I think what we can learn from FFVI is that for a game to be great, it doesn't need to excel at everything. True, it has to be at least good at everything (sound, gameplay, presentation, story, controls), but all it needs to be remembered for the ages is that one thing, that one aspect it does better than almost anything else, that one thing that blows your mind and that you haven't seen anywhere else.

The specific aspect that FFVI excels at above all is: Presentation. It might seem strange to say this, considering we now live in the age of 4k 3D motion-captured animations and yet I say that the presentation of this SNES game is the best thing about it to this day. I mentioned this in my review of FFIV, but what Sakaguchi and his team have figured out with FFIV is that you can use the little sprites on the screen like actors on a stage. Make the screen "the room" - the stage of a play - and make the sprites the characters of the play. Then use the "stage" and its space to direct dramatic scenes in order to convey emotion and storybeats. This game is the last of the "theatre" era until FFIX comes along, and this game absolutely perfects the art. This is not just because the sprite work for this game is absolutely gorgeous, probably the absolute best on the system (everyone should play this game with a good CRT filter if you really want to be blown away by how good this game looks), but above all because it is extremely expressive. It will always remain a mystery to me how they managed to instill so much emotion, so much character and so much individuality into these tiny little sprites. As mentioned, each character has multiple sprites that show them either showing emotion like surprise, sadness or smugness or perform small little animations like waggling their finger or winking at the screen. Combine these ultra-expressive sprites with fantastic direction, and you have a game that finally achieves what FFIV always wanted to be - a game that makes you feel like you are sitting in the audience of a theatre play.

Here is an example of how it works. Characters move away from each other to show distance, move closer when they want to be caring, they dance and jump around to show excitement, they look at the screen / the audience during emotional scenes (as is very common in drama) or look away from the audience when they are uncertain. Despite the game having no access to actual facial expressions or detailed body movements to show off to the player, many of the scenes in FFVI are incredibly engaging, entertaining and emotionally affecting simply through their fantastic direction.

That is not all however, what the game does is use this fantastic technique and show it off in a variety of amazing and memorable set-pieces. Phenomenal visually, they are varied, interesting and often quite funny. The fight for Narshe against Kefka, the Phantom Train and of course the legendary Opera scene stand out. The game keeps putting the characters in fun and interesting set pieces and uses them to play out stage plays to the best possible result. Many of them surpass anything people have seen up to that point in video games. It truly deserves the highest possible praise even by 2022 standards. This is why the game is so engaging and fun - it is not the story itself, but the set pieces on the way that are so great. This is also why the game declines in the World of Ruin while it improves massively gameplay wise - the core appeal is mostly gone, as you largely visit older vistas and the new set pieces that appear in the World of Ruin, outside the ending, aren't nearly as engaging.

At the end of the day, FFVI found a very unique way to make its storytelling interesting and engaging. A method that I wish more games would have used since then.

FF as a series seems to often live and die by its presentation, but this is not at all a bad thing. When the presentation is at its peak, and Square is at the peak of their powers, the presentation alone can be so engaging and entertaining that it makes you forget about anything else. FFVI is a triumph.

Clash of the Titans.

So I never played the original Titanfall which was a multiplayer only first person shooter on the Xbox One. When the sequel was announced with a campaign included I was certainly interested and when I finally got a chance to play it, by all accounts Titanfall 2 is an excellent game I would highly recommend people try.

In the campaign you play the role of Jack Cooper a rifleman for the Frontier Militia who are at war with the Core systems, more specifically the IMC who wish to exploit the frontier systems resources and control them. Though a Titan pilot in training Cooper is suddenly given a practical quicker than he expects when during an attack on an IMC controlled planet called Typhon he ends up in control of the Titan BT and must finish the former pilots mission to save both the Militia still on the planet as well as Frontier forces at large.

The story is actually pretty good, the game eases players in very well with a VR training sequence as well as the prologue mission. The main campaign sees a mixture of running around on foot as well as piloting BT fighting both normal soldiers and other Titans. Cooper and BT have a surprisingly good relationship that works well with your character being able to choose dialogue responses at times in which BT will respond differently and it's often pretty amusing as BT doesn't understand slang all to well. Though the campaign is short at around 5-6 hours it has some nice variety in both it's locations and goals, one of my favorite levels I can't say for spoilers but it was a real surprise, I liked the campaign quite a lot.

