Weepboop
BACKER
Coffee Talk: Episode 2 is another ridiculously cozy masterclass from Toge Productions, a game that exudes the mantra happy and healthy. Pretty much the same gameplay loop from the first title, featuring most of the same characters, you steam, press, and serve your way into their hearts and lives as the best late night barista in Seattle.
The gameplay loop remians the same, albeit a little bit ambiguous in the way directions are given, by serving your patrons based off their vibes and specific requests. Of course, this is a pretty elementary endeavour as you're combining three ingredients (sometimes with foam art!) and nothing more, but man if it doesn't make you want to brew some coffee/tea and get funky with your beverages, I don't know what else it'll do! Seriously, after playing Coffee Talk 2 I made it a point to start writing down ingredients that require hibiscus, butterfly pea, and green tea so that I can get my own Coffee Talk going. I'd like to think thats a big part of the game, making you as the player at home with their emotions through the art of brewing.
Music is again a beautiful lo-fi hip hop hodge podge of comfort, and the pixel graphics play a tremendous part in making you feel at home and in love with the simple goings ons. I live in a major city in the middle of the desert in the United States, and I'll be damned if the night-time raining backdrop didn't almost convince me that there was a nice downpour outside.
I strongly recommend the Coffee Talk series to anybody looking for some shorter games to unwind and hang out with some chill customers.
The gameplay loop remians the same, albeit a little bit ambiguous in the way directions are given, by serving your patrons based off their vibes and specific requests. Of course, this is a pretty elementary endeavour as you're combining three ingredients (sometimes with foam art!) and nothing more, but man if it doesn't make you want to brew some coffee/tea and get funky with your beverages, I don't know what else it'll do! Seriously, after playing Coffee Talk 2 I made it a point to start writing down ingredients that require hibiscus, butterfly pea, and green tea so that I can get my own Coffee Talk going. I'd like to think thats a big part of the game, making you as the player at home with their emotions through the art of brewing.
Music is again a beautiful lo-fi hip hop hodge podge of comfort, and the pixel graphics play a tremendous part in making you feel at home and in love with the simple goings ons. I live in a major city in the middle of the desert in the United States, and I'll be damned if the night-time raining backdrop didn't almost convince me that there was a nice downpour outside.
I strongly recommend the Coffee Talk series to anybody looking for some shorter games to unwind and hang out with some chill customers.
Not Funny: Didn't Laugh
I can hardly muster up the strength to review Immortals: Fenyx Rising. It's such an affront to every thing I deem "positive" within the history of gaming and the industry at large that it's honestly hard to narrow down in an honest and complete writeup. It's more Ubisoft garbage, meant in with full connotation of what such terminology in 2024 could possibly bring. Want your towers? You got it! Want your frivolous objectives to complete? You got it! Want your battle pass thrusted into your eyes at every conceivable moment (including completion of the game?) You got it!!!!!!!!! Hey and to chase that all down, we'll even include a faux mouse on the menu screen for controller instead of letting d pad select what you want... because why not!
Genuinely little to nothing about this game was good except for the fact that it was easy on the eyes? The terrain looked pretty swell, and the game ran crisply at high settings throughout... but man the world was lifeless and filled with nothing to interact with. I get that it's effectively the story driven playfield of Prometheus and Zeus as they telll the tale of your titular "hero," but the world felt pointless to explore. For a game that is as shamelessly a Breath of the Wild knockoff as Immortals, you'd think they'd have understood that part of what makes Zelda special (especially BotW) is that the world that is out there is teeming with life and fresh experiences to be had. You can find new villages with new NPC's that are sure to give you dialogue with sharp wit or humor along a hopefully interesting task. This title has none of that, it has vaults for you to complete... challenges for you to painstakingly comb through. Because why become inventive with your copycat title when you can simply become lazy?
I spoke briefly about the narration from the legendary titans in Zeus and Prometheus, and I'll warn the reader that this remains a constant throughout the entire game. From minute one to the end, these two narrate your every move and try their hardest to be "funny" the whole time. I won't try to argue that I know the complete definition of "humor," but the constant attempts at creating jokes and funny hee hee ha ha's wore thin as soon as it could. Again, the beauty of BotW and TotK lies within how many moments are spoken by the player's mind. The journey Link shapes as he explores Hyrule and takes in the sights and sounds of a boundless expanse lie ultimately in origin to the person guiding it. Immortals throws this all in the garbage, drives it to the incinerator, and turns the flames to their hottest temperature. No moment can be truly taken in by the player and enjoyed as is with the two speakers accompanying every single step.
I can't with good confidence recommend anyone play Immortals Fenyx Rising. This game isn't fun, it isn't funny, and it was surely a waste of the time and $6 spent on it.
I can hardly muster up the strength to review Immortals: Fenyx Rising. It's such an affront to every thing I deem "positive" within the history of gaming and the industry at large that it's honestly hard to narrow down in an honest and complete writeup. It's more Ubisoft garbage, meant in with full connotation of what such terminology in 2024 could possibly bring. Want your towers? You got it! Want your frivolous objectives to complete? You got it! Want your battle pass thrusted into your eyes at every conceivable moment (including completion of the game?) You got it!!!!!!!!! Hey and to chase that all down, we'll even include a faux mouse on the menu screen for controller instead of letting d pad select what you want... because why not!
Genuinely little to nothing about this game was good except for the fact that it was easy on the eyes? The terrain looked pretty swell, and the game ran crisply at high settings throughout... but man the world was lifeless and filled with nothing to interact with. I get that it's effectively the story driven playfield of Prometheus and Zeus as they telll the tale of your titular "hero," but the world felt pointless to explore. For a game that is as shamelessly a Breath of the Wild knockoff as Immortals, you'd think they'd have understood that part of what makes Zelda special (especially BotW) is that the world that is out there is teeming with life and fresh experiences to be had. You can find new villages with new NPC's that are sure to give you dialogue with sharp wit or humor along a hopefully interesting task. This title has none of that, it has vaults for you to complete... challenges for you to painstakingly comb through. Because why become inventive with your copycat title when you can simply become lazy?
I spoke briefly about the narration from the legendary titans in Zeus and Prometheus, and I'll warn the reader that this remains a constant throughout the entire game. From minute one to the end, these two narrate your every move and try their hardest to be "funny" the whole time. I won't try to argue that I know the complete definition of "humor," but the constant attempts at creating jokes and funny hee hee ha ha's wore thin as soon as it could. Again, the beauty of BotW and TotK lies within how many moments are spoken by the player's mind. The journey Link shapes as he explores Hyrule and takes in the sights and sounds of a boundless expanse lie ultimately in origin to the person guiding it. Immortals throws this all in the garbage, drives it to the incinerator, and turns the flames to their hottest temperature. No moment can be truly taken in by the player and enjoyed as is with the two speakers accompanying every single step.
I can't with good confidence recommend anyone play Immortals Fenyx Rising. This game isn't fun, it isn't funny, and it was surely a waste of the time and $6 spent on it.
2016
Dark Souls Peak
Far and away the best of the trilogy, Dark Souls III seems like a complete F-U to the two games before it. A polished experience from start to finish, the third entry into the series feels like the best moments of Elden Ring at times with some of the annoying trepidation of the previous two entries.
The first thing that I have to salute DS3 about and it's almost a little sad that I am, is the fact that it ran at a glorious 60 FPS with a nice graphic sheen to it that reminded me of last year's GOTY: Elden Ring. The visual fidelity didn't just do the environments of this title justice, but made movement and boss fights much more manageable and approachable throughout the ~30 hour experience. From the moment I loaded in to completion of the game I was in awe at how fluid it was, and there were many times that I felt like I was in the world of Elden Ring.
Gameplay took a tremendous leap between the previous title and this one, dropping silly things like I-Frames that are tied to a stat and accelerated weapon degradation against bosses in favor of a smoother and more enjoyable experience. I went with my Fromsoft staple oonga boonga melee build, swapping great club and a giant axe until I found Dragon's Tooth (my Dark Souls 1 go to) later on. There were moments where I felt I was a little cheated, but it was never at a point where I thought it was overbearing or simply bad game design as it was in DS1 & DS2. Upgrading weapons felt vindicating as you could fully tune them to your playstyle, and were giving ample resources to do so. Gear didn't have to be upgraded as it was in DS2 either, making for a playthrough where you could worry moreso about the actual "game" of Dark Souls rather than material management.
Bosses were a tremendous leap between the titles too, clearly taking a page from the improvements Fromsoft made with Bloodborne the year prior. From the moment you fight Iudex Gundyr all the way until the final boss of the DLC, you are matched against bosses who will not just test your raw stats but also your ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome. That was my favorite part of playing all of Dark Souls III, the fact that bosses weren't gimmicks to be understood and passed by, but actually difficult opponents that could be beaten by learning their patterns and how to react appropriately. Again, very Bloodborne and a clear pattern they would replicate with Elden Ring many moons later. I don't want to give spoilers because the lore and sequencing is rightfully important to many players, but there were some bosses later on I would jump up after beating and say "I hated that, it was one of the best boss fights I've ever done." My favorite part of Bloodborne was how each match against each boss felt like a dance to the death because of how fluid and integral constant movement was to that game. Now, Dark Souls III is notably slower but you still feel like you're in an honest duel with these bosses, in which pure skill will reign supreme.
Like I touched on with comments on visual fidelity above, the game is absolutely gorgeous and filled with those "Fromsoft Moments" where you enter a new area atop a cliffside and pause just to gaze at the incredible vistas in front of you. Beauty is abound throughout the entire game, however I found myself most in awe when I played the ultimate "Ringed City" DLC. Such rich use of colour and scale is utilized to craft a believable environment of dilapidated buildings and past socieities.
While it wasn't perfect (it was too short!) Dark Souls 3 is a jaw dropping experience that engages the player from their first moments all the way into its conclusion. A massive improvement from Dark Souls 1 & 2, it improves on just about everything to make it clear how great of a job Fromsoft has done in gameplay innovation and creativity. I would absolutely recommend Dark Souls III.
