The last of us part II challenges its player to trust the storytelling even when it can seem frustrating, scary, or useless at times.

All things purposefully culminate in the most brutal, unflinching, and beautifully heartbreaking way… leaving you haunted by what you’ve experienced by the time it’s finished.

It’s hard to add new things to the conversation when it comes to this game. But it’s easy to confront some of the criticisms I’ve heard.

I’ve seen people talk about how Ellie is a completely different character with a different personality… and for that they’re upset. Yes, she was an easy going, optimistic, bright spirited kid who liked to make cheesy jokes in the first game. That’s gone here.

She’s so jaded by everything that’s happened since then that she’s less than half of the person she used to be… and that’s the point. It’s literally reflected in the song Joel sings to her. The same one she attempts to play at the very end of the game.

Of course there’s the argument of what happens to Joel in the game as well. I don’t see why this is an issue. They’ve been setting this story up in the first game… and it’s hilarious to think that there wouldn’t be consequences for Joel’s actions.

And of course… playing as Abby. Now this is the only criticism I’ve seen that I can understand on some level. It’s hard to pick up and play as a character that you initially loath. Especially when they’ve hurt another character that you love. With that said… I don’t think Neil Druckmann could have handled her story any better.

Though the initial disdain for Abby is set, it’s easier to connect to her journey as you continue playing. Thus building your own connection to her world of characters and goals. You’re supposed to dislike Abby at first. It was all written with extreme purpose and attention to detail. The dual stories colliding in the last few hours of the game is some of the most riveting storytelling I’ve ever experienced.

My only real issue with this behemoth of a game is it’s runtime. It can be… exhausting. I think if they trimmed a bit of fat off of both Ellie and Abby’s gameplay, it would be much more concise, and entertaining. Not to pretend that it isn’t already though.

This game is much more mean spirited than the first. It’s angrier. Its feral. It’s so ferocious it’s practically foaming at the mouth to bite you. Let it. The pain is worth enduring. You’ll be in for a real blood-soaked, bone shattering, metal-as-hell treat. With it’s ridiculously good game design, and one of a kind story telling… you’d be doing a disservice to yourself for passing it up.

Addictive, frustrating, simple. Overcooked is a game with a recipe that works. It’s cute, it’s entertaining, and it makes for an incredibly fun party game.

Its narrative doesn’t need to be too complex, and neither do it’s cutscenes. What makes it work is how it plays.

Though the buttons can sometimes feel unresponsive, the level design and cooking mechanics here shine. Especially when the tension ramps up.

“You will always be a monster”

“I know… but I am your monster, no longer.”

Where can I start with this game?… It’s tough to say anything when a franchise you previously dismissed releases an entry so beautiful, and unlike any other gaming experience you’ve had.

I suppose I’ll start with God of War (2005). A game I’ve been trying to play for the last couple of years. It’s one that I started long ago. I find it… irritating. The game frustrates me because it has a story I find really compelling; and yet the gameplay itself is so infuriating to me… which is sacrilege to any lover of the franchise.

The combat isn’t necessarily bad. It can be fun at times. It’s also nice having weapon variety. But oh… my… god dude. How much button mashing can you stuff into one game? I mean geez… my thumbs are raw the first 20 minutes I pickup the controller. That’s one reason I can’t finish. And of course, the puzzles can be notoriously hard at times.

I will go back and finish the first game seeing as how I’m more than halfway through that one. But the only reason I will do so, is to get the full story before heading into ragnarok. I will finish the trilogy come hell or high water. Who knows, maybe I’ll enjoy the other two better.

But 2018 does something I wasn’t expecting from the series. It shows maturity. Nuance. Its storytelling is wonderful… and the writing masterful. The characters show growth, and it’s easy to find yourself loving them as they all have their own levels of complexity. The relationships drive the storytelling, and it’s so meticulously crafted in a way that makes the payoff immeasurable.

The combat is unbelievable… and the world feels so exciting to explore. It’s living, it’s breathing, and it’s filled with entertaining things to discover.

The boss battles feel unique and epic every single time. I was consistently blown away by the level of care and detail poured into this experience. I’ll remember it forever. God of War is amongst the greatest games ever made, and is easily one of the very best I’ve ever experienced.