The game plays extremely well, it's really fast paced and incredibly smooth. Cooper has a harness that allows him to double jump as well as run along walls and it's implemented brilliantly with changing direction in mid air and firing while wall running and sliding. The controls just feel so right and this is especially noticeable in the multiplayer which is one of the smoothest feeling fast paced first person shooters I've ever played. The multiplayer has extensive modes from "Attrition" which features a mixture of players and AI controlled bots fighting against each other and players can call in their own Titans to pilot. It's a crazy mode where multiple Titans can be fighting it out with other players firing grenades and lasers to try and take them down. The game also features more traditional pilot vs pilot deathmatch modes, one on one Titan battles among others so there are a lot of options. Like most multiplayer shooters it has it's own progression system where you level up unlocking new guns, skins and tags. Weapons themselves each have their own level system as you use them which unlock their own skins. Nothing feels anything more powerful than anything else, I ran round with some of the start weapons and never really changed and found it easy to compete with people 30 levels higher than me, it seems well balanced. There are also a variety of classes to choose from that have abilities such as a grappling hook to get up to areas quickly, a shield to fire through, a radar etc.

Presentation wise Titanfall 2 is excellent. The graphics are really nice not just technically but also artistically, some of the levels are really nicely coloured with skyboxes, jungles and lights. (Nice to play a shooter whose primary colour isn't solely brown) The Titan's all look great and it run almost flawlessly at 60fps which you can really feel while playing. I also really loved the voice acting and music.

All in all I had a great time with Titanfall 2, it looks great, plays incredibly smoothly and the campaign was surprisingly good. I do wish the campaign had been longer or there was some kind of co-op mode but that's just wishful thinking and can't take away that Titanfall 2 is a great game.

+ Campaign is surprisingly good.
+ Multiplayer is fast paced with lots of options.
+ Great visuals and presentation.
+ Smooth controls and frame rate.

- I wish the campaign was longer.

I'm aware this review isn't a popular opinion, but Nier: Automata is an ok game at best somewhat held together by superb animations and a wonderful soundtrack.

I'm aware it's got quite a cult following but I just could not get invested in it though it starts off pretty good. You play the role of 2B a combat android sent on a mission to earth. The opening section is pretty action packed and though linear sets a great atmosphere and a big boss and I got what I was expecting from a Platinum games title. Past the opening though the cracks start to appear.

Nier: Automata is an empty experience trying to give the appearance of something greater. It has a semi open world but it's bland, barren and empty to explore. It has a lot of side quests but they are mostly forgettable busy work. It has a lot of combat and upgrade options but the battles soon become stale due to the level design etc. Just nothing quite clicks.

I kept pushing through as I had heard the story was the highlight. The way the plot weaves though feels very disjointed, I never felt the flow of the story was very well done. To get the full ending is a chore playing through several paths and the final payoff was just meaningless nonsense. The game tries hard to dip into philosophy and existentialism which are themes I appreciate, but I feel it never truly grabbed my attention perhaps because I was so uninterested in the characters even if the world premise was interesting.

It all just results in missed potential as far as I'm concerned. That said there were some positives. As mentioned in the header, the animations are super smooth. The way 2B moves and switches from move to move is like she's gliding on silk, it's beautiful. The OST is also an absolute knock out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTOuspYpbNc

I also really like the art design of a lot of the characters even if the environments are dull and washed out. They really stand out and have already become pretty iconic. Just a shame the designs do not go with the context of who the characters are even remotely.

That all said, I don't regret playing it, it just wasn't the experience I was looking for.

+ Animations are fantastic.
+ Soundtrack is exquisite.
+ Character art design....

- .....completely out of place and inappropriate.
- Empty world and environments.
- Poor plot and story. Getting the full ending is a chore and not worth the payoff.
- 9S is insufferable.
- Side quests are boring.

(For a much better critique, for I am no wordsmith, I agree with try youtuber Pixel a Day (there are story spoilers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWpjyTw8-Pc )

Never give in, never surrender.

Dark Souls III is in fact From Software's fifth game in this particular style (Demon's Souls and Bloodborne being the odd two out) and they really have pretty much perfected the design of these games at this point. Dark Souls III doesn't add much new to the formula, but feels like a tribute to everything they have done in the series as a send off for the final game of the series and it's simply brilliant.

For those unfamiliar with the games, Dark Souls III is an action RPG with a heavy focus on exploration and tactical combat. That's not to say there is a lack of story, in fact, there is plenty, however it's through lore found throughout the game from talking to characters, examining item descriptions and essentially piecing the bits together rather than presented to you on a plate. The exploration isn't just in the physical levels but feels like you're really exploring a whole world. The level design to Dark Souls III is superb, after picking your appearance and class and being dropped in the game you will travel through castles, undead villages, swamps, unlocking various shortcuts and hidden items as you explore.