Far and away the best of the trilogy, Dark Souls III seems like a complete F-U to the two games before it. A polished experience from start to finish, the third entry into the series feels like the best moments of Elden Ring at times with some of the annoying trepidation of the previous two entries.
The first thing that I have to salute DS3 about and it's almost a little sad that I am, is the fact that it ran at a glorious 60 FPS with a nice graphic sheen to it that reminded me of last year's GOTY: Elden Ring. The visual fidelity didn't just do the environments of this title justice, but made movement and boss fights much more manageable and approachable throughout the ~30 hour experience. From the moment I loaded in to completion of the game I was in awe at how fluid it was, and there were many times that I felt like I was in the world of Elden Ring.
Gameplay took a tremendous leap between the previous title and this one, dropping silly things like I-Frames that are tied to a stat and accelerated weapon degradation against bosses in favor of a smoother and more enjoyable experience. I went with my Fromsoft staple oonga boonga melee build, swapping great club and a giant axe until I found Dragon's Tooth (my Dark Souls 1 go to) later on. There were moments where I felt I was a little cheated, but it was never at a point where I thought it was overbearing or simply bad game design as it was in DS1 & DS2. Upgrading weapons felt vindicating as you could fully tune them to your playstyle, and were giving ample resources to do so. Gear didn't have to be upgraded as it was in DS2 either, making for a playthrough where you could worry moreso about the actual "game" of Dark Souls rather than material management.
Bosses were a tremendous leap between the titles too, clearly taking a page from the improvements Fromsoft made with Bloodborne the year prior. From the moment you fight Iudex Gundyr all the way until the final boss of the DLC, you are matched against bosses who will not just test your raw stats but also your ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome. That was my favorite part of playing all of Dark Souls III, the fact that bosses weren't gimmicks to be understood and passed by, but actually difficult opponents that could be beaten by learning their patterns and how to react appropriately. Again, very Bloodborne and a clear pattern they would replicate with Elden Ring many moons later. I don't want to give spoilers because the lore and sequencing is rightfully important to many players, but there were some bosses later on I would jump up after beating and say "I hated that, it was one of the best boss fights I've ever done." My favorite part of Bloodborne was how each match against each boss felt like a dance to the death because of how fluid and integral constant movement was to that game. Now, Dark Souls III is notably slower but you still feel like you're in an honest duel with these bosses, in which pure skill will reign supreme.
Like I touched on with comments on visual fidelity above, the game is absolutely gorgeous and filled with those "Fromsoft Moments" where you enter a new area atop a cliffside and pause just to gaze at the incredible vistas in front of you. Beauty is abound throughout the entire game, however I found myself most in awe when I played the ultimate "Ringed City" DLC. Such rich use of colour and scale is utilized to craft a believable environment of dilapidated buildings and past socieities.
While it wasn't perfect (it was too short!) Dark Souls 3 is a jaw dropping experience that engages the player from their first moments all the way into its conclusion. A massive improvement from Dark Souls 1 & 2, it improves on just about everything to make it clear how great of a job Fromsoft has done in gameplay innovation and creativity. I would absolutely recommend Dark Souls III.
2022
No, I'M Pickle Rick
First off, this game has 100% been unreasonably review bombed because it's a Justin Roiland release. I've never seen Rick and Morty, so I'm missing out on all the finer bits of cringe and humor alike, but I think its unfair to judge this game because of its tangental relation to its television counterpart. I wish there was a better way to filter out negative reviews upon a game's release because when I went to log High on Life on release day (12/13,) it was already bombarded with low-ratings, of which I severely doubt were genuine.
The game itself, after beating it in eight short hours is... okay? The humor does get a bit old and drawn out, but sometime's I couldn't hold in my laughter? I don't know what that says about me, but the whole saga with the Mackincheese-brothers Brothers and the whole gun "LETZDUIT" got some cheap chuckles out of a usually stoic me. Other than that, there were quite a few drawn out punchlines that the writers had clearly intended to be funny that did not hit. The risk of a game (and probably show) that are written like this, is that the deeper you dive into the bits, the higher chance you have of making them cringe. And as we all know, cringe is one of the most damaging diagnoses' to have. While a game in theory written by a comic could be funny, I think this goes a mile too far into the "try to be funny" route than the actual "be funny" route that something like the AI: The Somnium Files franchise accomplished. There were many moments in this game where you have accomplished your objective or are about to embark on your next mission, and have to sit and wait for Gene or your Sister to monologue on a poorly attempted spree of jokes that are quite unfunny. I found myself frequently taking my hands off the mouse and keyboard, palming them on my forehead, and waiting until the scene had ended. This was waaaaay too common and kinda killed any flow of the game and actual good humour included.
Gameplay itself is alright, it's mostly basic first person shooting against a recycled cast of few alien enemies. To the credit of the devs, none of these are really annoying or tough to play against, just a little samey. Platforming is simple and there weren't really any moments where I was lost in translation trying to map through a puzzle or cross a map. I ran into a few bugs, nothing major and I found that the checkpoint system was good enough to bypass these.
I can't really recommend this game to anyone, because its short and doesn't do enough well to be worth going out of your way, but I will say please play a game before you review/rate it. Don't ride the bandwagon, if it's a bad game and you've experienced that, then it's a bad game. If it's a bad game, and you haven't actually experienced what makes it so poor, then I think it's best to leave the criticism/praise to those who have.
First off, this game has 100% been unreasonably review bombed because it's a Justin Roiland release. I've never seen Rick and Morty, so I'm missing out on all the finer bits of cringe and humor alike, but I think its unfair to judge this game because of its tangental relation to its television counterpart. I wish there was a better way to filter out negative reviews upon a game's release because when I went to log High on Life on release day (12/13,) it was already bombarded with low-ratings, of which I severely doubt were genuine.
The game itself, after beating it in eight short hours is... okay? The humor does get a bit old and drawn out, but sometime's I couldn't hold in my laughter? I don't know what that says about me, but the whole saga with the Mackincheese-brothers Brothers and the whole gun "LETZDUIT" got some cheap chuckles out of a usually stoic me. Other than that, there were quite a few drawn out punchlines that the writers had clearly intended to be funny that did not hit. The risk of a game (and probably show) that are written like this, is that the deeper you dive into the bits, the higher chance you have of making them cringe. And as we all know, cringe is one of the most damaging diagnoses' to have. While a game in theory written by a comic could be funny, I think this goes a mile too far into the "try to be funny" route than the actual "be funny" route that something like the AI: The Somnium Files franchise accomplished. There were many moments in this game where you have accomplished your objective or are about to embark on your next mission, and have to sit and wait for Gene or your Sister to monologue on a poorly attempted spree of jokes that are quite unfunny. I found myself frequently taking my hands off the mouse and keyboard, palming them on my forehead, and waiting until the scene had ended. This was waaaaay too common and kinda killed any flow of the game and actual good humour included.
Gameplay itself is alright, it's mostly basic first person shooting against a recycled cast of few alien enemies. To the credit of the devs, none of these are really annoying or tough to play against, just a little samey. Platforming is simple and there weren't really any moments where I was lost in translation trying to map through a puzzle or cross a map. I ran into a few bugs, nothing major and I found that the checkpoint system was good enough to bypass these.
I can't really recommend this game to anyone, because its short and doesn't do enough well to be worth going out of your way, but I will say please play a game before you review/rate it. Don't ride the bandwagon, if it's a bad game and you've experienced that, then it's a bad game. If it's a bad game, and you haven't actually experienced what makes it so poor, then I think it's best to leave the criticism/praise to those who have.
2018
I played God of War all these years later after it finally got a PC port, despite owning a PS4, because I really wanted to see why it had defeated Red Dead Redemption 2 at the Game Awards in 2018. After completing the game, I am left even more confused than I was before. The 2018 release of God of War is a complete mess of gameplay decisions that obstruct what could be a fun and important gaming experience.
What does God of War do well? At least a few things. Kratos, one of the most legendary figures in all of gaming, remains a fantastic character in his limited conversation yet imposed depth of character. He's machismo to the T yet again, a Spartan warrior with the fury and rage to be unmatched, yet is capable of showing compassion make intelligent decisions. He is a rigid man, yet one that acts only with purpose and never without reason. Christopher Judge does an absolutely phenomenal job bringing the character to modern gaming, and to that point, he looks great too. Better advancements in tech after the original trilogy have Kratos looking better (and older) than ever before.
The other thing God of War has going for it, and I'm not sure how much I can really give to the game here, is the way it couples Kratos' backstory and time in Greece's mythos with that of the Norse mythos. The story that follows the dysfunctional family of Thor, Odin, and Freya is one built very, very long ago, but I think the game overall does a great job in its inclusion of the Norse "pantheon" and their impressions in the story and the world of Midgard and the seperate realms. It almost brings out the kid in me, I remember checking out myth books ad nauseum at the library and reading about each culture and their gods and godesses. God of War does a great job at bringing them to life and giving me an idea of what they would act like, how their quirks and unique attributes interact with eachother.
Outside of a phenomenal PC Port and great graphical fidelity, my praise for God of War basically stops there. This game, after playing a plethora of other games within the character action and action RPG genres feels like stale bread. It does everything other games do, but far worse. The combat within this game is probably the biggest qualm I have with it, genuinely nothing about it feels rewarding to play. It feels like a great majority of enemies are complete bullet sponges and require the same technique of hammering the right bumper to kill and it takes FOREVER. The dark elf enemies are the greatest example of this, especially when you fight them in the late game gauntlet. It took reloads, cheese strats, Spartan Rage perfect inputs to get through them, and this is as a veteran of games similar on harder difficulties. Nothing about the hack and slash of God of War made me, the person controlling Kratos, feel like an actual God of War... more like the God of Button Mashing. Everytime I walked into an open room and saw the first grouping of enemies spawn, I groaned because I knew what it meant. There were many times you enter an open area and enemies just continue to spawn, seemingly infinitely. I had to pause and question if I needed to restart because the game seemed bugged with unending enemies. But no, they really just balance the game by chucking as many enemies as possible at you until you eventually get bored and quite or power through and survive through the mundane combat experience. Upgrading my moves felt pointless and I legitimately never felt like a skill I had learned was beneficial to me in combat. DMC has been out for a while... why can't they just copy that model? Skills in DMC feel good to learn and exciting to master, in God of War it just felt like an unecessary chore.
