God Of War Ragnarok was by far my most anticipated game from last year. Having finally played it I'm happy to say that it fully delivered in pretty much every regard. This game is tremendous. I absolutely loved God Of War 2018 and this game further builds upon its remarkable strengths while simultaneously fixing some of its notable weaknesses. It isn’t a drastic shift in the gameplay formula but it does manage to adequately tweak/refine the general mechanics of 2018’s game, trimming the fat so to speak, and making the moment to moment gameplay experience even more smooth and fun than it already was. The boss fights are a vast improvement over the predecessor and they are very enjoyable to play through, the combat is a pitch perfect mix of visceral challenge and grueling intensity, and the exploration remains just as rewarding and satisfying as the prior game, with just the right balance of puzzles, enemy counters, collectibles, and basic platforming to keep you engaged. Ragnarok is by all means bigger and bolder than 2018’s game (both narratively and thematically) but with that also comes problems. The story feels very disjointed at points which manifests itself into some noticeably inconsistent pacing throughout this already unwieldily structured campaign. There are also some drawn out gameplay segments where so little happens in the way of plot progression, boss fights, set pieces, or character development that this game did test my patience on occasion. It's certainly clear that this game was intended to be a second installment in a trilogy as the story (especially towards the end) does feel somewhat padded. Certain character motivations also come off as contrived and certain plot developments are either seemingly rushed over or not properly fleshed out. In spite of all these flaws though? I would still feel comfortable declaring that i loved this game and that it’s the best game i’ve played all year. God Of War Ragnarok may not be perfect (no game truly is) but I can’t deny how strongly it affected me as someone who has loved this franchise since its inception. It’s an incredibly ambitious and immensely emotional experience, with top notch production values and gorgeously stunning visuals, polished gameplay, a beautifully told and utterly gripping story, anchored by a rich and spectacularly developed cast of both main characters and supporting characters. I haven’t even mentioned the incredibly moving score by Bear McCreary that adds so much emotional resonance to the proceedings of the game. I seriously doubt this game is going to have the same indelible impact that God Of War 2018 had (and it certainly isn’t as narratively singular of an experience) but as a game on its own it is every bit as stirring, meaningful, powerful, and compelling. I ultimately walked away from this game feeling incredibly satisfied and completely enthralled by what I was experiencing even through its rare missteps. I truly can’t wait to see what santa monica have in store for this franchise next.

Man does this game hold up all these years later. It sometimes gets understandably overshadowed by San Andreas (which was a major effort in pushing the boundaries of what a video game was capable of at the time) but this game is just about perfect in what it accomplishes. Between its laser focus on engaging storytelling, character development, and emotion, its virtually flawless tone balancing and its gritty atmosphere, its timeless gameplay systems, to its deeply immersive world filled to the brim with depth and plenty of side activities to get lost in. There’s never a moment playing this game where i feel bored or as though my attention is waning in any way. That’s not to diminish how important the other Grand Theft Auto games were (and still are) for the gaming industry or the indelible influence they left on the genre of open world games. However for me personally Grand Theft Auto 4’s more personal and mature narrative, combined with its more centralized focus on themes of revenge and violence, its searingly cynical social commentary and its protracted evisceration of the american dream, makes it the most emotionally gripping game in the franchise and thus my favorite. It’s also precisely that level of depth that elevates this game to the top of rockstars incredible oeuvre.

