This game is the pits, nothing about this was a gratifying experience. The ham-fisted, awfully indecisive and confusing deckbuilding the game is centered around is horribly explained and was an awful gameplay mechanic. It's a shocker that this was included in a game in the last 20 years, like I'm still a few weeks after playing it flabbergasted in how horribly put together this game was. Not only are you playing through zones that you went through in Kingdom Hearts 1, the game features little to zero voice acting and adds a massive amount of lore that in Kingdom Hearts fashion makes zero sense.

I don't understand why this game was made, was it as a test to see what humanity could take before we fall apart? Was this game created because someone at the company was angry or had to settle a vendetta? Who likes this game?

This game is the lowpoint in the Kingdom Hearts franchise catalog, which for a series that contains no good games, is truly telling.

2/10 because the other game I have tagged as a 1/10 doesn't deserve company this poor.

Undertale has gotten a lot of hype in the general gaming world since its release, and rightfully so. Within the world of Undertale you will experience moments that make you laugh, encounters that will make you cry, and a world of some very colorful characters. Mechanically it's a top down RPG in the same vein of the Mother series (in which the influence is draped on its sleeve) with combat mechanics that are unique and far more entertaining than most other RPG's on the market.

The designed pixel world is beautiful, the characters are extremely entertaining to talk to, and the story will move in some very distressful ways very quickly. I only completed the pascifist route but I very much enjoyed my time with the game and after reaching the end, wished it was never over. I've typed all this so far without mentioning the soundtrack which is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best OST's to ever grace a video game. There's much more than Megalovania (which is great in its own right,) which is probably why I hold it in such high regard.

Catherine is two things: a fun puzzle game and an enjoyable story, which is something I never would have thought I'd say.

I normally hate puzzle games but Atlus really hits the nail on the head with experimentation and not over complication in Catherine, with the puzzle missions having forgivable checkpoints and multiple ways to completion.

The story and choose your own adventure aspect of Catherine is also very enjoyable, as you witness and play a part in a lovestory completely gone wrong. Vincent's lovers and friends are always a real hoot to hang around and exist as a fun reprieve between the puzzles.

I laughed at Josef Fares at the Game Awards when he made his infamous "F the Oscars" rant, but I knew right away after hearing him for the first time that he was somebody who truly CARED about the games he made.

It Takes Two is an absolute labor of love from EA's Hazelight Studios. Every level of this ~10 hour experience is carefully hand crafted from top down, no segment is boring and no mechanic becomes too stale. I played this with a close family member and we were constantly laughing at the pranks we pulled on eachother, but silence befell us when listening to the story and our mouths were in awe at all the beautiful colors and extensive world design.

The minigames stayed fresh, the change of platforming to gameplay unique genre segments, the characters outside of the main two all added to what is without a doubt the greatest co-operative game ever made.

The game that started it all, the greatest space opera.

Mass Effect 1 in retrospect can seem short and scant, but at the time Bioware was doing exactly what it had been doing in the Western RPG scene in creating an innovative an immersive world with deep lore and powerful stories. While combat and UI were simple, the story and relationships built within your squad were unlike anything that was available on the market.

Beginning as a newbie Commander Shepard felt GREAT in 2007 and as time and sequels came, felt more and more vindictive. The lore team at Bioware did an impeccable job building out stories and sensical scenarios for tons of intergalactic races. It felt like there is no stone left unturned into why a certain race behaves X way in ME1 or why species Y and Z dislike eachother. Mass Effect (and the games following) is probably the only game where I've intentionally read every codex entry for lore because I was that invested in it.

The story of the Reapers and Saran is only just the start of one of the greatest fictitious universes in any medium ever made.

Okay sidenote, I just wish that Mass Effect 3 had the same UI.

Mass Effect 2 is the perfect example of Godfather syndrome, not only being better than its predecessor but being one of the best games ever made. Bioware wins again in continuing one of the most in depth and captivating sci-fi universes across gaming, film and TV.