A second issue I raise with the game is the oddly tacked on RPG elements that only took away from the overall experience. God of War has no need to be a level up RPG where you need to upgrade/craft new gear through finding raw materials. Why is that included? Why is my progress and skill gated by the fact that I haven't grinded my teeth into the ground messing around with the game's horribly boring combat. I strongly dislike the collecathon trend that's hit many of Playstation's big budget games. Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima(a game that I really enjoyed,) Days Gone, God of War (and probably many more) all have this issue. I don't get why God of War needs to have a huge map of side quests and totems to uncover. Why does this game with its narrative focus ask the player to scour every corner of every room to find all of Miscellaneous Objective X? That made far more sense in the recent Kirby release than it did in this AAA game that has as powerful visuals as it does. I legitimately don't understand what the post game valkyrie hunting brings to the game and its narrative either. Coming into the game I didn't think I would love it, but the completely unecessary RPG time-adders, were probably the biggest detriment for me in my enjoyment of this game.
On top of the above issues I had with it, I took great issue with the MacGuffin nature of the story and downright annoying characters. I felt like the games overall narrative made sense, you are on a journey to spread the ashes of Kratos' betrothed and Atreus' mother, however all of the in between was the "your princess in another castle" dilemma to its nth degree. If you wanted to go from point a to point b, you had to find item c. If you wanted to finally get to point b with item c, you were taken away to another area to get out of before you could return to point b. After completing point d you had to find item e to get into room f. After room f you had to find NPC g to complete their reqeust so that the bird in room h could retrieve the item I from giant monster J. After Giant monster J was felled, perhaps NPC K had something that could lead me back to location L and I'd finally be able to continue on to the next part of the journey. I wish I was kidding when I went on that tangent but thats how the story feels to me. In a year where Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in the same year, God of War doesn't hold an inch of a candle to the narrative expertise it had. This game is a mess of story expose in which I routinely sighed everytime I tried to continue on the main path of the story to spread the ashes because I knew that SOME sort of random problem was about to fall in Kratos' lap. Trying to progress in God of War felt like needing to be slapped in the face before getting up, slapped in the face while making coffee, slapped in the face while brushing your teeth, then slapped in the face again while putting on your clothes. Like I mentioned before, there were some characters that I just couldn't stand. Atreus throughout the majority of the game was far more than a bratty kid, but randomly an edgy teen and back again to a normal companion. Companion characters in games are delicate because they can OFTEN be annoying and overbearing (looking at you FFXIII and RE6,) but God of War flipped a switch between decent and downright cringey. I don't know why this was done, most of the writing in the game was alright, but the conversations with Atreus were just annoying eventually and meaningless. There were a few other characters I was indifferent to like Freya and the dwarf smiths, I felt like they were copy and paste Hollywood Movie characters rather than something unique to God of War, and that felt like a disservice to a legendary franchise.
I can't recommend anyone to play God of War unless they are really that curious, it's a slog of an experience and narratively speaking there are many games out there that far outperform it. That being said, if you feel like you don't have enough stories about Norse mythos in your life, or are a fan of Kratos, this may be a good pick for you.
What does God of War do well? At least a few things. Kratos, one of the most legendary figures in all of gaming, remains a fantastic character in his limited conversation yet imposed depth of character. He's machismo to the T yet again, a Spartan warrior with the fury and rage to be unmatched, yet is capable of showing compassion make intelligent decisions. He is a rigid man, yet one that acts only with purpose and never without reason. Christopher Judge does an absolutely phenomenal job bringing the character to modern gaming, and to that point, he looks great too. Better advancements in tech after the original trilogy have Kratos looking better (and older) than ever before.
The other thing God of War has going for it, and I'm not sure how much I can really give to the game here, is the way it couples Kratos' backstory and time in Greece's mythos with that of the Norse mythos. The story that follows the dysfunctional family of Thor, Odin, and Freya is one built very, very long ago, but I think the game overall does a great job in its inclusion of the Norse "pantheon" and their impressions in the story and the world of Midgard and the seperate realms. It almost brings out the kid in me, I remember checking out myth books ad nauseum at the library and reading about each culture and their gods and godesses. God of War does a great job at bringing them to life and giving me an idea of what they would act like, how their quirks and unique attributes interact with eachother.
Outside of a phenomenal PC Port and great graphical fidelity, my praise for God of War basically stops there. This game, after playing a plethora of other games within the character action and action RPG genres feels like stale bread. It does everything other games do, but far worse. The combat within this game is probably the biggest qualm I have with it, genuinely nothing about it feels rewarding to play. It feels like a great majority of enemies are complete bullet sponges and require the same technique of hammering the right bumper to kill and it takes FOREVER. The dark elf enemies are the greatest example of this, especially when you fight them in the late game gauntlet. It took reloads, cheese strats, Spartan Rage perfect inputs to get through them, and this is as a veteran of games similar on harder difficulties. Nothing about the hack and slash of God of War made me, the person controlling Kratos, feel like an actual God of War... more like the God of Button Mashing. Everytime I walked into an open room and saw the first grouping of enemies spawn, I groaned because I knew what it meant. There were many times you enter an open area and enemies just continue to spawn, seemingly infinitely. I had to pause and question if I needed to restart because the game seemed bugged with unending enemies. But no, they really just balance the game by chucking as many enemies as possible at you until you eventually get bored and quite or power through and survive through the mundane combat experience. Upgrading my moves felt pointless and I legitimately never felt like a skill I had learned was beneficial to me in combat. DMC has been out for a while... why can't they just copy that model? Skills in DMC feel good to learn and exciting to master, in God of War it just felt like an unecessary chore.
A second issue I raise with the game is the oddly tacked on RPG elements that only took away from the overall experience. God of War has no need to be a level up RPG where you need to upgrade/craft new gear through finding raw materials. Why is that included? Why is my progress and skill gated by the fact that I haven't grinded my teeth into the ground messing around with the game's horribly boring combat. I strongly dislike the collecathon trend that's hit many of Playstation's big budget games. Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima(a game that I really enjoyed,) Days Gone, God of War (and probably many more) all have this issue. I don't get why God of War needs to have a huge map of side quests and totems to uncover. Why does this game with its narrative focus ask the player to scour every corner of every room to find all of Miscellaneous Objective X? That made far more sense in the recent Kirby release than it did in this AAA game that has as powerful visuals as it does. I legitimately don't understand what the post game valkyrie hunting brings to the game and its narrative either. Coming into the game I didn't think I would love it, but the completely unecessary RPG time-adders, were probably the biggest detriment for me in my enjoyment of this game.
On top of the above issues I had with it, I took great issue with the MacGuffin nature of the story and downright annoying characters. I felt like the games overall narrative made sense, you are on a journey to spread the ashes of Kratos' betrothed and Atreus' mother, however all of the in between was the "your princess in another castle" dilemma to its nth degree. If you wanted to go from point a to point b, you had to find item c. If you wanted to finally get to point b with item c, you were taken away to another area to get out of before you could return to point b. After completing point d you had to find item e to get into room f. After room f you had to find NPC g to complete their reqeust so that the bird in room h could retrieve the item I from giant monster J. After Giant monster J was felled, perhaps NPC K had something that could lead me back to location L and I'd finally be able to continue on to the next part of the journey. I wish I was kidding when I went on that tangent but thats how the story feels to me. In a year where Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in the same year, God of War doesn't hold an inch of a candle to the narrative expertise it had. This game is a mess of story expose in which I routinely sighed everytime I tried to continue on the main path of the story to spread the ashes because I knew that SOME sort of random problem was about to fall in Kratos' lap. Trying to progress in God of War felt like needing to be slapped in the face before getting up, slapped in the face while making coffee, slapped in the face while brushing your teeth, then slapped in the face again while putting on your clothes. Like I mentioned before, there were some characters that I just couldn't stand. Atreus throughout the majority of the game was far more than a bratty kid, but randomly an edgy teen and back again to a normal companion. Companion characters in games are delicate because they can OFTEN be annoying and overbearing (looking at you FFXIII and RE6,) but God of War flipped a switch between decent and downright cringey. I don't know why this was done, most of the writing in the game was alright, but the conversations with Atreus were just annoying eventually and meaningless. There were a few other characters I was indifferent to like Freya and the dwarf smiths, I felt like they were copy and paste Hollywood Movie characters rather than something unique to God of War, and that felt like a disservice to a legendary franchise.
I can't recommend anyone to play God of War unless they are really that curious, it's a slog of an experience and narratively speaking there are many games out there that far outperform it. That being said, if you feel like you don't have enough stories about Norse mythos in your life, or are a fan of Kratos, this may be a good pick for you.
Dark Souls II: Problems with the Second Game
I began my Souls journey many a moons ago in 2011 after the release of the original Dark Souls, playing on a friends PS3 and watching them toil and struggle with what was a new formidable experience. Just over a decade later and I've made serious leeway into Fromsoft's renaissance repertoire, completing Demon Souls, Dark Souls 1, Elden Ring, Sekiro, Bloodborne, and now Dark Souls 2. The experience itself has been hit or miss, but I'm afraid I've already played the best effort that they've put forth in Elden Ring, and with each title that go and black from a chronologically retroactive standpoint, they just don't feel good. While I am glad I played Dark Souls 2 and eventually will play 3, I let out an audible "this sucks man" too many times to warrant a higher rating.
