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.

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.

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.

Arkham Origins is something of a black sheep within the Arkham franchise. It was the only game in the series to not be developed by rocksteady and it’s nowhere near as fervorously beloved or critically acclaimed as Arkham Asylum or Arkham City. It’s also not as venomously criticized as Arkham Knight either. Instead it was a game largely met with passionless indifference on its release and in some ways i do understand why. The open world is devoid of the high quality and engaging pieces of side content of Arkham City, the setting lacks the same unique and immersive atmosphere of Arkham Asylum, and the gameplay is effectively a carbon copy of the prior games with little changed or added substantially or mechanically. Honestly though? I’ve always loved this game despite its shortcomings and i feel as though it has only become easier to appreciate its merits with the benefit of retrospect. The strength of Arkham Origins definitely lies in its writing, its story and character building, and in how it handles and fleshes out those characters. Particularly the latter. Batman, Gordon, Alfred, The Joker, The Assassins, all of these characters are written near flawlessly and they are woven into Batman’s character development throughout the course of the story incredibly well. Batman’s initial domineering attitude shifts throughout the game as he becomes more trusting of allies after nearly losing Alfred. He begins the game as a younger, angrier, less experienced, more vulnerable version of himself and by the end he shares a far closer resemblance to the more tempered Batman we see in the other games. It’s rather brilliant character writing and a genuinely meaningful character arc rather than a meager predetermined means to an end. So this game may not do a great deal to expand the gameplay of the series as a sequel, it may not do much to differentiate itself from the other games, and it may lack in deep side content but it certainly does plenty to expand the story and characters of the Arkham series. This is still a rock solid Batman game at the end of the day. The gameplay is smooth and polished, the boss battles are varied and engaging, and it tells a very well paced story with interesting and richly developed characters. Arkham Origins is a more than fitting addition to the stellar Arkham series and it might even be better than you remember.

This game sure does hold up. It’s such a fantastic sequel to Arkham Asylum despite lacking some of the unique atmosphere and environmental storytelling that made that game so special. This is a game that has no pretensions about itself and it excels in every way that an action game of this caliber should. The combat system is fluid and satisfying, the boss fights are incredibly varied (a considerable improvement over the repetitive bosses from Arkham Asylum) as well as very enjoyable, the open world level design is consistently strong and the visual style is gorgeously captivating, the side missions are quality pieces of content that are given just as much care as the main missions, the tonal consistency remains intact just as the characterization remains flawless. The story here is great too and the way in which it’s told is still remarkable to this day. The way every villain has time to shine, the way they all contribute to the game in some meaningful way or another, the way they all allow the overall plot to move forward while never once feeling incoherent or messy, never once dragging, never once bringing the pacing of the game to a screeching halt. It’s absolutely masterful writing. Experiencing this story unfold across a gurthy 15 hour campaign (30 hours depending on how much side content you participate in) where we really get a deep sense of this world, as well as these characters within it is incredibly engrossing, while the beautifully understated ending is perfectly put together and it hasn’t lost an ounce of its power or emotional resonance. Arkham City is a game that I’ve loved for so many years and replaying it after so long has only enriched my love for it. It’s one of the fastest selling games of all time for a damn good reason and it remains an unassailable masterpiece within the gaming industry.

I love this game. While Arkham City certainly has a more ambitious scope and more daring narrative strides, Arkham Origins has more mechanically varied and engaging boss battles, and Arkham Knight has a far more expansive and richly detailed open world than any other game in the series. However as time goes on Arkham Asylum has slowly become my potential favorite in the series. This is the Arkham game i have the most fun revisiting for the simple fact that i feel it very acutely captures what it truly means to be Batman, what is a Batman game in its purest, most distilled form. From its efficiently told story that’s laser focused and paced incredibly well, the flawless characterization that’s completely faithful to the core values of Batman stories, the innovative and fluid combat system that feels consistently engaging and fun, the hauntingly atmospheric setting, to the tight and brilliant intrinsically connected level design. Every single aspect of Arkham Asylum is so masterfully put together. It’s a game filled with such a clear, evident love of the source material, making it one of the best superhero games ever made and a true staple of the action genre.