This replay of Arkham Knight was something of a revelation. I had always liked this game but I also got so caught up in the issues that you could easily single out to nitpick to death, with that namely being the overabundance of repetitive batmobile sections, the lack of memorable boss battles, the blatantly predictable story twist, etc. In the grand scheme of things though allowing these hiccups to torpedo a game which excels so comprehensively on so many other levels is effectively missing the forest for the trees. Because on this replay I've garnered a deeper appreciation for Arkham Knight and I’m finally ready to see it as an unassailable masterpiece on the same level as Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. This game holds up amazingly well nearly a decade after its initial release. On a sheer sensory and technical level it’s positively sumptuous, boasting absolutely stunning visuals and graphics, a gorgeously atmospheric open world that’s rich in both depth and content, and top notch moment to moment gameplay. The traversal is fast paced and very efficient, the stealth sections are about as blisteringly intense and tightly designed as ever, and the combat remains more or less the same fluid freeflow system from the other games but polished up to a mirror sheen, with just the right mix of mechanical complexity and varied enemy types to keep it consistently challenging and fun. I’ve also come to really love this game’s story. It takes a while to really cook and the writing itself is far from spotless (as it definitely lacks the same butter smooth pacing of the prior games and certain beats aren’t entirely fleshed out or built up) but the story which does emerge is ultimately still incredibly compelling. It offers very emotionally effective character drama and plenty to talk about and think about thematically. It also contains some absolutely fantastic moments throughout which rank among some of the best in the series. The side missions additionally contribute very meaningfully to the overarching narrative alongside just being incredibly unique and engaging gameplay content in their own right. All of these reasons as well as many others more are why i absolutely love Arkham Knight in spite of it all. It's messy and imperfect but it's also just so much fun. It tells a highly ambitious story which conclusively rounds off a saga of fantastic games near flawlessly while also paying due tribute to its characters. The Arkham games are such a huge part of why i love video games so much in the first place and revisiting them was certainly a fruitful experience.

Outer Wilds is a game that’s best played going into it as blind as possible. So much of what makes this game so magical is defined by way of non linear discovery, problem solving, and player ingenuity so I’ll try to keep this brief and get down to brass tacks. All I want to say for now is that this is one of the most unique gaming experiences that i’ve had throughout the year. From the way that it rewards and incentivizes exploration and curiosity, to how it so brilliantly conveys its story through subtle world building and organic discoveries, to its engaging and deeply satisfying gameplay loop, its fun and challenging puzzles, to the absolutely beautiful art style and the wistfully atmospheric soundtrack that adds so much to this game. All of this culminates into an unforgettable, profoundly emotionally affecting, and wonderfully paced adventure that’s full of creative surprises and blistering excitement in equal measure. This game is undeniably a masterpiece and i’m frankly ecstatic that it managed to live up to the hype so thoroughly.

The most singularly arresting aspect of this game is most certainly its atmosphere. That coupled with an intriguing and heavily thematic story, brilliant intrinsically connected level design, and an absolutely aces soundtrack by Mick Gordon made this game an incredibly compelling and memorable experience. It so masterfully manages to mix several seemingly disparate gameplay elements from other immersive sims of its ilk while still feeling mechanically cohesive and retaining an incredibly unique identity. It’s flawlessly paced from start to finish and it fluidly mixes rewarding exploration, challenging and well wrought puzzles, engaging side missions which contribute meaningfully to the overarching narrative, and combat that feels immensely satisfying and fun to ensure that the core moment to moment gameplay loop never becomes boring or repetitive. Prey is quite simply one of the coolest games that I’ve played all year and i’m already itching to give it a revisit.

This game is just as awesome as i remembered it being. Pretty much everything about it just works across the board. The art direction is atmospheric and moody, the traversal has a somewhat steep learning curve but it’s still incredibly fluid and functional, the combat is energetic and engaging, and the story offers just enough twists to keep you wrapped up in it from start to finish. The progression is very rewarding too. The game always gives you cool new mechanics and unique abilities to experiment with and it in turn keeps the overall experience from becoming overly stale or repetitive. If the game does have any singular weaknesses it’s that the actual open world elements are somewhat lacking by modern standards and the world itself doesn’t offer a great deal in the way of in depth, substantial side content, opting to mostly uninspired collectibles and superfluous activities that aren’t entirely interesting. I’m also decidedly not the biggest fan of the morality system. It’s rather half baked and the player choices rarely affect the overarching narrative in any intrinsic or particularly meaningful way. Warts and all though? The core gameplay loop is so immensely satisfying that i can easily look past some of this game’s more glaringly apparent shortcomings. Infamous most certainly holds up as a very fun superhero game and it’s one of the playstation 3’s best exclusives.

You know? It had been a very long time since I last played this game so I’d kind of forgotten just how much I loved it. It absolutely still holds up for me as one of my favorite games. It so wonderfully thrives as a tautly paced, breathlessly fun, and downright swashbuckling action adventure experience. The game boasts butter smooth and engaging platforming gameplay that only becomes more complex and challenging as it goes on, level design that is well wrought despite being highly linear, mechanically simple but still immensely satisfying combat, as well as a very charming story with endearing and affably likable characters that you come to really root for and get behind by the end. The soundtrack and atmosphere are aces as well. Every ounce of passion that was poured into this game by the developers is more than evident throughout and it coalesces effortlessly into a remarkable final product that (no pun intended) has more than stood the test of time. Oh how I wish that ubisoft still made games that go this fucking hard.

