Spooky_Jim
2016
Fun reboot of an absolute classic. The game is pretty, plays like you'd expect Ratchet and Clank to, and doesn't overstay its welcome. The story is garbage, and I think it's some kind of movie tie-in? Strange choices and over the top tropey characters.
100% Completion Notes: Ratchet & Clank is one of the games I don't mind doing a New Game + run, the additional upgrades to the gadgets and weapons introduces fun gameplay changes.
100% Completion Notes: Ratchet & Clank is one of the games I don't mind doing a New Game + run, the additional upgrades to the gadgets and weapons introduces fun gameplay changes.
Batshit insane storyline, charming and colorful blend of Final Fantasy and Disney characters. Fun real-time JRPG combat that supports different builds and playstyles. Each of the Disney worlds that serve as the game's levels are lovingly made as an homage to the original IP with its own Kingdom Hearts feel. An absolute, nostalgic classic. Don't worry about the story, it's not what you're here for.
100% Completion Notes: Oh man, a couple realllyyy grindy trophies made this one a tough platinum. Synthesis grinding especially. Playing through on Proud mode was one of my hardest gaming challenges of the year.
100% Completion Notes: Oh man, a couple realllyyy grindy trophies made this one a tough platinum. Synthesis grinding especially. Playing through on Proud mode was one of my hardest gaming challenges of the year.
2014
Unfortunately, this game did not reach the nostalgic heights I had with the first two Infamous games. I'm not sure if its because I've played 1,000 open world games since then, but it just never grabbed me. The powers were fun to mess around with, but I was almost overwhelmed with all of the different powers and upgrades you could have. I ended up just focusing on smoke powers because I thought that was the coolest. The morality/karma mechanic and how it changes the story/world is still as banging as ever, though.
100% Completion Notes: The only thing that got me through this one was the karma system mentioned above. There were enough changes, both big and small, to get me through playing this average game twice.
100% Completion Notes: The only thing that got me through this one was the karma system mentioned above. There were enough changes, both big and small, to get me through playing this average game twice.
When I think of a perfect AA game, Plague Tale comes to mind. It takes a concept (what if we made the Black Plague supernatural?) and incorporates it from top to bottom. Stealth gameplay is serviceable, but this game really shines when the rat swarms become the puzzles you have to navigate. Playing on PS5, the haptic feedback of thousands of rats running around was disgusting in the best way.
100% Completion Notes: A decent trophy list that had me playing this game a bit longer than I wanted to. Some missables required me to replay entire chapters of the story that dragged on. Highly recommend using a guide.
100% Completion Notes: A decent trophy list that had me playing this game a bit longer than I wanted to. Some missables required me to replay entire chapters of the story that dragged on. Highly recommend using a guide.
2017
Classic platformer with one of the most recognizable characters of all-time. The remaster has treated this game well, the graphics look great, but the controls could be very frustrating. I think I read about them changing Crash's hitbox? Something about squares and pills? Regardless, I completed every challenge this game threw at me, and felt immensely satisfied when it was over.
100% Completion Notes: Going for the 100% turns this game from a challenge to pure lunacy. Stormy. Ascent. Time Trial. That is all.
100% Completion Notes: Going for the 100% turns this game from a challenge to pure lunacy. Stormy. Ascent. Time Trial. That is all.
I played this game when I was a kid, and Spongebob was one of my favorite shows. Playing the remastered version as an adult was a wonderful trip down memory lane. The updated graphics look good, the platforming/adventure gameplay gets the job done, and even some of the humor still landed for me. A slightly-above-average platformer based on one of the greatest cartoons ever made.
100% Completion Notes: Nothing that really stood out, it's another collect-a-thon so I spent a lot of time combing through the levels. Didn't overstay its welcome.
100% Completion Notes: Nothing that really stood out, it's another collect-a-thon so I spent a lot of time combing through the levels. Didn't overstay its welcome.
