was stunned. This game is beautiful. Forza's Mexico is the perfect open world for driving, with hundreds of races and challenges to do depending upon what you feel up to at the moment. Collecting cars in this game has become an addiction, and suping them up to become supercars was like seeing your child grow into a billionaire. This game is a lot of fun, and even if you are not a racing game person give it a chance, especially if you have a game pass.

Horizon Forbidden West kept me in awe throughout most of my very long playthrough. Its open world is spectacular, and machine combat has been expanded upon for the better as each encounter has forced me to change strategy constantly. The game is a lot of fun, however, I feel as if the one thing that holds it back is how it handles its story.

The story of the game is serviceable but definitely not the highlight. What Zero Dawn had over this game is that it felt "fresh" in the gaming world. Diving into the world of Zero Dawn was handled perfectly, as Aloy herself is discovering the tribes and their lands the same as we are. While Forbidden West's open-world is miles ahead of Zero Dawn's, the story and tribes that surrounded Zero Dawn's map kept me always wanting to find out more. I've always found the tribes and culture of Horizon to be more interesting than the futuristic apocalypse dives that have been the focus of the two past games. In Forbidden West, I found that my own stories that I had formed from exploration and the side quests were more interesting than the main quest itself.

The Tenakth and the Utaru are a very cool tribe, however, I felt like they had lacked the diversity of the other tribes in Zero Dawn. The original tribes of Zero Dawn felt uniquely distinct politically, ideologically, and physically however the Tenakth differentiate themselves with just colors and the Utaru with white paint. Not to say that they weren't cool to see, but to me, they lack the diversity of Zero Dawn's unique tribes that make up the Meridian.

Gameplay-wise, the game is a ton of fun. Machine Combat is better than ever and the ability to create unique builds for Aloy based upon her already pre-existing qualities allowed for fun experimentation around the world until I ultimately decided to rock a full explosive Bow and Arrow build. Melee really needs some reworking, as half of the time it's just hitting sponges until they eventually die.

The open world of the Forbidden West is what truly shines in this game. there is a wide assortment of things to do in this game that revolves around what you discover and do throughout your adventure. Discovering new locations was always a blast, as I spent way too much time looking through every nook and cranny to see what each location had to offer. Collectables are everywhere as well. Some are more interesting than others but the game truly keeps you busy. The unique locations and different biomes were a sight to behold, and for once I actually enjoyed diving into Cauldrons. Racing is a blast and the arena offers some fun challenges to test your strength. These kept me the busiest, however towards the end they began to feel a bit tedious.

Forbidden West is a really enjoyable game through and through. While I think it lacks some of what made Zero Dawn great, Forbidden West makes up for it in a truly engaging and explorable open world. The game on a technical level is a gaming marvel, and I feel like in the sequel Guerilla will find the best parts about both games and truly make the perfect block-buster experience.

The DLC to Ghost of Tsushima really surprised me. Its story was a psychological adventure through the mind of Jin Sakai, exploring his past and his journey of forgiveness for the death of his father. Iki Island was a fun 4th area to explore, with vivid landscapes and even more wildlife that adds so much to the world. The new animal sanctuaries were also GOATed as now you can pet cats. It's truly adorable. The side quests also felt more engaging here, as many of them came with compelling stories and decisions that felt impactful to Jin's morals. The gameplay here is just as good as the original game, with stealth still not being a truly engaging way to play, as I found myself sticking to my sword as a one-man army instead of playing as a ninja. Still, Iki island is a fun DLC that really adds a lot to the lore of Jin and his life.

Miles Morales is a fun yet short character-driven sequel to Spider-Man PS4. Everything remained the same gameplay-wise with some minor tweaks, but the story is a great introduction to this universe's Miles. His story and the characters involved in his life really helped this story stand out from its predecessor. It's a more grounded story about maturity and what being Spider-Man means to Miles. It's full of heart, and I highly recommend that everyone play this game if they loved Spider-Man PS4 or love comic books in general.

Shin Megami Tensei V surprised me in more ways than one. As a big Persona fan, I was weary to get into SMT because of the negative stigma surrounding it. I was always under the impression that SMTv was a "dumbed down version of Persona" without even giving the series a chance. I am happily able to say that my opinion was incredibly false as SMTV is a solid JRPG with some of the most fun and challenging turn-based gameplay I have ever played.

The combat really helped make this game special. It's fast-paced and forces the player to strategize their next move with an ever-hanging party of wacky demons found across the many open-world areas. The bosses were always a blast to prepare for and fight, and the satisfaction of overcoming them was a rush that only games such as Dark Souls have given me.

The open world of DA-AT is a blast to explore. Each area holds a multitude of secrets waiting to be discovered, and the many side quests give the world a big sense of personality. The demons within it are also a blast to talk to and recruit, each with their own dialogue through negotiation that gives them all their own charm.

The game does have many flaws that bothered me throughout my playthrough. The story is just very boring and the characters never clicked for me. The reveals were never truly surprising and every main character was immediately overshadowed by all the random demons throughout the world. Dungeons are also quite bland and never fully felt like they mattered in the grand scheme of the plot besides the final one. If there was one page Atlus took from Persona it should be its dungeon design and story as this game bored me whenever the plot progressed.

All in all, SMTV is an enjoyable game and easily the best JRPG that came out this year. It's fun and strategic only held down by a boring story. But for my first SMTV game, I was impressed.

This game is D&D in pure video game form. The amount of care put into it is astonishing, cementing itself as one of the greatest RPGs of the generation. The amount of player freedom and choice here really makes the game feel alive, and the fact that you can play it entirely with your friends makes it all the better. Divinity also holds some of gaming's best writing and voice acting I have ever witnessed and the soundtrack gives the game a sense of wonder that you can only get through a session of Dungeons and Dragons. Divinity is truly an amazing game, and I fully recommend it.