There was once a stretch of time in my life where Uncharted 2 was my favorite game of all time and replaying it after so long was certainly a strong vindication of why that was the case. This game is nothing less than a shining exemplar of what narrative lead adventure games are capable of and it excels in pretty much every single way imaginable. It’s also proof positive that highly linear game design can still be hugely compelling. From its relentlessly entertaining and action packed story, its colorful cast of likeable and incredibly memorable characters, the practically flawless pacing, the fun and polished gameplay, to the fully playable set pieces that are at once palpably intense and positively exhilarating. The day I stop loving this game is the same day that I become a joyless asshole.

I’ve had this almost completely wiped off my memory since playing it for the first time years ago and it still holds up as a damn fun superhero game. Although it’s certainly not without its obvious but still unfortunate limitations. The story (if you can even call it that) is very superfluous with some rather bizarrely structured and paced flashback segments that always seem to interject at the most awkward times. The writing itself is also decidedly not the best (a residual byproduct of the utterly atrocious licensed material that the game is based on) as certain plot beats seemingly feel either too rushed or needlessly drawn out. However these quibbles really just allow those qualities that this game truly excels at to shine that much more. The animations are butter smooth and impactful, the level design is highly linear but it helps retain the game’s intended high octane pacing, and the hack and slash combat feels both immensely visceral and immediately satisfying, the game always providing you with a solid amount of unique enemy types and new abilities which keeps the moment to moment gameplay experience consistently fresh, thrilling, and addicting. The boss fights are quite fun too despite feeling very repetitive at points and not containing a great deal of mechanical depth or even requiring all that much skill to fight. The scripted action set pieces conversely are also very well utilized and they help add a ton of memorable flavor and variety to individual chapters. The occasional puzzles (while being rudimentarily simple to solve and mostly bereft of challenge) also get the job done pretty effectively. I certainly get why this game didn’t exactly set the world on fire when it released but i had an awesome time revisiting it nonetheless. If nothing else it has only galvanized my excitement for insomniac games upcoming Wolverine game.

Holy goddamn shit. What a rollicking blast of a game this was. It has all of the intrinsic ingredients to make for a gangbusters platformer experience and it absolutely excels at everything that it aims to accomplish. The levels are relentlessly fast paced, tightly designed, and are both consistently fun to play through and highly rewarding to explore from start to finish, with plenty of addicting optional collectibles and secret content to discover which add a tremendous amount of replay value to the game. Pizza Tower also boasts a murderers row of unique and engaging boss battles, a blisteringly energetic soundtrack, consistently challenging gameplay that contains a near bottomless amount of mechanical complexity and considerable wiggle room for player expression, and surprisingly colorful characters that are coupled with an equally as charming art style and butter smooth animations. What else could you possibly fucking want out of a video game?

What a sumptuous delight this game was. I was so glad to have finally crossed it off my list and i’m equally as thrilled to say that it largely lives up to the hype. From its visually breathtaking and captivating world, its beautifully atmospheric art direction, its wonderfully paced and consistently varied explorable levels, to its decidedly simple but still highly enjoyable gameplay loop. Everything about this game is such a treat. The soundtrack should also be singled out as one of the game’s richest pleasures on top of being incredibly powerful and moving in its own right. The story itself of the game maybe isn’t particularly thematically deep nor am I entirely sure what the singular point of it ultimately was. I’d also argue that the game ends just a smidge too abruptly for my liking. All in all though? I still enjoyed my brief time with this a great deal. All of these aforementioned elements coalesce to make Abzu a wholly unique short but sweet sensory experience that (even with its slight imperfections) I won’t be forgetting about anytime soon.

