An RPG with a story so finely crafted I'm not even sure I want to replay it to 'see all the other bits' as I normally would. Very content to just enjoy this one run as my story, and that's that.

Citizen Sleeper is arriving at a perfect time because despite its minimalist presentation, it evokes so much emotion. The writing is so excellent, so evocative, that it pulls more feelings out of you than 90% of painstakingly crafted 3D environments and characters in triple A games. Not to say CS's presentation isn't beautiful though; the character portraits and humming score are wonderful partners to the writing. But it's the characters and the script that really sing here. The opening hour makes you feel suitably isolated and desperate. Options are limited and most interactions serve to educate you about how dire your situation is. The people you meet while trying to survive will genuinely change the way you view the setting and make you question what your goal really is beyond just 'survive!' and 'escape!' The forks at the conclusion of some quests will be a struggle not because of what reward you get, or because of some tedious GOOD GUY/BAD GUY meter ticking up - but because you are truly invested in what happens.

Lovely. They nailed the cat aspect of the game, with limited but nonetheless satisfying platforming and movement; plus a lot of very cute interactions and quirks to experience as you go through the six-ish hour campaign.

As a sci-fi story it hits and it misses. Stray's tale of unchecked human greed leading to their downfall is as basic and on the nose as a lot of recent yarns, with a city literally divided into lower, middle, and higher tiers that is an immediate eye roller. But the weird little robot society you spend most of your time in is genuinely charming, and bolstered by a fabulously crafted audio-visual package. It's a world where you'll want to do most of the side quests and interact with most characters. Not for a trophy or any kind of stat boost - but simply to shake these robots and see what comes out.

"There is a strange beauty, even in this wretched place."

I bounced off this fairly quickly at launch due to its stiff, unsatisfying combat -- which is still something I'm disappointed in having now revisited it. But I'm glad I did nonetheless, because I think it's one of the best looking games of the year, and a definite 'more than the sum of its parts' experience. A lot of games have done the black and white thing, and the film grain thing. But I'm not sure anything has nailed it quite like Trek To Yomi. Whether it's the burning villages of the early hours, or the more supernatural elements of the second half; the game is stunning throughout. Some sections could pass for a film landscape or a beautiful painting at a glance. My beloved fixed camera angles see maybe their best ever implementation in this game, adding so much to the atmosphere and general vibe.

The gameplay is certainly interesting in theory with direction-based combat and a lot of techniques to learn - but it's mostly just frustrating and cheap feeling.

As a media hub for fans in the pre-Youtube days, Bulletproof is kind of awesome. I was legitimately so excited to be able to play these music videos whenever I wanted -- as alien as that sounds now.

But beyond that, this is a pretty damn horrendous third person shooter and I can't believe I actually enjoyed the video game aspect of this package as a teenager. 50 moves at a glacial pace and you have to turn aim sensitivity all the way up to get a remotely decent aiming experience. There's some cool ideas on paper like taking human shields, interrogating enemies, and slick finishing moves -- but they're all either useless or broken in execution. Likewise there are some level design ideas that sound okay but the mechanics are just not well implemented at all. The cutscenes and story are actually pretty slick all things considered but lack subtitles so even they can't be properly enjoyed.

Oh well, I'll always have the memory of being 14 and watching the Poppin Them Thangs video on a loop.

This package is undoubtedly thin, which is increasingly becoming a pain for first party Nintendo games which are steeply priced. But the core game here is REALLY solid. I love arcade-y sports games, and Battle League hits a lovely balance between wacky action and a respectable amount of depth so that things don't feel too arbitrary. In particular the tackle/dodge meta will separate the boys from the men with regards to online play.

Aside from the limited modes, roster and venues, my main gripe is the ally AI. As mentioned, there is a respectable amount of strategizing in this game but sometimes your AI pals are just not there for you when you're sending in crosses or through-balls. Not saying the game needs FIFA-level team management, but some sort of ability to direct teammates into the box or play more aggressively would help.