“Ten years, Athena! I have faithfully served the gods for ten years! When will you leave me of these nightmares?”

God of War (2005) gave ME nightmares for a while. It was a game I have been trying to finish for a little over two years now. I found it so painfully challenging that I almost abandoned it altogether.

If not for God of War (2018)… I may have never returned to this. And what a mistake that would have been.

Though I had always love the story in this game, I found the puzzles, combat, and overall experience far too challenging and frustrating to be enjoyable. While I had similar troubles upon my return, I also had the pleasure of dying enough to change my difficulty. Something I didn’t know was possible.

So, after a simple change, I absolutely breezed through this game. Not because it was easy… but because the experience felt more balanced and enjoyable. It became the game I always wanted it to be. Though the puzzles were just as hard, the combat wasn’t nearly as irritatingly grinding as it used to be.

And that, is one of my biggest complaints. The difficulty that the game starts you off with is just cruel. It’s normal… but never have I played a game where normal feels this hard. Perhaps that’s apart of the appeal or the “souls like experience”. Well… all that did was make me want to stop playing.

Though it’s a bit drab by todays standards… this game still managed to kick a ton of ass. An awesome final battle and some really memorable in game moments brought the experience way up for me. Some things feel pretty clunky still, the controls aren’t always responsive, there’s too much button mashing, and the hack in slash can be in excess… but when things are working, they are working like crazy.

A brutal experience, yet a rewarding one. What a series. I can’t wait to play God of War II next.

Terrifying, Brutal, and most importantly, fucking metal.

“Make us whole again Isaac…”
…Sheesh dude.

Dead Space is a well written horror game with organic feeling Sci-fi elements that contribute to fresh and exciting gameplay. The dismemberment angle is really damn cool. It’s unlike anything I’ve had to do before, and it really adds a layer to the game’s uniqueness… which says a lot already.

The goth elements are cool as hell… and the stomping and punching are of course awesome. Weapon variety never gets boring, and neither do your special abilities. Finding new ways to incorporate your abilities into your combat is so much fun, and the different enemy types are consistently scary, and refreshing.

I was on edge from start to finish, as almost every single scare was incredibly crafted. Though I think a stronger focus on story throughout the experience could’ve helped, I’m not upset with what we got. There’s a heavy focus on gameplay, and it’s fantastic, so it’s hard to complain. I think if they had just replaced some of the task-like missions in favor of some story driven ones, it would’ve been even better.

It can also feel a little stiff by todays standards, but I’m sure that’s something that gets worked out in the next entry in the series. The way the seemingly simple story culminated by the end of the game made the experience all worth it. It was everything I could have hoped for.

I got my awesome final boss battle, the story payoff, and the final character reflection, just how I like it. It was more than I could have asked for… and I’m very happy with it. What an awesome experience.

While Spider-Man: Miles Morales doesn’t exactly reach the same emotional heights or peak gameplay that Spider-Man (2018) managed to pull off, that doesn’t stop it from getting pretty damn far.

The story itself is pretty simple, and what works about it is the relationship between Miles and Phin. It’s the emotional core of the storytelling, and it’s how their dynamic culminates in the final minutes of the game that give it the strength, memorability, and replay ability it will have in the future.

Simon Krieger is the cliché corporate a-hole character that doesn’t serve much purpose other than to be a money hungry overlord who screws over the lower class. It’s something that’s been done to death, but I guess what I can say positively about it is that in this story particularly, it works a bit better than it would under other given circumstances.

Krieger stealing ideas from people of color, and intentionally screwing over marginalized groups and lower class communities works in service of the story being told, so using the “corporate overlord” trope feels fitting, despite being overused at this point.

Some of the new gameplay elements were really cool. It’s nice that Miles has a different skill set from Peter. It really helps distinguish the characters’ gameplay. Especially when the core of their abilities are the same. I also like how distinctly atmospheric this game was in comparison to the 2018 Spider-Man. It helped add identity to this story and really makes it stand on its own.

There’s some pretty blatant elements borrowed from “Into The Spider-Verse” such as the heavy inclusion of the music in the game, which I think worked more than it didn’t. I still think that movie showcased a slightly better understanding of what makes the character work… but insomniac is beginning to find their footing with things as well, and it’s really nice to finally have a game where you can play as Miles’ Spider-Man for a change.