The good of DS2 as I'll abbreviate it begins with Fromsoft's legendary level design. Scale isn't the same as it was in the first Dark Souls game, which felt more top to bottom filled with locations and interesting happenings, but rather a more level oriented approach like Demon Souls had. You have your hub world in Majula, which has one of the most beautiful ambient themes you'll find in a video game, but outside of that you're travelling via bonfire or mysterious teleportation to areas far outside the reaches of your central hub. These areas weren't all sunshine and rainbows (The Lost Bastille, The Gutter etc) but were varied and quite seperate from one another in atmosphere and vibe. I liked the Land of the Fallen Giants as an initial area as it felt distinctly Dark Souls with its luscious greenery and decayed medieval architecture. As the game goes on you get more fantasy with the Dragon's Aerie, Shrine of Amala, and DLC areas. It's this intricacy and care that Fromsoft puts into creating its levels that are always a captivating part of their games, and with DS2 this was no different.
I once again was a fan of the enemy/boss design throughout the game from an artistic standpoint. The way these enemies are designed to fit in with the mysteriously rich lore of the series as well as their degree of difficulty is pretty dang cool. Though I had issues with a large number of boss battles in this game (more to come later,) I enjoyed a few of the one on one battles I had with humanoid bosses... that much like the last DLC boss from DS1 felt like a true duel of skill and vigor.
Where I start to depart from liking Dark Souls 2 is when I actually sit back and ponder about the "Dark Souls" elements of the game, aka the stuff that sends your brain into a fritz upon contact. The first issue I had with DS2 that I rectified almost immediately was the forced HP % Cutoff on death as a part of the hollowing. I understand that hollowing is a key piece of Dark Souls lore and a major aspect of the first game, but I think they did it well enough in DS1 in that it just gated you off from some content like NPC Summons. I didn't love it, but I guess that was a compromise I just said "yeah okay" with, much better than the HP Halving of Demon Souls upon death. Unlike Demon Souls though, Dark Souls 2 doesn't alleviate your HP issues when you kill the area boss, but rather if you burn an item. The issue with this concept is the eternal "phoenix down" conundrum, you'll be dying quiiiiiite a bit (it's a Fromsoft game after all,) so what is the best time to burn your human effigy? You can make a list of rules for yourself to use it after a certain % of HP Loss but man, there were times where I'd die over and over again in runbacks to a boss or item and DID NOT want to mess with that. If you want to disregard my review because I used a script that removed this mechanic, then feel free, but I liked to call it "DS1 Mode" and it saved my remaining enjoyment for the game.
Souls games have a notoriety for being "difficult" and wherein does that difficulty lie? In my experience its usually not with the bosses, who do prove to be an issue from time to time (and especially as the series ages,) but rather in the frustrating set of hallways, crevaces, paths, and ramps one must conquer on route ot their next bonfire or boss are absolutely brutal. There were a few moments where I was in genuine disbelief, particularly in the Sunken King DLC's first forray into the tower and then also in the area that houses the Smelter Demon. I get there being a reason to punish the player for playing in a manner that is overtly aggressive and non-patient but man... having to patiently wait through encounters one by one by one by one forever to get to a boss who may kill you in two hits because of some errant mistake you made all to have to do it again is simply bad design.
Speaking of getting hit, another one of my chief complaints... why are i-frames in a roll tied to a stat??? I was shocked when I attempted to roll out of combat against an enemy early in the game, leading me to frustratingly google "does rolling suck in DS2" only to be met with commenters providing the answer: it's tied to your adaptability stat. This is just puzzling, and I'm quite confused as to why it's even a mechanic at all? it feels like a pointless stat to level just to get your character to feel slightly good moving in a series where rolling is as important as it is. Combat otherwise was... okay, I went my typical strength build and didn't have too hard of a time against normal enemies or bosses but there were some moments of frustration later on in the game (those crystal porcupine enemies in the Ivory King dlc for example.) I had a +10 Great Club and Broadsword, and I liked having to swap them for certain encounters. Humanoid bosses that I had to react fast against, I'd use my quick sword... for larger bosses and world enemies, my great club. That was neat. What wasn't neat was when I was fighting a few bosses (Sunken King DLC especially) and was slapped with a hastened weapon degredation mechanic... literally why? Why reveal this to the player midway through a fight? I had a backup weapon but because the series doesn't allow for pausing, I'd perish trying to make the quick inventory swap in between boss moves. Other issues I had with combat include not being able to move while using estus flasks (and the general length of doing so,) and the upgraded difficulty in summoning NPC's (felt a little too high of an HP buff to bosses.)
In all, Dark Souls 2 was simply one of the games I've beaten. I'd recommend it to any Souls player who is making their way through Fromsoft's catalog but wouldn't necessarily advise series newcomers to jump straight to it.
I began my Souls journey many a moons ago in 2011 after the release of the original Dark Souls, playing on a friends PS3 and watching them toil and struggle with what was a new formidable experience. Just over a decade later and I've made serious leeway into Fromsoft's renaissance repertoire, completing Demon Souls, Dark Souls 1, Elden Ring, Sekiro, Bloodborne, and now Dark Souls 2. The experience itself has been hit or miss, but I'm afraid I've already played the best effort that they've put forth in Elden Ring, and with each title that go and black from a chronologically retroactive standpoint, they just don't feel good. While I am glad I played Dark Souls 2 and eventually will play 3, I let out an audible "this sucks man" too many times to warrant a higher rating.
The good of DS2 as I'll abbreviate it begins with Fromsoft's legendary level design. Scale isn't the same as it was in the first Dark Souls game, which felt more top to bottom filled with locations and interesting happenings, but rather a more level oriented approach like Demon Souls had. You have your hub world in Majula, which has one of the most beautiful ambient themes you'll find in a video game, but outside of that you're travelling via bonfire or mysterious teleportation to areas far outside the reaches of your central hub. These areas weren't all sunshine and rainbows (The Lost Bastille, The Gutter etc) but were varied and quite seperate from one another in atmosphere and vibe. I liked the Land of the Fallen Giants as an initial area as it felt distinctly Dark Souls with its luscious greenery and decayed medieval architecture. As the game goes on you get more fantasy with the Dragon's Aerie, Shrine of Amala, and DLC areas. It's this intricacy and care that Fromsoft puts into creating its levels that are always a captivating part of their games, and with DS2 this was no different.
I once again was a fan of the enemy/boss design throughout the game from an artistic standpoint. The way these enemies are designed to fit in with the mysteriously rich lore of the series as well as their degree of difficulty is pretty dang cool. Though I had issues with a large number of boss battles in this game (more to come later,) I enjoyed a few of the one on one battles I had with humanoid bosses... that much like the last DLC boss from DS1 felt like a true duel of skill and vigor.
Where I start to depart from liking Dark Souls 2 is when I actually sit back and ponder about the "Dark Souls" elements of the game, aka the stuff that sends your brain into a fritz upon contact. The first issue I had with DS2 that I rectified almost immediately was the forced HP % Cutoff on death as a part of the hollowing. I understand that hollowing is a key piece of Dark Souls lore and a major aspect of the first game, but I think they did it well enough in DS1 in that it just gated you off from some content like NPC Summons. I didn't love it, but I guess that was a compromise I just said "yeah okay" with, much better than the HP Halving of Demon Souls upon death. Unlike Demon Souls though, Dark Souls 2 doesn't alleviate your HP issues when you kill the area boss, but rather if you burn an item. The issue with this concept is the eternal "phoenix down" conundrum, you'll be dying quiiiiiite a bit (it's a Fromsoft game after all,) so what is the best time to burn your human effigy? You can make a list of rules for yourself to use it after a certain % of HP Loss but man, there were times where I'd die over and over again in runbacks to a boss or item and DID NOT want to mess with that. If you want to disregard my review because I used a script that removed this mechanic, then feel free, but I liked to call it "DS1 Mode" and it saved my remaining enjoyment for the game.
Souls games have a notoriety for being "difficult" and wherein does that difficulty lie? In my experience its usually not with the bosses, who do prove to be an issue from time to time (and especially as the series ages,) but rather in the frustrating set of hallways, crevaces, paths, and ramps one must conquer on route ot their next bonfire or boss are absolutely brutal. There were a few moments where I was in genuine disbelief, particularly in the Sunken King DLC's first forray into the tower and then also in the area that houses the Smelter Demon. I get there being a reason to punish the player for playing in a manner that is overtly aggressive and non-patient but man... having to patiently wait through encounters one by one by one by one forever to get to a boss who may kill you in two hits because of some errant mistake you made all to have to do it again is simply bad design.
Speaking of getting hit, another one of my chief complaints... why are i-frames in a roll tied to a stat??? I was shocked when I attempted to roll out of combat against an enemy early in the game, leading me to frustratingly google "does rolling suck in DS2" only to be met with commenters providing the answer: it's tied to your adaptability stat. This is just puzzling, and I'm quite confused as to why it's even a mechanic at all? it feels like a pointless stat to level just to get your character to feel slightly good moving in a series where rolling is as important as it is. Combat otherwise was... okay, I went my typical strength build and didn't have too hard of a time against normal enemies or bosses but there were some moments of frustration later on in the game (those crystal porcupine enemies in the Ivory King dlc for example.) I had a +10 Great Club and Broadsword, and I liked having to swap them for certain encounters. Humanoid bosses that I had to react fast against, I'd use my quick sword... for larger bosses and world enemies, my great club. That was neat. What wasn't neat was when I was fighting a few bosses (Sunken King DLC especially) and was slapped with a hastened weapon degredation mechanic... literally why? Why reveal this to the player midway through a fight? I had a backup weapon but because the series doesn't allow for pausing, I'd perish trying to make the quick inventory swap in between boss moves. Other issues I had with combat include not being able to move while using estus flasks (and the general length of doing so,) and the upgraded difficulty in summoning NPC's (felt a little too high of an HP buff to bosses.)
