A solid RPG from a team that clearly has a love for the original Star Wars trilogy.

Story: The story takes a similar structure to Dragon Age: Origins, in that you have one main goal that leads you to many different locations with each location having its own self-contained story. These stories were hit or miss. Some felt like a drag to get through while others offered interesting concepts and locations. Even the better of the worlds though felt as if they had more to offer. One spot where the story lacks is choice. While in the scheme of the grand story you are given a clear choice between light and darkness, the smaller stories didn’t offer many paths. It mostly felt like you could decide to do this quest of leave it behind as opposed to manipulating the way the quest progresses. This makes the game feel like it lacks the replay value that a typical BioWare offers. The choice between Light and darkness is also a disappointing one. Per usual Star Wars fashion, it doesn’t boil down to more than just good and evil. While the game does a good job of showing the faults in the Jedi counsel your choices are just to side with them or to side with the evil dictator. There is no in-between where you could choose to walk your own path that still helps people. When it came to the big decisions, I often felt I was unable to say exactly what was on my mind, a problem not present in the lower-stakes conversations. This story is very good at surprising you. Every time I felt I was getting a little bored the game would throw a curveball at me that made me eager to get to the next part of the story. All of this culminated in a finale that still manages to feel impactful and satisfying.

Characters: This game has a total of 9 party members leading to a nice variety of teams. While the characters that get the most screen time naturally feel more fleshed out that those that are less involved in the story, none of them felt poorly written. There were a few that I grew tired of, but I could simply leave them on the ship and travel with the companions I was more invested in. The game clearly has four central characters though, the player-made protagonist, your first two companions, Bastila and Carth, and the antagonist Malak. All these characters feel fully realized and I loved learning more and more about them as the game went on. I previously complained about the protagonist dialog options when it comes to choice, but they have plenty of choices when it comes to building the characters personality. The dialog is not spoken, allowing them to offer long responses that are full of charm. While they don’t do much to further the story, they certainly make it more enjoyable by allowing you to craft and connect to this main character. Your main two companions start of as charming NPCs and gradually build into full characters that you can’t help but care for. Carth is an untrusting man whose life has been scared from war and Bastila is an eager young jedi who is faced with the reality that the galaxy is bigger than just herself. Then there is Malak . The only complaint I have for him is that I didn’t get to speak with his character more. He starts a typical Dark Lord whose intimidating right from the start, and as the game goes on you begin to understand exactly who he is and why he walks the dark path he is on. I simply wish there were more scenes with him and the protagonist. The ones we got were among my favorites in the game.

Gameplay: Its your typical; D&D-inspired RPG. You’re able to command your party of three, controlling their targets and the actions they take. The game doesn’t offer much outside of basic control, you’re able to queue up to four commanders per character and are unable to give them a location to go, only an enemy to target. While at first, I felt limited in what I could control I soon learned that the game didn’t need more control than you are given. I never felt that I needed to have my party strategically placed on the map or that I needed to set up a huge chain of commands. I found the attacks and defensive moves that worked the best on general enemies and stuck to that strategy. This created a combat loop that was just engaging enough. I never felt I could put my party on autopilot, but I also didn’t feel stressed out trying to manage every single detail of the fights. The enemy variety was slim, only really requiring me to come up with new strategies during boss fights.

Verdict: A solid Star Wars RPG. It’s a high quality and if you’ve played this style of game before you know exactly what you’re in for. It’s a wholly original Star Wars tale that feels enjoyable for all the reasons the original movie was. This is the game for anyone looking for simple and enjoyable gameplay paired with a classic space-faring adventure.

What a game. Everything this game has to offer feels special and I have no doubt this will be a landmark game for turn-based RPGs.
Please note this is my first Yakuza game

Gameplay - The gameplay is your basic turn-based JRPG with extreme flare. There's an expansive job system that allows for learned moves that can carry over to other jobs and with plenty of party members, it never feels like you don't have enough tools to experiment and strategies. The open-world is also handled wonderfully. You explore until you meet enemies but rather than enter a random battle arena the battle takes place in the exact spot you found them. The environment becomes a part of the battle. Whether it's a bike parked beside you that you bash over your enemy's head, or the ongoing traffic you shove your opponent into, the battles always feel like they are happening in a real tangible location.
This game also offers a slew of side quests and mini-games. Ijincho is absolutely packed with content. There are so many places to go and people to meet that the player never feels they are out of things to do. The management game and the go-cart quest could easily be stand-alone titles. I'm so impressed by the scope of this game.