Combat in the Dark Souls games isn't your normal game, if you just try and hack your way through the game you will die. Dark Souls is a game that rewards patience, looking for gaps in an enemies attack to counter attack, luring them away from the pack, hitting them with traps etc. I have heard a lot of people describe these games as hard, they aren't that bad, punishing for mistakes yes and not very forgiving, but I have always found them fair. Normally when I died it's because I over extended at a time I knew it was dangerous to do so rather than roll away or hide behind my shield and suffered the (painful and often efficient) consequences. Despite being a Souls veteran I still died a decent amount and sometimes had to re-evaluate my tactics or equipment to pass certain enemies, it's one of the things I love so much about the series.

The great combat, lore and excellent level designs aren't actually my favorite part of the series however, it's the unique online component. There are three ways to interact with other players in Dark Souls III. The first is to leave messages on the floor using a mixture of word and phrase options such as "danger ahead" or "hidden item". These messages are not always helpful as people will constantly try to get you to jump off cliffs and look for hidden rooms where there aren't any but messages can be rated for their quality and are genuinely helpful and sometimes funny.

The second way is to summon other people to your game to help you fight in an area up to and including the next boss. I quite often joined other peoples games and helped them beat the next boss as a way of scouting ahead in my world. For the most part when playing co-op there is no headset communication just gestures like waving and bowing which has led to a surprisingly polite community even in the last way of playing.

The third option is that you can invade or be invaded by other players who will try and kill you. This will often happen at the worst times, when playing as an invader enemies will ignore you so the invaders will often use them to their advantage. It can lead to some big battles including yourself, summoned co-op partners etc. I remember being in a brawl with four characters versus two invaders and a load of tough enemies, it was tremendous fun.

(There is an option to play offline if none of this appeals to you however.)

Presentation wise Dark Souls III has an epic soundtrack, very dark orchestral pieces that work extremely well with the action, they are largely played during boss fights making them feel pretty epic. On the performance side it's pretty solid. Load times are quick (unlike Bloodborne) and it looks great if not the most detailed or impressive textures on PS4. It does however suffer from frame drops here and there especially if you sprint through an area or there is a lot happening at once. It's perfectly playable in every way, just not 100% smooth. Where From Software really excel though is in their art design. The environments, characters, armour, and enemy designs are all amazing and stand out.

My first playthrough beating every boss and seeing as much as I could lasted just over 60 hours, this is a surprisingly long game and it's easy to miss characters little story scenarios as well as weapons, spells and even some areas and bosses are completely missable. Throw in the multiple endings it has pretty good replay value, especially playing through on new game+ keeping your weapons and current level while going through again.

I can't recommend this game enough. It isn't going to be for everyone, I can appreciate some people will get frustrated by it or find it too hard but if you can invest in the game and learn it's systems it is an amazingly designed and engrossing experience I have yet to find anywhere else.

+ Combat is excellent.
+ Exploring the world is marvelous.
+ Stand out online components.
+ Great soundtrack.
+ Gorgeous art design.

- Occasional frame drops here and there.

What if Borderlands was good? And a roguelike?

The shooting here feels good. The loot works well because you are not constantly upgrading for a better 'number' but actually have to look what fits your build. Lets say you have a perk that gives you 25% more lightning damage? Of course you want a weapon that deals lightning damage! But it also gives 10% more lightning damage. Yes you can make some broken builds here, but that is the fun of it and after a run you have to start from scratch.

After a run you do unlock some notable upgrades though like 5% more weapon damage or the ability to find that same perk again or to play as a whole new character.

The characters are diverse, the cat you start with seems underwhelming but is actually quite great with his time stop ability and poison grenade. The second one felt quite strong with the Gunserker like double wielding. The third was quite advanced, going for a more melee build that requires you to get close, which is especially hard with bosses. But he also felt quite strong after a few upgrades.

The game supports 4 player coop but I haven't tried it. It seems that this could become very hectic and broken, but fun all the same.

Mass Effect is the definition of the phrase "more than the sum of it's parts" to me. It's easily one of my favorite games of all time despite having glaring flaws that I'd probably be quite a lot harder on reviewing any other game.

It's strengths absolutely lie in the universe, races and atmosphere Bioware managed to create unlike almost any other game before or after it. I soaked up every bit of the lore, the history, information on races religion, military, politics and culture. I read every planet description, the details of how the technology worked and even on my replay of the game 13 years later on the Legendary Edition I am getting that exact same feeling of wonder and immersion as I did when I first played it. What really stuck with me though I think is some of the cast. The voice acting for the characters in your party (Liara, Tali, Wrex and Garrus) is just absolutely stellar. Their personalities and stories they tell about themselves and their past I loved hearing.

The writing, art, voice acting and characters absolutely make this game shine brighter than it should as frankly the gameplay is pretty mediocre. The combat is pretty obviously made by a team who hasn't had much third person shooter experience before (L3 as crouch and X as sprint? Really?) and the Mako APC you explore planets with handles like a fat man on a unicycle trying to go up a wall but these are small and still functional complaints to me that can't get in the way of the fantastic experience Bioware managed to craft.