In all, Dark Souls 2 was simply one of the games I've beaten. I'd recommend it to any Souls player who is making their way through Fromsoft's catalog but wouldn't necessarily advise series newcomers to jump straight to it.
2019
Gears 5 is what it feels like if you woke up one morning, and asked somebody to slap you as hard as they could. You think they'd slap you just once, but no they keep slapping. Your face, bright red says out loud "this legitimately can't get any worse," and then it does.
Gears 5 is the "Look how they massacred my boy" of video games.
Gears 5 is the Star Wars Episode VII-IX of video games.
Gears 5 is the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy of video games.
Gears 5 is the Cowboy Bebop reboot of video games.
Gears 5 is the remaining touring lineup of your favorite band in which every original member is no longer in it, except for one nobody really likes or ever liked of video games.
Gears 5 is the Gears 5 of video games.
Gears 5 is the "Look how they massacred my boy" of video games.
Gears 5 is the Star Wars Episode VII-IX of video games.
Gears 5 is the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy of video games.
Gears 5 is the Cowboy Bebop reboot of video games.
Gears 5 is the remaining touring lineup of your favorite band in which every original member is no longer in it, except for one nobody really likes or ever liked of video games.
Gears 5 is the Gears 5 of video games.
2018
Yakuza 3 more like... Blockuza 3 haha gottem.
Real talk though, I played through this game between a work trip so some elements of the story early on are a little lost on me but overall, this was decidedly the most mediocre and lukewarm Yakuza experience I've had thus far. The story is, good-ish in that it keeps you engaged in the typical Yakuza "But wait! There's more!" but the over-arching narrative of the Resort and Military Base installations was a little lost on me... I thought it was a good attempt to sew more dissidence and betrayal into the Tojo Clan infighting but got lost in the fact that there were way too many cooks vying for power throughout the game's short run time that weren't completely compelling. By far and away the worst element of Y3 to me was the orphanage segments which from what I understand in reading peer reviews is a little bit of a hot button issue. While I understand the intent is to develop and further Kiryu's humanity and transition away from the Yakuza orginzation lifestyle, the gameplay loop involved is extremely monotonous at times and is overall boring. Chasing the kids around Okinawa to make sure they're okay, making sure they're doing their homework, playing baseball with them, checking on them being bullied was just lame from a gameplay standpoint and took away from the gravity that a Yakuza story usually brings. While it didn't "ruin" the game for me per se, I felt like it greatly reduced enjoyment that I had in the series previously.
Characters overall were again a strongsuit and saving point in Yakuza 3 for me. Mikio, Nakahara, Mine (in a sort,) and Rikiya were all great new allies for Kiryu that brought something refreshingly new to the narrative. Returning members of the cast like Daigo, Yuya, Date, and the Florist all return with their charm and respective histories that made the series great thus far. Fighting/combat was alright, I cranked the game to easy as a recommendation from just about everyone I'd talked to about Yakuza 3 and it was 100% a good decision. The amount of combo-ing into blocks from normal enemies to bosses is enough to drive a grown man to tears.
In all, Yakuza 3 is a necessary evil. Chronologically speaking I had to recommend this game to one who is making their way through the legendary beat 'em up franchise, but it's a tough play because of the orphanage segments and poor combat.
Real talk though, I played through this game between a work trip so some elements of the story early on are a little lost on me but overall, this was decidedly the most mediocre and lukewarm Yakuza experience I've had thus far. The story is, good-ish in that it keeps you engaged in the typical Yakuza "But wait! There's more!" but the over-arching narrative of the Resort and Military Base installations was a little lost on me... I thought it was a good attempt to sew more dissidence and betrayal into the Tojo Clan infighting but got lost in the fact that there were way too many cooks vying for power throughout the game's short run time that weren't completely compelling. By far and away the worst element of Y3 to me was the orphanage segments which from what I understand in reading peer reviews is a little bit of a hot button issue. While I understand the intent is to develop and further Kiryu's humanity and transition away from the Yakuza orginzation lifestyle, the gameplay loop involved is extremely monotonous at times and is overall boring. Chasing the kids around Okinawa to make sure they're okay, making sure they're doing their homework, playing baseball with them, checking on them being bullied was just lame from a gameplay standpoint and took away from the gravity that a Yakuza story usually brings. While it didn't "ruin" the game for me per se, I felt like it greatly reduced enjoyment that I had in the series previously.
Characters overall were again a strongsuit and saving point in Yakuza 3 for me. Mikio, Nakahara, Mine (in a sort,) and Rikiya were all great new allies for Kiryu that brought something refreshingly new to the narrative. Returning members of the cast like Daigo, Yuya, Date, and the Florist all return with their charm and respective histories that made the series great thus far. Fighting/combat was alright, I cranked the game to easy as a recommendation from just about everyone I'd talked to about Yakuza 3 and it was 100% a good decision. The amount of combo-ing into blocks from normal enemies to bosses is enough to drive a grown man to tears.
In all, Yakuza 3 is a necessary evil. Chronologically speaking I had to recommend this game to one who is making their way through the legendary beat 'em up franchise, but it's a tough play because of the orphanage segments and poor combat.
2013
Systems for systems sake engrosses this visually dated (Which, granted it came out in 2013) survival game that does little to inspire exploration or actually traversing the game's world. Surely if you're someone excited by the scenarios and difficulty thrown at you with menial tasks to do, you'd like this game, but as someone who favors survival games heavy on exploring for nice vistas, beneficial resources, or the joy of finding breathtaking environments (like Minecraft,) this didn't do it for me. I became bored almost instantly, and the person I was playing with was very knowledgable and tried their best to make it a fun experience, but I felt like the game is more of a headache to control, loot, fight, and play than it is fun.
AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative is a certified Kotaro Uchikoshi classic.
This was, after playing the first entry in 2020 and the subsequently the entire Zero Escape trilogy, my highest anticipated game and I'm extremely proud to say that it delivered to every expectation and more. While I don't want to delve into story spoilers because Spike Chunsoft games are highly narrative driven and event based, I will speak on the other parts of the game that filled me with intrigue and joy.
Nirvana Initiative returns most of its cast from its predecessor, which was one of the best groupings of characters in contemporary gaming, and adds a whole new group of intricate and multi-faceted personas that greatly enhance the AI experience. Everyone has that funny quirk about them with a darker side underneath. The nature of everyone in the first game to be the butt of a joke in one second, and the focus of the plot in the next was something masterfully crafted by the writing team. This feature returns in the sequel, a gentle reminder that Uchikoshi is a phenom in character writing. The quirky anime cast that leaves you smiling from ear to ear with their jokes, gags, and unique brand of humor is a staple of AI, something I hope other writing teams in the industry can attempt to pick up on to enrich their experiences. Tama, Ryuki, Lien, Gen (Shoutout ProZD!,) and Kizuna (amongst others) were all great additions to the cast. This legitimately may be the funniest game ever written.
For those who played the original AI, it may not be a surprise to hear that the new environments and settings outside of the Somnium aren't anything too special, but they do offer more room for humor and character exposition. You travel to both old and new locations in your quest to solve the Half Body killings, meeting new people and exploring from top to bottom. This is enough to keep the gameplay loop fresh and appealing to nostalgia from the preceeding experience. One of the largest improvements from the first game to the second was the jump in involvement and logic required to complete Somnium's. In the first AI they were... very interesting and an overall great experience, but ultimately until the end, not too complex. Again, to not tread on spoilers I don't want to speak on how impressive these cases got or whose were the most captivating, but I will say that I found myself in awe many times at the settings, and actually having to think about logical solutions to the dream cases rather than randomly guessing to get what the game "wanted" me to pick. Honestly, the only critique I really have about these new Somnium's is there were a few that felt a little too "Zero-Escapey" in the amount of logic and number-bending they required. This might be alright if there was a feature for recording notes or important information like there was in the Zero Escape games.
Fans of the first AI will ultimately love its sequel, as I can say it was worth every single second of the wait I had for it. No arc felt like it lasted too long, no character had me frustrated or bored, the plot featured Uchikoshi's patented mind-melting twists and turns. There are two Japanese series that I have completed and smiled this much, Persona and AI, and I can't wait for the next step in both! I salute everyone at Spike-Chunsoft who made this game possible, as it is an ambitious title that succeeds at just about everything it attempts to accomplish. I strongly recommend AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative to any fan of Danganronpa, Zero Escape, Visual Novels, or psychological thrillers.
And yes the ending got me to tear up.
This was, after playing the first entry in 2020 and the subsequently the entire Zero Escape trilogy, my highest anticipated game and I'm extremely proud to say that it delivered to every expectation and more. While I don't want to delve into story spoilers because Spike Chunsoft games are highly narrative driven and event based, I will speak on the other parts of the game that filled me with intrigue and joy.
Nirvana Initiative returns most of its cast from its predecessor, which was one of the best groupings of characters in contemporary gaming, and adds a whole new group of intricate and multi-faceted personas that greatly enhance the AI experience. Everyone has that funny quirk about them with a darker side underneath. The nature of everyone in the first game to be the butt of a joke in one second, and the focus of the plot in the next was something masterfully crafted by the writing team. This feature returns in the sequel, a gentle reminder that Uchikoshi is a phenom in character writing. The quirky anime cast that leaves you smiling from ear to ear with their jokes, gags, and unique brand of humor is a staple of AI, something I hope other writing teams in the industry can attempt to pick up on to enrich their experiences. Tama, Ryuki, Lien, Gen (Shoutout ProZD!,) and Kizuna (amongst others) were all great additions to the cast. This legitimately may be the funniest game ever written.