Story - This game consists of some of the silliest things I've ever seen and some of the most serious and it hits every note perfectly. I never felt like the tone wasn't appropriate or too jarring. I'm invested in every single plot point and constantly looking forward to what's happening next. Every character feels fleshed out and likable. Some more than others but there wasn't a single person I was tired of seeing on screen. The protagonist, Ichiban, especially shines through. He's so passionate and the performance of Kaiji Tang is outstanding. Every line is delivered with such heart that you feel every emotion he does. You understand exactly what he's going through and it all feels natural.
The story takes so many twists and turns and it takes such extreme that I'm left amazed that they fit it all in a cohesive story. Nothing felt like too weird of a turn, it all had a natural flow and culminated in an amazing finale that will weigh on your heart.

Verdict - Just a phenomenal game. Everything about it felt so personal. The passion of the developers really shines through. I've never played a Yakuza game before this but the personality is clear and I can't wait to see where the series goes from here.

What an amazing adventure game. What most likely started as a competitor to The Legend of Zelda ended up firmly crafting its own identity with its unique weapon system, simple characters with strong personalities, and vast world that’s just begging to be explored.

Combat: There are six weapon types in this game that all behave differently. Each weapon has two attacks when standing still, and two attacks while moving. And most can interact with the environment in a different way, allowing each to be useful throughout the game for both combat and traversal. There is also a magic system. The magic works in a straightforward manner, you have a set amount of MP, and you have a designated magic/item button. You select your spell in a menu and use it as many times as you MP storage will allow. You also have companions that change throughout the story who all have unique attacks and help actions.

World exploration: The world is far mor fast than I originally expected. For the first half of the game, you’re set on a fairly narrow path, but everything is still connected, you travel to each major location battling monsters and solving puzzles on your way.
Once you unlock sea travel however the entire game opens up drastically. At this point you also have one of every weapon type, so nothing is off limits, this also opens many optional dungeons that provide more powerful equipment. There is a problem with direction though. The game lacks a proper map so it can be easy to get lost, fortunately every area has a distinct look so it’s very easy to tell where you are currently, the problem only lies in remembering where other areas are in relation.

Story: They story is a simple journey where the unlikely hero is on a quest to save the girl, but that doesn’t mean this story isn’t special. The tale is full of surprises and loaded with heart. Throughout I felt happy, sad, angry, and determined to see our heroes succeed. I was invested for every second.

Verdict: This game was so much more than I was expecting, and it felt like the only flaws were due to hardware limitations. I had always heard about how amazing Secret of Mana is, but I had never heard anything about its predecessor but I’m so glad I took the time to play it. if you want to experience a unique game full of passion, then look no further than Final
Fantasy Adventure.

What this game tries just didn't work for me.

Gameplay - This game is extremely hectic which was both exciting and annoying depending on the combat set-up. The lack of penalties for dying continues to make difficulty a hard thing for the series to figure out. On harder difficulties, you end up just killing a few people and dying in very rapid succession until you win which takes the hectic nature from exciting to frustrating.

Story - The story starts off calm and presents strong themes and a beautiful setting, but by the halfway point the Sci-fi gimmick is introduced and it completely steamrolls what came before it. It becomes hard to understand because it keeps introducing new, unexplainable theories that you just have to go along with. It gets to the point where it's hard to be surprised because every twist is just as unpredictable and ridiculous as the last. The characters are well written enough but what they're saying is so crazy that it feels like Elizabeth shouldn't understand anything, and Booker (who doesn't understand anything) should be questioning more things. They both just go along with everything. The story needed more explanation throughout the game. There are explanations but they save them all for the last few minutes of the game which hurts the pacing. And the game itself concludes in a depressing and nihilistic way that just doesn't feel satisfying or earned. It didn't feel it was building to it at all. In the end, I was left wishing the story didn't go for the extreme and instead doubled down on all the human themes it opened with.

This game also does not need to be a part of the Bioshock franchise. There was no reason to connect this story to the original two games. Aside from a lighthouse and one scene underwater (both moments that are forced and have no bearing on the story), nothing is tying this game in with the others. This game should've taken place in an original world.