Teenage me was a dumb asshole. Shadow Of The Colossus is one of the best video games that i have ever played. From the opening cutscene which firmly establishes the games narrative drive and thematic weight to the culminating gut punch of an ending that is just perfectly put together. It was abundantly clear to me that this game was something special, something truly profound, something unlike any other game i’ve played, an experience of elegiac beauty and gripping emotional power that i could only marvel at. Whether it be its simple yet effectively told story that always has something to say, to how it explores its themes with solemness and deep nuance, the incredibly varied colossus battles that are immaculate in scale and feel consistently engaging and fun, the gorgeously atmospheric visual style, or the musical genius of Kow Otani. This game is a masterpiece of interactive storytelling in the most unique of ways and I’m positive it’s going to stay with me for a long time.

And so my journey with the Mass Effect trilogy has come to an end. Going through these games for the first time throughout this past year has been nothing less than a wonderful experience, a great opportunity to finally catch up with some of my largest gaming blindspots, and it has also lead me to discovering some new favorites. I went into the divisive third game skeptical but also incredibly excited. I was excited to jump back into a world that i loved so much, excited to spend more time with the characters that I grew to care about across the span of the first 2 games, excited to see how bioware would seal off Shepard’s story that i felt so deeply and intrinsically invested in. Finally having played the game though? I can say with certainty that I thoroughly enjoyed Mass Effect 3 and I would even feel comfortable declaring that I loved it. This is a flawed game that lacks the sheer quality and butter smooth pacing of Mass Effect 2 (which is incidentally one of my top 5 favorite games) but there's still a lot to like here. There are a handful of genuinely poignant emotional beats that make this game well worth experiencing. Certain character moments (Mordins sacrifice just as an example) have stuck with me even after finishing the game and they rank among my favorite moments in the entire trilogy. The action set pieces are by and large excellent while the visual presentation remains top notch. This game is also comparatively much darker in tone than the prior Mass Effect games, both in its stark themes, and its focus on a more somber story. This is a game which really stews in a gradual sense of dread and harrowing despair, particularly towards the climax of the story where all of your best efforts appear to be rendered futile as all hope seems lost, further galvanized by the games frequent emphasizing of mortality and bloodshed. The culminating ending (while imperfect and messy in its execution) ultimately provided me with a measure of well earned emotional catharsis, allowing me to reflect on just how much this story, this world, these characters, and this trilogy in general has meant to me. All of these aspects i’ve mentioned all point to the same conclusion. That Mass Effect 3 is not a bad game at all and it is in fact worthy of greater consideration. The gameplay alone is incredibly polished and engaging but the narrative, world building, and thematic weight, further elevate the experience, providing some intellectual meat to chew on. This game offered me a lot and if nothing else it deserves better than to be carelessly dismissed entirely on the basis of its ending.

It’s very easy to look at Far Cry 3 cynically nowadays. It’s an ubisoft open world game, its narrative is nothing groundbreaking at all or especially original, it helped spawn sequels which gradually become worse in quality and fraught with repetitive content, and it influenced a lot of negative trends in game design and the open world genre. Removing all that baggage and actually playing the game though? Goddamn is it still fantastic. Every single aspect of this game just works across the board and it still delivers as an incredibly fun open world experience. The gameplay is smooth and polished, the combat is energetic and engaging, the story is consistently well written and paced well, the world is fairly detailed and full of content, with collectibles and side missions (while largely basic) actually providing the player with tangible rewards. This quality open world gameplay is also intertwined with some fantastic main story missions and unforgettable set piece moments, whether it be the various hallucination trips, burning the drug farm, or the highly scripted but no less fun chase sequences. Far Cry 3 is consistently varied and it constantly utilizes its mechanics effectively, with the game never getting repetitive or dull, never dragging, never having too long between interesting moments. Chalk it up to bias, chalk it up to deep rooted nostalgia, chalk it up to the quality of more recent Far Cry titles being rough. I still love the shit out of Far Cry 3 and i doubt that’s ever going to change.