Especially when it is developed by Insomniac. Here, they’ve crafted another incredible superhero gameplay and narrative experience. It has some fun gameplay, and an engaging narrative, and even manages to hit some of the right emotional beats to make it a distinct and memorable experience despite operating as an expansion.

I can’t wait for Spider-Man 2, as I think both Peter Parker and Miles Morales are now each characters with stories that I can enjoy coinciding in the same game.

Stylistically perfect. The gameplay feels natural, albeit a bit simpler than Inside. Though that was released after, so Arnt Jensen had time to perfect his formula.

It’s creepy, atmospheric, and like Arnt Jensen’s other game, it tells its story visually in a way that lets the audience piece together what they’re experiencing.

It doesn’t come together quite the way Inside does… but that doesn’t stop Limbo from being a unique and memorable gameplay experience.

Brutal Legend is a game that surprises in more ways than the player can expect, or is ready for… but sadly not always in ways that are good.

The atmosphere the game creates is one thing that’s relatively easy to gush about. They basically nailed it. The metal heavy influences seep throughout every inch of this game. Though the open world can be a bit boring, it’s undoubtably fun to drive around using nitro while you blast Ozzy fucking Osbourne.

And the overall look of the open world is really moody and cool. Some areas better than others. There are times when the game comes together just right, that perfects the feeling I think the developers were hoping to instill in the player. It’s not often, and it’s actually quite rare… but when it does, you know you’re playing something special.

Having the ability to upgrade your vehicle, your weapons, your moves, so on and so fourth, really helped the experience. Without this, I think I would have had a lot more gripes than I currently do.

The overall game is fantastic. Playing a guitar as a weapon is sick, and the fact that there’s multiple ways to use it to your advantage is so cool. In turn, the axe is a bit underutilized, and some of the hack and slash combat isn’t as satisfying as it could be. The storytelling is actually pretty good, and it makes for a really entertaining play through. It’s just the kind of schlocky fun you’d want from a game of its kind.

I know I’m going to sound like everyone else on this site who reviews this game when I say these next few words, but the real time strategy sections are rough, and uninvited. Now I’ll explain why. You make a heavy metal game, and you present it as a mindless, fun looking hack and slash, and your target a certain demographic, then out of nowhere, you expect them to vibe with real time strategy sections?

It feels like a strange design choice for the gameplay… especially considering how much it clashes with the theme of the game. It doesn’t help that the sections are a bit clunky and over specific about what you have to do. Now don’t get me wrong, I think sometimes the sections can be a lot of fun. Especially when you feel like you’re leading a real war or battle against demons. It can be pretty sick.

But a lot of the time it’s just frustrating. I can only imagine the disappointment at the time of the games release. Especially if players who picked it up never played a Rts game. It’s hard to argue that the game isn’t still a blast despite the inclusion of this gameplay type.

Flying around was actually a really cool feature of these sections… and I only wish it would’ve been a playable feature in the open world at some point too. Even if it had to be after you complete the main game. But this sums up my overall feeling on the game pretty well. It does a lot of great stuff and gets a bunch right… but it could definitely go harder in areas that just don’t feel as polished.

It’s a game I’d recommend if you like gore, Metal, and Jack Black of course. What a guy.

As sad as it is to say… there may have been too many cooks in the kitchen for this sequel.

I seem to be in the minority on this one… but for me, Overcooked 2 played out on the surface as bigger journey that followed the same plot beats as its predecessor while somehow delivering less payoff in the process.

In an effort to have a bigger map and more intricate level design, they sacrifice the charming simplicity of the originals gameplay and over convolute the mechanics, turning a seemingly classic dish into something almost unpalatable.

There’s a ton of needlessly complex design choices that turn a lot of the game stale. The map itself is harder to traverse, and not in a way that offers anything fun for the player. The levels themselves are less about struggling to make the dishes and more about traversing wacky obstacles, which just felt really out of place.

I think a lot of what worked about the first game is still imbedded in the DNA of this one. The problem is just about everything they’ve added since then.