Verdict - If the story wasn't so crazy and in your face, and the gameplay provided more options (and perhaps if I played on a lower difficulty) then I think it would've been a more solid experience. But the game reached for the stars and, in my eyes, it burned trying to get so close.

Overall a solid game that goes on for a little too long.

Gameplay: Controlling Samus has never felt better. She's fast, agile, and can switch between weapons and skills in a flash. MercurySteam did about as good of a job as they could. The problems with this game come from the level design. The map is painfully linear, I don't even feel confident calling it a Metroidvania game. While there are things you can go back and get with your newer powers, these things are nothing more than upgrades to your missile capacity which I never found to be even close to necessary. The bosses are mostly recycled throughout the entire game. While these bosses are well designed, they do get old. The handful one unique bosses however feel very different and are a delight to fight against. Each requires learning patterns and timing attacks and dodges.

Presentation: The Metroid series is known for its strong presentation and immersive atmosphere and Samus Returns is no exception. Due to circumstances, I played most of this game with the volume muted and it was a huge detriment to the game. Luckily I was able to play the latter half of the game with the volume on and it made a world of difference. The soundtrack and sound design of this game are amazing. This team knew exactly when and how to build tension and get you on the edge of your seat. Samus herself, despite being a silent protagonist, has a strong character and makes you feel like an unstoppable force.

Verdict: Overall this game feels like a glimpse into the future of Metroid. With MercurySteam making Dread, and not being held back by dated level design I have full confidence that they will be able to craft a unique experience that feels embodies the spirit of Metroid. Unfortunately, Samus Returns was held back by the quality of the original GameBoy game. If you're looking to play the Metroid legacy or just want to see how the gameplay has evolved then this game is worth your time. There are fun moments to be had. But if you're new to the series and are looking to see what the hype is about, I'd recommend starting with a different game

(Please note that I played this on and Xbox Series X and all the button prompts I mention are in terms of an Xbox controller)

Clearly my opinion of this game is not the popular one, I understand that. But I hated just about every part of this game. If someone asked me what my problem with open world games is, I could just hand them a copy of this game.

Gameplay: Repetitive and boring. The moment you receive the quick shot mechanic the game become the exact same routine of riding a horse for an excruciatingly long time and having a slow-motion gun fight. Just about every single mission is this. The game never does anything to mix it up. The only time you aren't doing this you're herding cattle which honestly is somehow slightly more exciting than the gun fights.

And let's talk about that riding around everywhere. To go faster on your horse, or to just sprint on foot, you must constantly tap the A button. Just non-stop tapping. I can't comprehend how someone played that and decided it was fun. Every mission starts with a horse ride where the NPC guiding you gives the same generic exposition dump on why you’re shooting this group of people. Instead of making this a cutscene and adding literally any kind of cinematic flair they decided that this had to happen while you're riding and controlling a horse. You can't stray too far or do your own thing, so I don't know why they decided to put the player in control. Luckily, they realized it would literally be impossible to match someone's pace with the standard horse controls and they let you just hold A in order to ride at the same speed as them. But this just begs the question as to why they didn't just use this system for the entire game. I understand that they were trying to capture the feel of whipping a horse, but it became beyond tedious very quickly.

I feel I have to mention the gunplay but there really isn't much. You can shoot just as you would in any 3rd person shooter, or you could use the much more efficient method of slowing down time to aim your shots. As someone who played this in 2020 the aiming feels very dated but that’s to be expected. The slow motion also makes the aiming much easier so there isn't too much to complain about other than it not feeling engaging at all.

The open world itself is dull and boring. I wouldn't call it lifeless though, there are a good number of towns and random NPCs you meet along the way, some being actual characters, but most being the same robbery you've seen 100 times. The whole map is a desert, an empty, brown desert. While the quality of graphics themselves have aged well (thanks in no small part to the Series X) there is absolutely nothing interesting to look at. Aside from a small forest in the north the entire map looks the same. There is nothing that makes me want to explore for the sake of exploring. Riding across this dull flat land does nothing to evoke the feeling of adventure.