Playing the Legendary edition and EA/Bioware really put a lot of effort in. the original Xbox 360 release was rough on performance with slow down, frame skips, and general performance issues. The Legendary Edition fixes most of that to make it surprisingly smooth playing. They have also improved the visuals a lot with better lighting, more detailed textures, importing character models from Mass Effect 3 for higher fidelity etc. It's really quite a big improvement.

Highly recommended.

+ Love the universe Bioware created.
+ Fantastic voice acting.
+ Great writing.
+ Excellent art design.

- Combat and Mako exploration are rough at best.

God, I genuinely don't even know where to start. This is a monster of a game that is entirely in its own lane in what it sets out to do, say, and make you feel. Comparing it to anything else feels impossible, but describing what it is feels even harder. I'll try to write something up at a later date. Just, please play this game. Especially if you're a leftist. The messages will most likely resonate with you a lot stronger, and I don't mean you'll agree with them more.

Hope is the keystone element in the fight against cynicism. Keep your chin up. Keep fighting. We love you.

Disempowerment is nothing new in videogames. Over the decades, many have dabbled in the art of taking stuff away from the player, usually as narrative device that reflects through interactivity the lowest point of a character's story arc or as a tool to instill a sense of tangible dread as you no longer have access to familiar mechanics that would otherwise quickly solve the issue, but rarely do those moments ever extend past their unwelcoming phase into frustrating territory before quickly bursting into power fantasy catharsis. Some games in recent years have managed to do so to great effect, like Rain World or Death Stranding, but none to my knowledge have achieved the apex that Pathologic has on that particular stage.

Much can be argued in favor of the original Pathologic's outright repulsiveness, inherent to its ugly look, unintuitive UI and disruptive euro jank, that would inevitably compound over what was already an antagonistic game filled with mechanics solely devised to hurt you, but I believe the greatest achievement of its reimagining, Pathologic 2, is in its ability to eliminate that pretense of subjectively interpreting what could easily be attributed to financial and time constraints and instead being a much more inviting play, shining the spotlight solely on the geniously crafted and designed tragedy that unfolds before and around you at the center of it all. This time around, you will not be able to blame the game.

How does it feel to not be the hero of your own story? Surely we have all experienced this idea in some shape or form with storytelling in media, and in some ways we live it everyday in our daily lives, but have you truly ever been put on the act of such conundrum? Videogames pride themselves in allowing a level of choice and emergent storytelling not possible in different mediums, but hardly do we ever realize how truly shackling freedom can be when explored to its fullest, as games have conditioned us to believe there is always a more righteous and intended path if you manage play "better". It isn't until you are crawling through the night streets of Pathologic 2 frightfully murdering people in despair for their possessions, ignoring the call to adventure and letting important events die out because there are more pressing personal matters at hand like not starving to death, that you realize how ridiculous the conceit of videogames are.

The brilliance of Pathologic 2, beyond its imaginative world and intrigue filled story and manipulative cast of characters, lies in the way it predicates the survival of its town with the player's own, creating a much more engrossing and transcendent narrative inbetween the dialogue filled NPC interactions, where you are making deeply and engaging life affecting existential choices such as deciding if you continue to walk slowly to a destination that will consume your ever dwindling limited time, or if you risk running to it and filling your thirst and exhaustion meters with no hope of depleting them. That constant tug and pull in turn ends up informing your decisions and outlook of Pathologic 2, has you quickly learn that no, you cannot save everyone, and how could you, when you have yourself to worry about?

Pathologic 2 consistently reminds you of its nature as a videogame, mocking you at any chance it gets and correctly predicting how you will be deceived next in an attempt to dissuade you. And yet that constant 4th wall breaking only ends up having the inverse effect of drawing you further into its world. You want to win against the machine, you have played this game many times before. And it will continue to break you down until you play by its rules, to the point of even taking away from you the relief of death. Settling into a path of choices you can feel confident about is an utopic wish that videogames have exploited for most of its existence, and Pathologic 2 being able deform that expectation, gamefying it into a tough provoking exercise that puts you in the front row seat of a misery drama, presenting the human condition by the mere act of forcing you to sell a gun to buy a loaf of bread, is some real shit that you will never experience in any other piece of work.

With two campaigns short of being complete, Pathologic 2 is already a masterpiece of game design, a true testament to the possibilities of the artform and how much higher they can aspire to. Transcending beyond its russian heritage, it demonstrates the hardships of the individual vs. the world, and like a great novel, the more you look into it, the more it unravels and reveals about itself and yourself. You will always feel like you have missed some crucial aspect about it, and that you could have done things differently to better solve it. And that's the point.