This is my second time playing this game since (relatively) close to its release and man does it hold up. From its richly detailed and gorgeous world, the character development, the engaging narrative, the perfect mixture of stealth and combat gameplay that feels equal parts challenging and gratuitous, to the deep exploration and the sheer sense of discovery. Everything about this game is absolutely superb. It may lack in originality (as it isn’t doing a great deal of things we haven’t seen before in countless other open world games) but it manages to refine/perfect a lot of what we’ve seen before. It executes its core ideas with a degree of passion, care, and focus that is unparalleled to the majority of its contemporaries and in a way that transcends whatever minor quibbles i may have taken with it. Ghost Of Tsushima is a game that i will remember for a very long time. It’s a game i’m sure i’m going to continue to revisit as the years go on. It’s a game i truly love and wholeheartedly believe in. It’s a game that thoroughly and fundamentally understands what makes for a fun video game, it understands what makes for a meaningful and engaging gameplay experience, it understands what makes for a compelling narrative that leaves you content and satisfied. It’s a game that goes above and beyond in every way imaginable. It’s a game that achieves so much that it really had no right to and it nails it in every single degree. It’s a game i truly love and wholeheartedly believe in.

Celeste is still an incredibly important game to me and one of my most cherished experiences in this medium. What the studio behind this game managed to pull off here is nothing less than astounding, balancing a deeply moving story of emotional turmoil and fraught drama while still excelling as a video game, delivering on an incredibly challenging and rewarding platformer experience with excellent level design and butter smooth mechanics. This game is simply an exemplar of what video games are capable of. That video games are art. That video games are a medium that matters and one of the greatest treasures of our culture. That video games can tell incredible stories in engaging ways and that those stories can be every bit as nuanced, introspective, thoughtful, and artful, as some of the best movies and books. This game is nothing less than a masterpiece and an experience everyone should try at least once.

Mafia 3 was met with a murderers row of backlash on release and not entirely without merit. The games mixed critical reception from both players and critics stemmed from the games myriad of optimization issues, relentless bugs and glitches, and a mission structure rooted in repetitive content and busy work. My own attitude of the game wasn’t too dissimilar to that of major reviews on my first playthrough. I played Mafia 3 directly after playing Mafia 2 for the first time (a game that grew to become a favorite of mine and i positively hated it. I didn’t like the new setting or any of the characters, the mission structure provided me with constant fatigue, I felt the story was quite boring as it focused more on revenge and less on the details and process of organized crime, and i found myself ultimately leaving the game behind after trudging through it and not bothering with much else. Playing the game over the years however being older, more open minded, and more experienced, i’ve slowly been able to appreciate Mafia 3 more for what it is. I've also come to grips with the clear fact that (quite simply) my blind vitriol and seething anger towards Mafia 3 was largely driven less by my feelings towards the game itself (although that certainly was a factor at play) but more so in my fanboyish attachment to Mafia 2 and my inability to see past it. By that point i had put Mafia 2 on a pedestal that the divisive third installment never had a chance of reaching. Anything short of a sublime masterpiece meant utter failure and whatever positive elements the game had were lost in an entitled sense of the game not being the Mafia 3 i wanted. Mafia 3 (even after all this time) is far from a perfect game (and i still consider it to be a modest disappointment in some regards) but replaying it was also a a reminder that within its faults and imperfections lie streaks of brilliance. To call this game a series of endless repetition and filler content, to dismiss it as another vapid and soulless entry amidst the slew of open world mediocrity, to say it has nothing of richness or depth to offer, is a profound disservice to the game and the story its trying to tell. This game has something sorely lacking in many open world games nowadays. It has heart and personality, a novel and interesting setting thats rarely explored in contemporary games, it has fluid and fun gameplay, a real conviction in how it portrays its themes, and performances and writing that rival that of even the most prestige developers. I really like Mafia 3 and it’s a shame that it could never quite find its audience.