Story: John Marston has got to be the most one-note, dull, and annoying protagonist I have seen in a game. He constantly talks about how he has changed but it's all in the past tense, as in before the game has started. He constantly talks about how he's a different person now, but we never get to see the person he was before. John is on a quest to save his family who is being held hostage by the government. The game however doesn't show us his family. It never gives the player a chance to connect with these people we're saving or see their relationship with John. This makes it extremely difficult for the player to care about John's goals or root for him at all. The only reason we have to care is because it's the story we're forced down. The little bit, and I mean very little bit, of John's character we do know is all things John tells us. The story never gives him a chance to act on the ideals he loves to argue with people about. It's a textbook example of telling and not showing. The only things you can gather about John through his actions is that he has no problem killing people and can't stand literally anyone who isn't his wife or son. John is also constantly saying he doesn't care about anyone but does every favor that comes his way. And this doesn't change at all over the course of the game. There is no growth, no development. All his character development took place before the game started.

This story moves at a very slow pace. In order to save his family John must hunt down a small number of outlaws. The moments between the fights with these outlaws is spent searching for them. The problem is that John searches for these people by doing favors for complete strangers that don't have anything to do with his target. John meets someone, they claim they can help, and then ask you to do completely unrelated task. All the while John is yelling at them, claiming he doesn't care about their problems, only to help them with task that don't get him closer to his target. The quest they give have nothing to do with the main story or finding the outlaw. This last until the NPC finally decides it’s time for them to help John, or when the outlaw shows up on his own accord. If these were side quest, I would understand but you could cut 75% of the main story quest from this game and the story would be completely unaffected. Honestly it would probably improve.

The side characters are just caricatures. They have no depth but clearly no effort was put in to give them any. You have to see them so much that it gets old. Especially since John seems to hate every single one. (Again, he still does every little thing the ask of his, he just complains about it the entire time).

The ending is entirely dependent on you caring about John and his family and I clearly just didn't. Nothing made me care for these people at all, so I didn't care what happened to them. It felt like the story was an afterthought, the only thing is that it is shoved down the player’s throat. You cannot ignore the story and just ride around; it is constantly in the forefront.


Verdict: This game is everything I hate about open-world games. Long boring trails with nothing interesting to find or do, dull combat, and a flat story. If you're someone who cares about story or interesting gameplay than I cannot recommend this game to you. But if being a cowboy and rapidly pressing A across an empty sandpit sound like fun to you then certainly give it a try.

Wow... what a game. I really didn't know what to expect from a sequel, and the rough beginning of the game had me questioning where the story was going, but the payoff at the end was well worth the journey.

Gameplay: It's basically everything you loved about the first games gameplay made better. Shooting is more fluid and precise (the inclusion of motion aiming is a huge plus). Enemies feel smarter and harder to avoid but with new tools and more detailed inviornments you feel much more in control than before. Exploring the vast environments feels even more interesting and rewarding. Puzzles have moved from something you need to do to advance the story and have become something you only need to do to get more gear and collectables. The main puzzle mechanic in this game is pretty much designated to fidning and opening safes. while this can get a little old, finding the codes is either jus challenging enough to be interesting or easy enough to be inoffensive. Excluding boss fights the games hard mode felt fairly balanced, leaning towards the easy side, but after launch they added grounded mode and multiple gameplay modifiers including perma-death so if you feel you need more of a challenge the options are there. For me its a solid gameplay style that has just been fined tuned to perfection. If you enjoyed the gameplay of the first you'll feel right at home here.

Story: The game expects you to already care about Joel and Ellie. If you never connected to these characters then I'm not sure how you'll react to their experiences here. As someone who fell in love with both of them, this story hit hard, not always in the ways i wanted it to, but always in the way the writers intended. Most games get big emotional responses from me about twice a game, this one gave me one ever 2 or 3 hours. Even the new character of Abby is well writen and an importnt part of the story. The middle section however does slow down a bit, deviating too far from the original plot. While what is there isn't bad, it kinda felt like starting a movie and then turning on an episode of a tv halfway through. The story there mostly only had importance in the way of fleshing out Abby's character which I think could've been done in a more connected way. This section only last for a few hours though, it doesn't take long to get invested in the new characters and get back into the main plot and once you do the feelings are nonstop. The game does a good job of making you question characters actions without making you turn on them. It's hard to discuss it any further without getting into spoilers but I promise, even if the beginning turns you off, see it through, it's worth it.