For those who played the original AI, it may not be a surprise to hear that the new environments and settings outside of the Somnium aren't anything too special, but they do offer more room for humor and character exposition. You travel to both old and new locations in your quest to solve the Half Body killings, meeting new people and exploring from top to bottom. This is enough to keep the gameplay loop fresh and appealing to nostalgia from the preceeding experience. One of the largest improvements from the first game to the second was the jump in involvement and logic required to complete Somnium's. In the first AI they were... very interesting and an overall great experience, but ultimately until the end, not too complex. Again, to not tread on spoilers I don't want to speak on how impressive these cases got or whose were the most captivating, but I will say that I found myself in awe many times at the settings, and actually having to think about logical solutions to the dream cases rather than randomly guessing to get what the game "wanted" me to pick. Honestly, the only critique I really have about these new Somnium's is there were a few that felt a little too "Zero-Escapey" in the amount of logic and number-bending they required. This might be alright if there was a feature for recording notes or important information like there was in the Zero Escape games.
Fans of the first AI will ultimately love its sequel, as I can say it was worth every single second of the wait I had for it. No arc felt like it lasted too long, no character had me frustrated or bored, the plot featured Uchikoshi's patented mind-melting twists and turns. There are two Japanese series that I have completed and smiled this much, Persona and AI, and I can't wait for the next step in both! I salute everyone at Spike-Chunsoft who made this game possible, as it is an ambitious title that succeeds at just about everything it attempts to accomplish. I strongly recommend AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative to any fan of Danganronpa, Zero Escape, Visual Novels, or psychological thrillers.
And yes the ending got me to tear up.
When the Going Gets Gonk
I was an early supporter of Cyberpunk 2077 during its less than stellar launch in December of 2020. Even though I had an experience unfortunately filled with bugs that didn't run the best on a recently upgraded system, I loved the world and story that CD Projekt Red had crafted. I felt like Night City was one of, if not the most, enriching metropolitan locations of any game that I've played in my two-plus decades of PC Gaming. I think the criticism of the game's launch for last gen consoles and PC issues was warranted, but I also strongly believe a majority of healthy discourse for the game was lost in the internet anger and hid what made Cyberpunk special. For all intents and purposes, this review will not cover changes made in the 2.0 patch.
Now with the good faith of the anime and CDPR's commitment to pulling a No Man's Sky on Cyberpunk with the announcement of DLC to come, I got excited once more. I pledged that I would jump into Phantom Liberty with a new mind, no longer excusing any performance/mechanical issues and not blindly hoping for a remarkable experience. What I got in loading in and playing through the probably twenty hours of expansion was a reminder of how incredible CDPR is at constructing worlds that tell the narrative in their ambience, and at authoring characters whose relationships with the protagonist stretch far beyond the scope and expectation of your average video game.
Phantom Liberty felt like a part of the main game, and in a perfect world probably could be. Not only does the physical location of the DLC in Pacifica's Dogtown lie in the middle of the map of Night City, but tonally the degree of heinousity, treachery, and general scumbaggery of the characters within felt very true to the narrative already in place.
The narrative here is fantastic once more. As I usually do, I will evade embarking on narrative spoilers, but the amount of suspicious nuance in character motivation in Phantom Liberty leads to some incredible hard decisions that have monumental consequences on newly added endings to Cyberpunk 2077. I found myself frequently paused at decisions between helping two equally morally grey parties because I wanted to plan for any eventual fallback from supporting their campaigns. Am I going to assist in this person who has dragged me into deeper into a mess far beyond my comprehension under the guise that they will be able to help me? Or will I side with the party who is looking for the best interest of the State? It gets rough and it gets tough, and in true Cyberpunk fashion... there is no real winner. What decisions you make, what ending you come across will leave you feeling like dust in the wind. I felt equally crushed finishing Phantom Liberty as I did watching the anime, they really know how to take the emotional wind out of you.
There were so many special things that remind you how impressive the staging and environmental design of 2077 are within this DLC. Moments like where your conversations begin and end with Idris Elba's character Solomon Reed: a basketball court overlooking the dilapidated and defunded skyscrapers that stand tall over the downtrodden community. Another being the beginning sequence in which you are evading inquisitive opposition forces with the President of the NUSA, frequently peering over balconies engulfed in flames that feature paradiddles of rain collapsing through the concrete. It's the staging of these events within the DLC that are located all throughout that are easy reminds about how phenomenal the direction, writing, and choreography of this game and CDPR truly are. The ability to utilize environmental scale to aide in the telling of a story is something that propelled the Witcher from a standard low fantasy fare to one of the greatest works of the genre is present once more in Cyberpunk. Even if the distance travelled in the DLC feels a little small, because in truth it is, you are constantly reminded about how tiny of a cog you're V is in the machine that is Night City.
The experience was not without its frustrations though, but that's PC gaming in a nutshell in 2023 apparently (after playing Starfield to boot.) There were a few times within the main questline that missions would either not load, I would bug out of objectives, or I would be softlocked and couldn't move. These were nowhere near as egregious as they were in the base game closer to launch, but they did rub me the wrong way. The ultimate mission in the DLC (not counting the added missions to new endings) was beyond bugged for me, and the important enemy that is supposed to be your last match was completely non aggressive to me. This just felt... not great. I felt like the DLC story was heading to a climax that was manifesting into a monumental implosion of the interrelationships of its characters and then pop, the big bad that was sent after me wouldn't attack. My immersion wasn't completely ruined but it was tarnished in a way that is hard to ignore, and I didn't want to re-load the entire questline.
I strongly recommend Cyberpunk 2077 to anyone with a knack for science fiction and open worlds (and fans of Bladerunner,) and I'd say that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a must play for fans of the base game.
I was an early supporter of Cyberpunk 2077 during its less than stellar launch in December of 2020. Even though I had an experience unfortunately filled with bugs that didn't run the best on a recently upgraded system, I loved the world and story that CD Projekt Red had crafted. I felt like Night City was one of, if not the most, enriching metropolitan locations of any game that I've played in my two-plus decades of PC Gaming. I think the criticism of the game's launch for last gen consoles and PC issues was warranted, but I also strongly believe a majority of healthy discourse for the game was lost in the internet anger and hid what made Cyberpunk special. For all intents and purposes, this review will not cover changes made in the 2.0 patch.
Now with the good faith of the anime and CDPR's commitment to pulling a No Man's Sky on Cyberpunk with the announcement of DLC to come, I got excited once more. I pledged that I would jump into Phantom Liberty with a new mind, no longer excusing any performance/mechanical issues and not blindly hoping for a remarkable experience. What I got in loading in and playing through the probably twenty hours of expansion was a reminder of how incredible CDPR is at constructing worlds that tell the narrative in their ambience, and at authoring characters whose relationships with the protagonist stretch far beyond the scope and expectation of your average video game.
Phantom Liberty felt like a part of the main game, and in a perfect world probably could be. Not only does the physical location of the DLC in Pacifica's Dogtown lie in the middle of the map of Night City, but tonally the degree of heinousity, treachery, and general scumbaggery of the characters within felt very true to the narrative already in place.
The narrative here is fantastic once more. As I usually do, I will evade embarking on narrative spoilers, but the amount of suspicious nuance in character motivation in Phantom Liberty leads to some incredible hard decisions that have monumental consequences on newly added endings to Cyberpunk 2077. I found myself frequently paused at decisions between helping two equally morally grey parties because I wanted to plan for any eventual fallback from supporting their campaigns. Am I going to assist in this person who has dragged me into deeper into a mess far beyond my comprehension under the guise that they will be able to help me? Or will I side with the party who is looking for the best interest of the State? It gets rough and it gets tough, and in true Cyberpunk fashion... there is no real winner. What decisions you make, what ending you come across will leave you feeling like dust in the wind. I felt equally crushed finishing Phantom Liberty as I did watching the anime, they really know how to take the emotional wind out of you.
There were so many special things that remind you how impressive the staging and environmental design of 2077 are within this DLC. Moments like where your conversations begin and end with Idris Elba's character Solomon Reed: a basketball court overlooking the dilapidated and defunded skyscrapers that stand tall over the downtrodden community. Another being the beginning sequence in which you are evading inquisitive opposition forces with the President of the NUSA, frequently peering over balconies engulfed in flames that feature paradiddles of rain collapsing through the concrete. It's the staging of these events within the DLC that are located all throughout that are easy reminds about how phenomenal the direction, writing, and choreography of this game and CDPR truly are. The ability to utilize environmental scale to aide in the telling of a story is something that propelled the Witcher from a standard low fantasy fare to one of the greatest works of the genre is present once more in Cyberpunk. Even if the distance travelled in the DLC feels a little small, because in truth it is, you are constantly reminded about how tiny of a cog you're V is in the machine that is Night City.
The experience was not without its frustrations though, but that's PC gaming in a nutshell in 2023 apparently (after playing Starfield to boot.) There were a few times within the main questline that missions would either not load, I would bug out of objectives, or I would be softlocked and couldn't move. These were nowhere near as egregious as they were in the base game closer to launch, but they did rub me the wrong way. The ultimate mission in the DLC (not counting the added missions to new endings) was beyond bugged for me, and the important enemy that is supposed to be your last match was completely non aggressive to me. This just felt... not great. I felt like the DLC story was heading to a climax that was manifesting into a monumental implosion of the interrelationships of its characters and then pop, the big bad that was sent after me wouldn't attack. My immersion wasn't completely ruined but it was tarnished in a way that is hard to ignore, and I didn't want to re-load the entire questline.
I strongly recommend Cyberpunk 2077 to anyone with a knack for science fiction and open worlds (and fans of Bladerunner,) and I'd say that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a must play for fans of the base game.
Really incredible end to the initial run of the Kiryu Kazama saga before the series transitioned into Like a Dragon, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life was almost everything I wanted after seven games with the Dragon of Dojima.