2018
The best superhero game of all-time in my opinion, replacing Batman: Arkham City. Most people who are interested in this game likely just want to swing around NYC as Spidey, and it feels great to do so. The combat is a direct copy of Arkham's, just with an aerial component that does just enough to make it feel like its own thing. The story was excellent, although I was surprised they used so many villains in one game. This game uses the same themes you'd expect from a Spider-Man story, and executes it almost perfectly. I do think the game played it a little too safe in general, but not enough to detract from the experience.
100% Completion Notes: I had a blast clearing each district of NYC, swinging and flipping as I went. The only thing that became slightly tedious were the random crime events. Kinda boring and repetitive after a while.
100% Completion Notes: I had a blast clearing each district of NYC, swinging and flipping as I went. The only thing that became slightly tedious were the random crime events. Kinda boring and repetitive after a while.
2017
A charming, atmospheric puzzle-platformer akin to LIMBO and INSIDE. I enjoyed the character/monster models very much and was surprised to find myself getting genuinely frightened at times. The platforming gameplay is serviceable, but this game really shines in its level design. The DLC episodes were great as well, and expanded on the protagonist/lore of the world. Loved it.
100% Completion Notes: This trophy list was fairly straightforward, with most achievements coming from playing through the games levels. But then theres Hard to the Core. Awarded for completing the game on a permadeath difficulty, this one almost broke me. But I persevered and learned to enjoy learning the routes and skills to clear it. To this day, it remains one of my rarest trophies.
100% Completion Notes: This trophy list was fairly straightforward, with most achievements coming from playing through the games levels. But then theres Hard to the Core. Awarded for completing the game on a permadeath difficulty, this one almost broke me. But I persevered and learned to enjoy learning the routes and skills to clear it. To this day, it remains one of my rarest trophies.
2021
Death's Door is an endearing homage to original Zelda games, having you explore depressingly beautiful levels and taking on a varied cast of foes. The game is well polished and presented to the player, and I found myself growing very attached to my cute little crow friend. If you're fan of older-school games with an overworld/dungeon formula, this one may be worth your time.
100% Completion Notes: In order to get all of the achievements in one run, I had to use the starting umbrella weapon for the entire game. While it did make things more difficult, it's the exact kind of challenge that makes me love going for completions. Other than that, a few annoying missable collectibles paired with having to run through old levels to blindly search for them brought the experience down a tad.
100% Completion Notes: In order to get all of the achievements in one run, I had to use the starting umbrella weapon for the entire game. While it did make things more difficult, it's the exact kind of challenge that makes me love going for completions. Other than that, a few annoying missable collectibles paired with having to run through old levels to blindly search for them brought the experience down a tad.
2019
Likely my favorite modern horror game. I never played the original, so even without nostalgic glasses on, I was enthralled. The game is gorgeous and runs like butter on most systems, and the zombie animations are the best I've ever seen. I enjoyed the story in this one much more than the first, it just seemed a liiiitle more grounded (as grounded as an RE game can be) and more character-focused. Each playthrough is relatively short and worth your time. X gon give it to ya.
100% Completion Notes: My second RE completion and much like RE1, a real joy. I just love playing through the shorter campaigns over and over, each time focusing on a different objective/achievement (speedrun, no item boxes, S ranks,etc.). Some of the DLC missions and their related achievements were an insane spike in difficulty, however. Be warned!
100% Completion Notes: My second RE completion and much like RE1, a real joy. I just love playing through the shorter campaigns over and over, each time focusing on a different objective/achievement (speedrun, no item boxes, S ranks,etc.). Some of the DLC missions and their related achievements were an insane spike in difficulty, however. Be warned!
2019
The perfect setup for me. As an avid SCP enjoyer, seeing this game on the horizon made me super excited. And I'm happy to say they really nail it. The Oldest House is disorienting, bizarre, and enthralling. The Objects of Power and other strange phenomena harness that SCP creepy/eeriness extremely well. The only points I can take off is for the gameplay, which to me eventually started feeling a little samey towards the end. The Hiss enemies were definitely growing tiresome. Other than that, an incredible, weird journey.
100% Completion Notes: I loved this trophy list as it's one that encourages you to see all there is to see. And boy is there a lot to see in the Oldest House. The DLCs were excellent as well, and as an Alan Wake fan, the tie ins were amazing to see.