Visuals: Not usually something I'd bring up but wow this game is pretty. It just looks good. The facial animations in particular are mind blowing. I'm so glad the game had a photo mode. I ended up getting about 2.5 GB of photos and videos.

Verdict: Another Naughty Dog masterpiece. While I'm still a fan of the first game's story more its impossible to deny how well made this game is. Gameplay is the best it's ever been and the story is bittersweet and tear-jerking. They make you care and keep you on the edge of your seat. The minor complaints I have are greatly overshadowed by what the game does right. If you're a fan of the first game or just a fan of narrative games you owe it to yourself to play through this game.

Playing as Spider-Man is still fun.

Story: The story is nothing we haven't seen before and the details are often glossed over but the key emotional moments almost always hit. A lot of relatable and well acted conversations.

Gameplay: If you've played Spider-Man PS4 then you've played this game. Its indistinguishable aside from the 3 new gadgets, and that's not a bad thing. Its fluent, quick, and entertaining. I'm still not bored, but i do wonder how long they can use this same gameplay before it gets old.

Verdict: If you're a fan of the character of Miles Morales or just a fan of the web-swinging combat then you'll love this game. If you're not then there's still plenty here to love but it wont be anything that blows you away.

This game is a delight to play!

Story: The first thing that needs to be noted is that all of the new story content clocks in at around 24 minutes. So if you're just here for the story don't expect to much (and don't forget the $60 price tag). With that said, this new story is so exciting. This game is meant to be a way to celebrate the Dark Seeker Saga and set up the new story arc and it does that perfectly. (There are a few frustrating aspects to the story that I wont discuss to avoid spoilers.)

Gameplay: The gameplay is simple and super satisfying and with 143 songs there is plenty for you to do. Field battles and memory dives are a joy to play through and just filled me with nostalgia. Boss battles are super cool but super underutilized. I'm baffled by the fact that there are only 4 bosses in this game. The songs of so many more are here and to just have those be field stages feels like a missed opportunity.

Song Selection: As mentioned there are 143 songs in this game. That includes songs from across every kingdom hearts game as well as a few Disney songs that have never been present in game before. And while it feels hard to complain with 143 songs there are a few things that disappoint me. While we knew Tarzan songs wouldn't be present (do to Disney losing the rights years ago) I was not prepared for there to be no sign of Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm assuming this is due to some kind of legal issue but is disappointing none the less. But the biggest issue is the shocking lack of KH3 songs. Even without pirates there should be way more than 8 songs from the game. Every world form the other games gets at least 2 songs but the KH3 worlds all have just one song and I cannot understand why.

Final Verdict: Play the demo and see if its for you. If you enjoy the rhythm gameplay even half as much as I do then you'll have a blast. The amount and quality of the songs in this game more than make up for the short story and lack of KH3 representation.

Very middle of the road game for me.

Story: A safe story that takes a little too long to get through. None of the characters are awful but none of them great either. The acting can sound exaggerated at times but nothing horrible. Despite all of this the game has some great story beats that will get you on the edge of your seat, specially the finale to each act.

Combat: This gameplay is easy to master and there are so many tools at your disposal. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, this games constant fighting creates unbearably easy and repetitive gameplay. Fighting large groups of Mongols is the main thing you'll do and it almost never changes. By the halfway point you'll have learned how to dominate any group no matter the size. Boss fights change the pace quite a bit and are by far the most fun thing to do, but even those become predictable after having to do so many. The stealth can be a drag at times but even then there's still a satisfaction from killing every enemy without anyone seeing.

Open-World: The presentation of Tsushima in this game is fantastic. Easily the best part. Throughout the world you'll find not only Mongol camps, but things that give your character passive buffs such as: fox dens, which involve you following an adorable fox to a certain location, baboo strikes, which involve hitting buttons in a specified pattern, and haiku spots, which allow you to sit and take in the atmosphere while you write a haiku of your very own. All of these things give you some sort of buff. And all are fun and exciting to find for about the first third of the game. As you go on these discoveries become less and less interesting and the boost they give you become more and more unnecessary.

Final Verdict: A good game with just too much going on. A more focused version of this adventure (in every aspect) would drastically improve this game.