It's hard after so many of these reviews to really harp on my detractions with a Yakuza game or sing its praises because they tend to follow the same outcome. Story again was extremely well done, a pretty solid narrative that stretches Kiryu and company from his familiar Kamurocho to the new streets of Hiroshima. Where Song of Life departs from its predecessors is seeing Kiryu at his most emotionally unhinged, we see a man who truly loses all interest in his well being as long as he can save those he loves. I enjoyed seeing this side of him, not that I was bored with the impervious white knight who fought for the sake of good, but I did like seeing him depart from honor and ethics in the name of his daughter and friends.
Again the cast was great, as has been the case in quite literally every one of these titles. Familiar faces grace the game with their return (my favorite of which will always be Date... and Akiyama,) and new friends enter the mix (like Yuta and Nagumo.) Even though I really didn't like Hiroshima cast they, like in every Yakuza game, truly grew on me. RGG intentionally paints them as annoying and coniving run of the mill street gangsters but methodically opens them up to Kiryu as trusted friends and allies. A lot of this change relies on very important story spoilers so I will not divulge.
The voice acting/modelling had me in actual disbelief, firstly when I encountered the group JUSTIS which borrowed top talent from New Japan Pro Wrestling like Kazuchika okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Now with how big of an IP like Yakuza has become, this shouldn't really be very surprising but I sat there with my mouth agape as Okada went through his motions as the "Rainmaker." Also starring in Yakuza 6 is legendary director/actor Beat Takeshi as well as actor Tetsuya Fujiwara (who is the main character in Battle Royale, one of my favorite films.) Fujiwara and Takeshi play characters quite integral to the plot, so it felt like a treat to see them perform so well.
Combat was again so/so, I honestly after seven of these games just resigned myself to playing on easy for the first time because I couldn't stomach any more annoying boss fights/encounters. In the end this was undoubtedly the correct decision as I felt like my time was much more respected than last titles... hah.
My points of detraction come from the initial slow crawl to a starting point this game had (in my opinion) which set up the story. I think other Yakuza games had been a little more effective in hooking me right away. I also wasn't a tremendous fan of the cast of antagonists. I love the reaction and conflict that Kiryu and his cohort embrace in combatting them, but I didn't care too much for their characters/motives. I also kinda thought the big twist in chapter twelve was a little... silly, which is a big part of it for me too.
Yakuza 6 has one of the series' best endings though, and for that I strongly recommend the reader to experience it for themself, as I am really glad I saw this initial series run through. I will be taking a break from RGG games until I play Judgment (playing some other titles in between,) and eventually Y7/Like a Dragon which I'm greatly looking forward to. I've been all aboard the Yakuza train and I dont' want to get off yet!
It's hard after so many of these reviews to really harp on my detractions with a Yakuza game or sing its praises because they tend to follow the same outcome. Story again was extremely well done, a pretty solid narrative that stretches Kiryu and company from his familiar Kamurocho to the new streets of Hiroshima. Where Song of Life departs from its predecessors is seeing Kiryu at his most emotionally unhinged, we see a man who truly loses all interest in his well being as long as he can save those he loves. I enjoyed seeing this side of him, not that I was bored with the impervious white knight who fought for the sake of good, but I did like seeing him depart from honor and ethics in the name of his daughter and friends.
Again the cast was great, as has been the case in quite literally every one of these titles. Familiar faces grace the game with their return (my favorite of which will always be Date... and Akiyama,) and new friends enter the mix (like Yuta and Nagumo.) Even though I really didn't like Hiroshima cast they, like in every Yakuza game, truly grew on me. RGG intentionally paints them as annoying and coniving run of the mill street gangsters but methodically opens them up to Kiryu as trusted friends and allies. A lot of this change relies on very important story spoilers so I will not divulge.
The voice acting/modelling had me in actual disbelief, firstly when I encountered the group JUSTIS which borrowed top talent from New Japan Pro Wrestling like Kazuchika okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Now with how big of an IP like Yakuza has become, this shouldn't really be very surprising but I sat there with my mouth agape as Okada went through his motions as the "Rainmaker." Also starring in Yakuza 6 is legendary director/actor Beat Takeshi as well as actor Tetsuya Fujiwara (who is the main character in Battle Royale, one of my favorite films.) Fujiwara and Takeshi play characters quite integral to the plot, so it felt like a treat to see them perform so well.
Combat was again so/so, I honestly after seven of these games just resigned myself to playing on easy for the first time because I couldn't stomach any more annoying boss fights/encounters. In the end this was undoubtedly the correct decision as I felt like my time was much more respected than last titles... hah.
My points of detraction come from the initial slow crawl to a starting point this game had (in my opinion) which set up the story. I think other Yakuza games had been a little more effective in hooking me right away. I also wasn't a tremendous fan of the cast of antagonists. I love the reaction and conflict that Kiryu and his cohort embrace in combatting them, but I didn't care too much for their characters/motives. I also kinda thought the big twist in chapter twelve was a little... silly, which is a big part of it for me too.
Yakuza 6 has one of the series' best endings though, and for that I strongly recommend the reader to experience it for themself, as I am really glad I saw this initial series run through. I will be taking a break from RGG games until I play Judgment (playing some other titles in between,) and eventually Y7/Like a Dragon which I'm greatly looking forward to. I've been all aboard the Yakuza train and I dont' want to get off yet!
2012
The tragic beauty of the story told in Spec Ops: The Line has been told in so many video essays and others' reviews that I won't touch on too much of it, other than that I'm extremely glad to have actually experienced it full hand.
Spec Ops tells a harrowing tale of the horrors of war and the horrific nature of Western involvement in the Middle East. Playing through this game is not pleasant at all, beginning as a typical third person cover shooter and delving very quickly into the psyche of a soldier in command of a nightmarish operation.
I knew going into this that it wouldn't be sunshine and smiles at all, and that was definitely the case. I think this is a very necessary playthrough for folks if they can catch it on sale. It's short and rarely overstays its welcome in any segment of the gameplay, allowing the dark story to stay at the forefront of the player's experience. Visuals, storytelling, and voice acting all accent what is an excellent campaign experience.
The main drawback within Spec Ops is the combat, and I think many others would agree. For a fair comparison it feels like the first Uncharted game, where you're tasked with making some fairly difficult shots with a not so friendly targeting and recoil system. Thankfully the game gives you guns that have some serious "Umph" but it can get quite frustrating. Lack of enemy variety and the excessively short TTK on the main character added to major gripes I had with the non-story aspect of the game.
As I've mentioned, there are others who have done phenomenal jobs dissecting this game and I strongly urge everyone to check those out. For those who find that story is the most important aspect of a game, and want to experience one of the better ones out there, Spec Ops: The Line is your game. It's not perfect, but it's a standout title.
Spec Ops tells a harrowing tale of the horrors of war and the horrific nature of Western involvement in the Middle East. Playing through this game is not pleasant at all, beginning as a typical third person cover shooter and delving very quickly into the psyche of a soldier in command of a nightmarish operation.
I knew going into this that it wouldn't be sunshine and smiles at all, and that was definitely the case. I think this is a very necessary playthrough for folks if they can catch it on sale. It's short and rarely overstays its welcome in any segment of the gameplay, allowing the dark story to stay at the forefront of the player's experience. Visuals, storytelling, and voice acting all accent what is an excellent campaign experience.
The main drawback within Spec Ops is the combat, and I think many others would agree. For a fair comparison it feels like the first Uncharted game, where you're tasked with making some fairly difficult shots with a not so friendly targeting and recoil system. Thankfully the game gives you guns that have some serious "Umph" but it can get quite frustrating. Lack of enemy variety and the excessively short TTK on the main character added to major gripes I had with the non-story aspect of the game.
As I've mentioned, there are others who have done phenomenal jobs dissecting this game and I strongly urge everyone to check those out. For those who find that story is the most important aspect of a game, and want to experience one of the better ones out there, Spec Ops: The Line is your game. It's not perfect, but it's a standout title.
2020
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this... mansion?
My "calm" moments in my apartment are spent after a day at work, then at the gym, and then sitting down at my computer and booting up whatever game I'm giving my all. While I do that, I like to have a little quiet source of company in the form of a Twitch Stream so I get a little feel that I'm not alone. One of my go-to streamers is Vargskelethor, aka Joel, and if you're a fan of the Vinesauce umbrella you're well aware of who he is. I remember Joel messing around on Teardown and having an issue in one of the latter missions getting a bomb to the detonation site so he could begin a heist. Something about the crazyness of spending all this time on prep and having it go so miserably wrong had me in tears while the chat lambasted his physics skills.
Months and maybe a year even later I found myself with a good computer, one that could finally take on the voxel based goliath that is Teardown. At its core, Teardown is a game about pulling off heists. Most missions start the player at a certain spot with a list of goals they have to accomplish within a minute of time. Not all missions have the timeclock, but most do. The caveat is that this minute doesn't begin to kick until you've begun on your heist, meaning that you have an entire map of prep work to do. Something about this tickled my brain in all the right ways, it allows the player to tailor their experience of the game to how they problem solve. Often in puzzle and mind games, I've felt like the way these problems are to be completed are in the game wants you as the player to do them, rather than applying your own approach. I LOVED the way Teardown allows you to work painstakingly at pulling off a perfect theft. I found myself feverishly and minutely carving out my route between goals in each mission, often doing five or more dry runs to make sure I could get away scot free.
Though the freedom oriented level design is what I would call the "real hero" of Teardown, the physics engine is a walking miracle. In a game with as many assets as this, it's quite hard to make it all work in a way that is conducive to player movement. Just about everything is destructible in some way with the right tools, vehicles like cranes and dump trucks work in the scenarios they should, and gravity feels as good as it can. While the weight of certain vehicles and items were the cause of many a level reset, I felt almost betrayed by how much the physics made sense. Sometimes I wanted to abuse what most games would allow and get a hollow victory, but had to respect the confines of Teardown's engine and whittle myself to a getaway.