The only new addition I found myself enjoying was the throwing mechanic. It was useful many times throughout the game, and it was a great way to keep the flow of the gameplay going. I believe more additions to the gameplay like this would have made Overcooked 2 slightly better, but unfortunately the wrong ingredients were prioritized.

I can’t even imagine the level of hype surrounding God of War III after the cliffhanger this left players on…

God of War II is an improvement over the first game in just about every regard. The gameplay is more refined, the storytelling is of epic scale without sacrificing the interpersonal storytelling, and the level design is just as good as the first game… if not even better.

It’s a more exciting experience as there’s so many new features that keep the game fresh. The infamous “Pegasus” sequences are exhilarating. Infamous during development… iconic while playing. The new weapons are welcomed… as are the new abilities. They were much more fun to use this time around, and felt like they served a real purpose.

The first game was the perfect origin story, told through the frame work of a revenge plot, and while this does something similar, it dials up the scope and makes the storytelling more grandiose. It’s so big that they couldn’t fit the whole thing into just this game.

It pays off so much after having played the first, and I can only imagine how it all culminates by the end of the third game. I’m really looking forward to it, as this was an awesome surprise.

It’s easy to tell where this game draws its inspirations from… and sometimes that sort of thing can be distracting, or make you feel like you’d rather be playing the game it’s imitating. Singularity manages to stand tall on its own two feet and avoid those pitfalls.

I’ve seen a lot of comparisons on here to Time Shift, and while I think Singularity definitely drew influences from the mechanics of that game, this is ultimately a slicker and better developed experience. Granted, I’ve only played a little bit of Time Shift… but it was enough to make me want to discontinue.

Dead Space is one that came to mind most often for me. From the way you upgrade your weapon and abilities, to the presentation of its horror elements, and ultimately to its giant kaiju battle… it was easy to make those comparisons. Some how Singularity’s story and gameplay managed to fit in enough originality that I’d often forget how much DNA it borrowed.

A linear design was the right choice for this game, as it’s story was unique and interesting in its own right, and creating a looser, more open experience would have hindered the play-through a lot. Going back and forth in time, and altering events throughout the game was such a cool aspect of the story. I loved the variety in the enemy types. It’s always nice when a game like this breaks up supernatural enemies with human ones. Especially as organic as this one does.

It’s a hodgepodge of different games culminating together into one exciting experience. It has a solid story, some fun combat, and really good level design. The only aspect that felt really one note was the protagonist. Even Isaac from Dead Space had more layers than this guy. But ultimately Singularity is a game that could have been entirely one note, much like a lot of the first person shooters of it’s time… but it’s hard to deny the amount of effort poured into this little game.

Jak and Daxter’s first outing has some of the most surprisingly dynamic gameplay I’ve come across in a plat-former. From the incredibly fun level design, to well crafted combat- the experience consistently amazes.

The mini games are a blast, the vehicle levels give you the good kind of pit in your stomach, the platforming is exciting, and the collectathon of it all is anything but exhausting… and god that’s refreshing.

There’s some genuinely funny moments in the writing, which was a nice surprise considering I wasn’t expecting this to cater much to me in that regard. Plus I really began to warm up to the art style the more I played.

Some of the platforming in the back half can get a bit frustrating with the randomly fixed cameras and slightly unresponsive timing mechanics… it would’ve also been nice to earn new combat moves along the way. But it was often a more rewarding experience than it was a frustrating one. The biggest compliments I can throw its way, are that it was a total blast from start to finish. I didn’t want to stop playing. And if that isn’t enough, the replay value on this game is also ridiculous. I’d totally pick this up again and play it all the way through.

Thankfully there are more entries in the series! Can’t wait for Jak II to see where the story goes.

This may single-handedly be the worst game I’ve ever finished.

Trying to fight in hand-to-hand combat in this game requires no real sense of skill. It’s all a crap shoot. It’s mashing the same three buttons hoping something good will come out of it, and praying that the only button for defense will actually work. But this is unlikely seeing how unresponsive, unreliable, and under developed this broken unholy combat system actually is.

The shooting gallery is a different kind of nightmare. Auto lock is somehow unresponsive too… which is so funny considering it can’t do the one thing it was designed for. It’s also remarkable how long it takes to actually lock onto a target.