There's nothing that I can really say because everything about this just works so well together. Whether it be the remarkable atmosphere that it displays throughout combined with its incredibly unique art style, its simple but intuitive gameplay design, the oftentimes beautiful soundtrack, its emotionally gripping and heavily thematic narrative that’s full of meaningful and involving player choices, the astounding voice acting, or the utterly brilliant cast of masterfully well written and spectacularly developed characters. It’s all fantastic. The Walking Dead is a masterpiece of interactive storytelling in the truest sense of the word and it was genuinely a thrill to have finally experienced it after years of being well aware of its esteemed reputation within the gaming industry. I’m very much looking forward to getting around to the other seasons at some point.

I had a pretty shitty attitude towards this game when I first played it years ago (a whopping 5 years ago to be exact) and I knew pretty early on that I should revisit it at some point. It’s safe to say that it definitely grew on me on a replay. This game is wonderful. The eerie, droning sound design, the lack of a traditional video game soundtrack, coupled with the minimalist yet beautiful art direction and the precise environmental storytelling coalesce to create such an atmospheric game. The first half in particular is pretty exceptionally well paced, the game mixing tight level design, simple but very satisfying puzzles, and some exciting gameplay set pieces that effectively utilize the core mechanics to great effect. It never quite reaches those singular heights again in its later levels (in fact it does lose quite a bit of steam towards the end due to some annoying puzzles) but the rest of it still offers a very unique and highly enjoyable experience. The trial and error based gameplay can occasionally feel needlessly obtuse at points (and certain sections can become inadvertently repetitive as a result of that) but the game is so short and the checkpoints are so plentiful that it rarely became a major issue. Limbo is also quite a thematically (and narratively) rich game even if the ultimate meaning of its story is somewhat aloof and not all that clear. I also still have some ambivalent feelings towards the rather abrupt ending. All told though? I am really happy that I gave this game another shot. I certainly don’t love it as much as its more ardent fans do (though i absolutely understand why it has become such a lionized critical darling since its release) but it is a special little game that has grown on me considerably.

It was very interesting to revisit this game since my first playthrough in middle school and to see just how little of it I had actually remembered. This was one of my favorite games of all time back then and that only makes me all the more ecstatic to declare that it most certainly does hold up for me. It is every bit as inventive, wonderfully weird, and uniquely original as my vague memories of it made it out to be. The game features a deeply layered, cleverly written and very creatively told story that always has something interesting to say, polished level design, coupled together brilliantly with its minimalist art direction and subtle environmental cues, and an almost absurd amount of secret optional content and multiple different endings to organically discover. The game is also consistently funny (in no small part due to the narrator) and the ways in which that narration frequently interjects during the moment to moment storytelling is one of its most singularly rich pleasures. All of these elements are strung along together flawlessly throughout and they coalesce to make The Stanley Parable an immensely special experience even all of these years later. It’s an influential classic that has definitely earned its legendary status as a critical darling of the indie gaming industry. It has a wealth of genuine thematic depth to unpeel from under its exterior surface and it's also highly accessible and very enjoyable to play despite its simple gameplay. What more can you want?

I liked Papers Please a whole lot when I finally played it last year for the first time (holy shit does time fly) and I figured that it was only a matter of time until I played this game. I’m glad to declare that it completely lives up to the hype. The sheer level of detail in the storytelling here is nothing less than staggering, Obra Dinn conveying a deeply layered, richly complex, and utterly compelling mystery through a unique narrative structure that only pulled me into this world deeper as it went along. Learning more about this cast of diverse, colorful, and interesting characters is incredibly involving and engaging throughout, combined with the subtle and clever writing which deftly explores a handful of thematic ideas without ever feeling overwhelming or oversimplified. The core mechanics of investigation and puzzle solving are also nailed to perfection here, creating a thoughtful, consistently rewarding, and addictively thrilling gameplay loop. That aforementioned depth (both in regards to its story and its systems) is certainly part and parcel to what makes this game so special (and what elevates it beyond the majority of titles in the detective genre) but even the more surface level sensory elements are fantastic. The presentation and the production values are strong across the board, the art direction is refreshingly original and beautifully atmospheric, the voice acting is fucking outstanding and very believable, and the soundtrack (composed by Lucas Pope himself shockingly enough) is incredibly immersive and it’s always utilized to its maximum effectiveness. This game is an exceptional masterpiece that I would recommend to pretty much every gamer that’s worth their salt without an iota of hesitation. It’s one of the coolest games that i’ve played all year and it begs to be experienced going into it as blind as possible.