100% Completion Notes: I loved this trophy list as it's one that encourages you to see all there is to see. And boy is there a lot to see in the Oldest House. The DLCs were excellent as well, and as an Alan Wake fan, the tie ins were amazing to see.
My first repeat completion, this game was just as much fun in 2022 as it was in 2013 when I played it the first time. A good storyline for a superhero game (until the ending) and features my favorite rouges' gallery. The combat, while simplistic, can take some skill and reaction time to master, and was good enough to be the inspiration for later games like Shadow of Mordor and Marvel's Spider-Man.
100% Completion Notes: I'm one of the few people who actually enjoys the riddler challenges and trophies strewn about the place. The combat/predator challenges were still a slog, though.
100% Completion Notes: I'm one of the few people who actually enjoys the riddler challenges and trophies strewn about the place. The combat/predator challenges were still a slog, though.
2021
The start of one of gaming's best sci-fi stories. With the remaster, the game has been modernized to an extent, and the graphics get a respectable bump. The core gameplay, and especially the menus, are definitely showing their age, though. Regardless, I had a blast playing through this classic again and appreciated having a bit more context for the larger story beats this time around.
100% Completion Notes: Not too bad overall, playing on Insanity difficulty had its hair-tearing moments, though. The trophy list also includes a separate one that spans all three games, so you need to be cautious to get all of those as well.
100% Completion Notes: Not too bad overall, playing on Insanity difficulty had its hair-tearing moments, though. The trophy list also includes a separate one that spans all three games, so you need to be cautious to get all of those as well.
Bioshock 2 probably has many similar reviews: that it's an excellent game, but not quite up to the standard the 1st set. I'm one of the folks with the opinion that this game is on par with 1, and in some ways even surpasses it. The gameplay takes a noticeable leap, and exploring different sections of a dying Rapture is always fun. Yes, the story isn't quite as good because it lacks that gasp-inducing twist that cements Bioshock 1 and Infinite as GOAT gaming stories, but it still has plenty to offer, especially in the audiologs!
100% Completion Notes: The base game wasn't too bad to complete, with many similar achievements to Bioshock 1 (full research, upgrades, find all audio logs, no vita chambers, etc.). The DLCs I am mixed on. Minerva's Den is an incredible self-contained experience, and delivers that story twist that the base game was lacking. The harvesting challenges are a drag. I hate defending a helpless NPC. Bleh.
100% Completion Notes: The base game wasn't too bad to complete, with many similar achievements to Bioshock 1 (full research, upgrades, find all audio logs, no vita chambers, etc.). The DLCs I am mixed on. Minerva's Den is an incredible self-contained experience, and delivers that story twist that the base game was lacking. The harvesting challenges are a drag. I hate defending a helpless NPC. Bleh.
2019
This review contains spoilers
This game heavily relies on its presentation and style to carry some of its weaker aspects, but damn it, its some of the best I've ever seen. Everything from the music, art style, and UI is a cohesive, pleasant assault on the senses. The gameplay is typical JRPG/monster collecter faire, but I feel like at the end of the day, it simply boiled down to: discover enemy weakness -> knock everyone down -> all out attack. There are a few wrinkles here and there, but for a game that runs well over 100 hours, you can really feel it. The story is very well done for the most part, with a few unfortunate JRPG tropes that make it a little too wild for me at the end (really, does there always have to be ANOTHER final boss?). But regardless of my criticisms, this game is probably the best JRPG I've ever played. The social/confidant system is unparalleled.
100% Completion Notes: The Royal version of this game is apparently more forgiving in its trophy list, and I didn't think it was too challenging. Royal introduces another couple months of in-game time to help you get everything done. The biggest challenge is sticking with the game through its massive runtime.
100% Completion Notes: The Royal version of this game is apparently more forgiving in its trophy list, and I didn't think it was too challenging. Royal introduces another couple months of in-game time to help you get everything done. The biggest challenge is sticking with the game through its massive runtime.