Shepard begins fresh with a different alleigance, with different allies and new enemies. He meets familiar faces, but how do they feel about him now that he's switched sides, will they listen to his pleas and help him in the name of the galaxy? The beautiful thing about ME2 is that none of these answers are clear or predictable, you make friends with some despicable people and say some incredibly tough goodbyes. The added squadron members like Jack, Miranda, Legion, Samara, and more are all welcome. One might think that with as many characters as ME2 has that some might be forgettable, but that is simply not the case (okay there is Jacob.) Everyone on your squadron has a degree of depth that sets them apart from their peers, they all have unique backgrounds and offer something new to the table. Getting to know them and come to their aid in the Loyalty missions was a great storytelling and teambuilding tool.

It seems like everybody knows how this game ends (hint: it's with a bang) but I won't divulge in the interest of spoiler but I will say it delivers one of the most breathtaking and nerve wracking finales I've ever witnessed.

Ain't that a kick in the head?

Fallout New Vegas was almost too successful at what it was: The outcast. Developed by Obsidian entertainment rather than Bethesda I was curious if it would end up being as good as Fallout 3 or the last few Elder Scrolls games, but I think it's safe to say it blew all expectations out of the water.

What we got with Fallout New Vegas was the most unique Fallout game in the franchise's history. Las Vegas and the surrounding area was almost perfect for what Fallout is, both are: wacky, zany, a little off kilter, and offer themselves for some very interesting happenings. Running through the Nevada countryside and coming across all the colorful characters of the NCR, Caesars Legion, and standard NPC's felt so appropriate for how the game was built, it was almost too perfect.

Players, in typical Fallout/Elder Scrolls fashion, were led to craft their own stories and make their own decisions across the Mojave. Story happened on the players' own time and the experiences they had looting and pillaging added so much to the overall experience. Again sidequests and NPC interactions reigned supreme and rummaging through the Strip and the city of Las Vegas held endless possibilities. Another appreciated piece was the ability to choose from four different endings that were all vastly different from eachother, I think this was the first game I'd ever played four times to get every single ending on different characters.

Brawl is a flawed game in retrospect, but as someone who has played every Smash game for countless hours, its release year is one of the best experiences I've ever had in gaming. Small in comparison to ultimate, the roster and representatives of Brawl was absolutely jaw dropping in 2008, being able to play as Solid Snake and Sonic for example was crazy after the small roster of SSBM.

Though mechanically it is not too strong (lol tripping,) it was still comperable and fun enough to play casually and competitively. It was much slower than SSBM but also much more interesting due to the addition of new characters and upgraded mechanics.

Subspsace Emissary is part of the legend of SSBB, coming from the minds of Masahiro Sakurai as well as the team behind Final Fantasy VII. It is incredible how entertaining of a story that Subspace was, and the cutscenes included in which we saw characters we never could have imagined meeting being at odds and in conflict were awesome at the time. Seeing Captain Falcon and Olimar interact felt like something out of a "WHO WOULD WIN" fan-made youtube video from back in the day. This campaign was the first and last in Smash Bros history to be fun, and I imagine most fans in the FGC would agree its one of, if not the, best to have existed.

Unreal Tournament was one of my favorite games to play when it first came out, it was the absolute peak of FPS' from the 90's in terms of fluidity, map design, and general game mechanics. The issue with reviewing games of my youth or games that came out long ago is they are susceptible to nostalgia goggles, however I replayed UT earlier this year and it felt just as good if not better than it did before.

UT does absolutely everything right: from the legendary D&B based soundtrack (which was typical for games of this time,) to having tons and tons of interesting levels across various game modes (that were quite large and in depth.) The famed announcements upon killstreaks and multi-kills added to the games flare, hearing "M M M M MONSTER KILL KILL" makes you excessively hype and in the groove of the games fast paced jumping arena combat. There's never a dull moment in UT, whether you're fighting on a smaller 1v1 DM map or one of the larger objectivve based maps.