Stealth missions? Can you even call them that? They’re like a parody of what stealth missions are supposed to be. Jaw droppingly bad. Don’t get me started on the driving. It’s one thing that doesn’t feel as horrible as it could be… but when you’re trying to get away from a car with an ungodly amount of health that’s firing fucking nukes out of their tiny pistol, it’s like trying to drudge through quicksand while being chased by a cheetah gassed up on coke.

It seems as though the developers thought it’d be a fun idea to make a game that resembles the kind of police movies that came out in the 80s and 90s with the “loose canon” cop and the partner he butts heads with. Well it didn’t really work for those movies, and it works even less here.

What a waste of an awesome cast. It’d be nice if the game was the slightest bit of fun… but this game being a technical failure in just about every department surely ruins all hope of even cracking a smile.

The open world feels empty, the environments are bland and nothing more than an eyesore to look at for too long. The variety in level types are monotonous, repetitive, and severely underbaked. The protagonist is unlikeable and one dimensional, just like everyone else in the game.

The voice acting is bad, and even offensive at times. This game is just a remarkable achievement in poor game design. It takes all of the elements of a game that should be fun, and shakes them right out, leaving only the carcass and framework to excite its players, and ultimately disappoint them at every turn when hoping to gain anything meaningful, or exciting from the experience.

Play Max Payne, or L.A. Noire, or Sleeping Dogs, or any other game that had a cop as the protagonist better than this.

God of War III takes a fundamentally damaged character, and twists him even more into the “monster” he’s described to be in the rebooted series.

A man who killed his family. Killed dozens of innocent people, including ones who beg for their lives. The game forces you, the player, to often take these lives. And in the final stretch… the last act… Kratos the irredeemable Ghost of Sparta has an idea planted within him. One that not even he considered possible.

The idea that even he is capable of changing after all he’s become. That what he’s done doesn’t have to define him forever. An idea planted by a young girl… similar to that of his daughter. He’s reminded of his humanity. He’s reminded of hope. And in his final moments in the game, he does the first selfless thing in all of the series. He gives a bit of hope to the world he’s destroyed along his path for vengeance.

His first selfless act while on a new path. A fresh start Pandora suggested possible. One that we would later embark on with him. Kratos is not forgiven for what he’s done. He’s not justified in it either. But maybe with the rest of the life, he can continue to make better choices.

…This game dials up the storytelling another notch over the previous two entries. Pandora often reminded me of Atreus in the time I spent with her- shaping Kratos into a gentler soul, while giving him something to care about other than vengeance.

The boss battles were more frequent, yet they never lost the epic scale I’ve come to love about them throughout the series. Each was exciting, and revealed something new about the world and its story. Though the gameplay is distinctly similar to the first to games, maybe to a fault, there were still plenty new mechanics that allowed the experience to feel fresh and satisfying. The level design is at least just as mesmerizing as the first two… yet somehow they do it even better here.

The graphics were nicely improved, which feels really rewarding for the last entry in the franchise. And having more cutscenes allowed for more storytelling, which was more payoff I wasn’t expecting. It’s the perfect follow up to the incredible cliffhanger the second game leaves things on. I couldn’t imagine how this could succeed things in a satisfying way… and yet it did at every turn. It has all of the elements I was hoping for and plenty of elements I love that I wasn’t expecting.

Then of course, by that same token… an element I absolutely hate that hurts the experience significantly… though it’s not reflected in my rating because in all fairness, it isn’t in the game very long. There is an over abundance of sexuality and eroticism in one portion of the game that became incredibly obnoxious remarkably fast. It also goes hand in hand with the over-sexualization, and treatment of women in the game.

If you’ve played it, then you already know that there’s an entire quick-time sex mini game randomly thrown in and completely out of place. I’m positive it was to appeal to male gamer incels who never leave their basement… but I think just about every other type of person who’s played this can agree that we can do without it. I genuinely can’t believe it’s in this game. The first game in the series had some similar issues… but not this bad.

However, if you’re able to move past this and continue playing, the storytelling does make up for it tenfold. It is the definitive experience in the trilogy, and it’s given me memories I won’t forget.