Whether its the basic sledgehammer, the iron-man shotgun, or the impactful bombs, the arsenal the player is gifted in Teardown is another excellent touch to what makes it feel like a well oiled machine. You can play as soup to nuts as you want, using items only to make holes in walls and extensions between buildings via planks, or you can get as nifty as you want and use rocket thrusters to literally and metaphorically yeet yourself to victory. Once i unlocked the "Cable" I wondered the entire game what it was for, as I got it fairly early on. It wasn't until the last mission when I realized I could use it to tow a vehicle behind me, a galaxy brain moment that could have made previous missions easier.
Teardown is a lot more than a fun sandbox or a good excuse to blow things up, it's a genuinely enjoyable heist game that makes player agency the key focus. I heavily recommend Teardown as a must play.
My "calm" moments in my apartment are spent after a day at work, then at the gym, and then sitting down at my computer and booting up whatever game I'm giving my all. While I do that, I like to have a little quiet source of company in the form of a Twitch Stream so I get a little feel that I'm not alone. One of my go-to streamers is Vargskelethor, aka Joel, and if you're a fan of the Vinesauce umbrella you're well aware of who he is. I remember Joel messing around on Teardown and having an issue in one of the latter missions getting a bomb to the detonation site so he could begin a heist. Something about the crazyness of spending all this time on prep and having it go so miserably wrong had me in tears while the chat lambasted his physics skills.
Months and maybe a year even later I found myself with a good computer, one that could finally take on the voxel based goliath that is Teardown. At its core, Teardown is a game about pulling off heists. Most missions start the player at a certain spot with a list of goals they have to accomplish within a minute of time. Not all missions have the timeclock, but most do. The caveat is that this minute doesn't begin to kick until you've begun on your heist, meaning that you have an entire map of prep work to do. Something about this tickled my brain in all the right ways, it allows the player to tailor their experience of the game to how they problem solve. Often in puzzle and mind games, I've felt like the way these problems are to be completed are in the game wants you as the player to do them, rather than applying your own approach. I LOVED the way Teardown allows you to work painstakingly at pulling off a perfect theft. I found myself feverishly and minutely carving out my route between goals in each mission, often doing five or more dry runs to make sure I could get away scot free.
Though the freedom oriented level design is what I would call the "real hero" of Teardown, the physics engine is a walking miracle. In a game with as many assets as this, it's quite hard to make it all work in a way that is conducive to player movement. Just about everything is destructible in some way with the right tools, vehicles like cranes and dump trucks work in the scenarios they should, and gravity feels as good as it can. While the weight of certain vehicles and items were the cause of many a level reset, I felt almost betrayed by how much the physics made sense. Sometimes I wanted to abuse what most games would allow and get a hollow victory, but had to respect the confines of Teardown's engine and whittle myself to a getaway.
Whether its the basic sledgehammer, the iron-man shotgun, or the impactful bombs, the arsenal the player is gifted in Teardown is another excellent touch to what makes it feel like a well oiled machine. You can play as soup to nuts as you want, using items only to make holes in walls and extensions between buildings via planks, or you can get as nifty as you want and use rocket thrusters to literally and metaphorically yeet yourself to victory. Once i unlocked the "Cable" I wondered the entire game what it was for, as I got it fairly early on. It wasn't until the last mission when I realized I could use it to tow a vehicle behind me, a galaxy brain moment that could have made previous missions easier.
Teardown is a lot more than a fun sandbox or a good excuse to blow things up, it's a genuinely enjoyable heist game that makes player agency the key focus. I heavily recommend Teardown as a must play.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: Thank You Kazuma Kiryu
Ryu Ga Gotoku's flagship franchise continues on its emblazoned warpath through the current landscape of gaming, faithful to a unique approach at telling the story of organized crime in contemporary Japan. What I expect in entering a Yakuza/Like a Dragon is an excellently penned multi-faceted tale of deceit and treachery written with as many twists and turns as a late stage Shin Megami Tensei dungeon coupled with some of the most frustrating combat on the market. Lo and behold, I got that with The Man Who Erased His Name. Is this expectation fair? I think so, did it alter my enjoyment of the game? Not really?
Like a Dragon Gaiden (I'll just call it LADG) serves as a storytelling tool to explain the location and whereabouts of the famed Dragon of Dojima between The Song of Life (Yakuza 6) and Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7,) a game in which Kiryu is effectively non-present. Given the results of the ending of the sixth installment, he dons a fake name and skips town under the alias Joryu. My run-through of the first few chapters of LADG left me with a few qualms, mostly because it felt like I was getting the typical Yakuza formula of breadcrumbing plot in the introductory sequences under the guise of aimless action. You're tasked with taking on miscellaneous jobs and helping around several locations that don't immediately feel like they are transitioning the plot and location of Kiryu from one game to the next like this title is intended to do. Before the Yakuza magic picked up and I was able to identify where the plot was going in relevance to Yakuza 7, I felt like I was too engrossed in the menial and irrelevant for my liking.
The ship rights itself eventually but the second and third chapters largely were a waste of runtime in my humble opinion. There's a section within one of these chapters (nursing a headache so I have forgotten which exactly,) in which you have to help the woman who is assisting you in pointing you in the right direction on your mission. For intel and a safe roof over your head, she requires Kiryu to assist her in building up her network of mostly homeless informants (reminiscent of the Florist and other informant types in the previous entries.) To do this you must assist the denizens of Sotenbori with various tasks that range from getting things out of trees to taking photos of clowns. This isn't bad on paper but the required Akame Points (Akame being the woman you are assisting) to hit rank 10 of the arbitrary story-gated ranking system took wayyy too long and greatly inflated my run time. Unless I was doing something very wrong, which is very possible, I was not a fan of the time dedicated to sprinting all over Osaka to buy people food at various Poppo Mart's just to hope that I would soon be able to move on with the story. I get the importance of helping out in terms of the narrative, but it ran its course and greatly detracted from my enjoyment of the game.
The combat sucks, that’s it, that's the verse.
I had my score of this game a notch lower as a result of the above, but in typical RGG/LAD/Yakuza fashion, LADG resolves itself in an incredible way, tying in the closing sequences of Yakuza 7 and a look into the Dragon of Dojima's immediate future with the franchise. I won't divulge spoilers per usual, but I found myself doing my hardest to hide the waterworks as we at long last have seen Kiryu at his most vulnerable emotionally. Years and years of his life (and our lives as the audience) plays out on a small screen in his hands, leaving him to watch as he learns how the world has moved both with him and around him. For a man who has made a career out of his stubborn valor, it was great as a spectator to get to see him stripped apart at his most relatable and human.
I would absolutely recommend this title to anyone who is a fan of the Like a Dragon franchise. It's a great way to wrap up story of Kazuma Kiryu as our primary protagonist, and a very strong glimpse at what RGG has in store.
Ryu Ga Gotoku's flagship franchise continues on its emblazoned warpath through the current landscape of gaming, faithful to a unique approach at telling the story of organized crime in contemporary Japan. What I expect in entering a Yakuza/Like a Dragon is an excellently penned multi-faceted tale of deceit and treachery written with as many twists and turns as a late stage Shin Megami Tensei dungeon coupled with some of the most frustrating combat on the market. Lo and behold, I got that with The Man Who Erased His Name. Is this expectation fair? I think so, did it alter my enjoyment of the game? Not really?
Like a Dragon Gaiden (I'll just call it LADG) serves as a storytelling tool to explain the location and whereabouts of the famed Dragon of Dojima between The Song of Life (Yakuza 6) and Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7,) a game in which Kiryu is effectively non-present. Given the results of the ending of the sixth installment, he dons a fake name and skips town under the alias Joryu. My run-through of the first few chapters of LADG left me with a few qualms, mostly because it felt like I was getting the typical Yakuza formula of breadcrumbing plot in the introductory sequences under the guise of aimless action. You're tasked with taking on miscellaneous jobs and helping around several locations that don't immediately feel like they are transitioning the plot and location of Kiryu from one game to the next like this title is intended to do. Before the Yakuza magic picked up and I was able to identify where the plot was going in relevance to Yakuza 7, I felt like I was too engrossed in the menial and irrelevant for my liking.
The ship rights itself eventually but the second and third chapters largely were a waste of runtime in my humble opinion. There's a section within one of these chapters (nursing a headache so I have forgotten which exactly,) in which you have to help the woman who is assisting you in pointing you in the right direction on your mission. For intel and a safe roof over your head, she requires Kiryu to assist her in building up her network of mostly homeless informants (reminiscent of the Florist and other informant types in the previous entries.) To do this you must assist the denizens of Sotenbori with various tasks that range from getting things out of trees to taking photos of clowns. This isn't bad on paper but the required Akame Points (Akame being the woman you are assisting) to hit rank 10 of the arbitrary story-gated ranking system took wayyy too long and greatly inflated my run time. Unless I was doing something very wrong, which is very possible, I was not a fan of the time dedicated to sprinting all over Osaka to buy people food at various Poppo Mart's just to hope that I would soon be able to move on with the story. I get the importance of helping out in terms of the narrative, but it ran its course and greatly detracted from my enjoyment of the game.
The combat sucks, that’s it, that's the verse.
I had my score of this game a notch lower as a result of the above, but in typical RGG/LAD/Yakuza fashion, LADG resolves itself in an incredible way, tying in the closing sequences of Yakuza 7 and a look into the Dragon of Dojima's immediate future with the franchise. I won't divulge spoilers per usual, but I found myself doing my hardest to hide the waterworks as we at long last have seen Kiryu at his most vulnerable emotionally. Years and years of his life (and our lives as the audience) plays out on a small screen in his hands, leaving him to watch as he learns how the world has moved both with him and around him. For a man who has made a career out of his stubborn valor, it was great as a spectator to get to see him stripped apart at his most relatable and human.
I would absolutely recommend this title to anyone who is a fan of the Like a Dragon franchise. It's a great way to wrap up story of Kazuma Kiryu as our primary protagonist, and a very strong glimpse at what RGG has in store.