Incredibly overhated game right here. This game expands on everything I loved about Xenoblade Chronicles in an almost perfect way. It takes the incredible and unique science-fantasy setting XC1 had and runs with it, though this game leans more in the direction of fantasy than sci-fi, kinda like how XCX did the opposite. The battle system is even better in my opinion due to the increased amount of actions you can take and the resulting reduction in time spent waiting around watching your character auto-attack. The story, while not quite as tight as the first game's and a bit overly tropey at times, is still good and more than enough to hold your attention if you don't mind that sort of thing. It's not something I'd necessarily recommend to people who are new to Xenoblade, but hey, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is on the Switch and serves as a great introduction to the series. Basically, play both of these games.

Hands-down the best platform fighter ever made. It might not have the massive scope of something like Smash Bros., but it doesn't need that when the gameplay is as fun as it is. The characters are ALL really unique and break new ground for the genre, more than making up for the small roster size. It might not have a lot in the way of singleplayer content, but if you're looking for that in the first place, something like Rivals probably isn't for you. Legit the worst thing I can say about this game is that more people aren't playing it.

I'm just gonna copy and paste my Steam review of this game since I already spent a lot of time on that, but TL;DR this game is perfect please play it.
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Hades is an action roguelike dungeon crawler that draws heavy inspiration from Greek myth. The premise is simple: you are Zagreus, prince of the Underworld, and being the rebellious young man that you are, you’re tired of living in your dad’s basement and want to reach the surface. It won’t be easy, though, as along the way you’ll be contending with wretches, hydras, rats, your ex-girlfriend, god-favored heroes, and of course, your dad.

Now, I’ve played more than a few roguelikes in my day—Nuclear Throne, The Binding of Isaac, Slay the Spire, Enter the Gungeon, Skul The Hero Slayer, and Spelunky, just to name a few—and out of all of them, I’d say Hades is definitely the most fair roguelike I’ve played. For those who are unfamiliar, a roguelike is a game where the adventure is procedurally generated, the player gets more powerful over the course of a run, and you have to start a new run from the beginning after a death. That might sound terrible, but although dying in a roguelike can certainly be rage-inducing, I find that Hades is especially good about this. When I die in Hades, I don’t feel like I died because I had bad enemy luck or got saddled with a crappy build, I feel like I died because I made a mistake as a player, and that’s exactly how it should feel in a roguelike. Across 100 runs, I can’t remember a single death that had me putting my controller down in frustration (contrary to even some of my favorite roguelikes like Nuclear Throne and The Binding of Isaac), which is partially because the game mitigates any potential frustration with a constant flow of unlocks such as keepsakes which provide unique buffs, talents that make subsequent runs easier, and six different weapons for you to choose between—my personal favorite are the Twin Fists of Malphon, but they’re all great and fun to use in my opinion. Unlocking these weapons and upgrades is part of the fun of Hades, and it contributes to the continuous feel of incremental progress that makes the grind of improving at the game so enjoyable.

The game can be played with a controller or a keyboard and mouse—there are advantages to using both, so although most would recommend a controller (myself included), either one can work in my opinion and it really depends on what you’re most comfortable with. If you’re someone who prefers to experience the story of a game over an extreme challenge, the game comes with various accessibility options that can be toggled at any time such as aim assist for those who aren’t confident in their skills, and God Mode, which makes Zagreus significantly more powerful and empowers him even more after each subsequent death. If you’ve ever wanted to get into a roguelike, but don’t wanna be gatekept by an extreme difficulty curve, Hades is about as beginner-friendly as the genre gets. Of course, this doesn’t mean experienced players can’t turn up the heat if they so wish; after escaping the Underworld for the first time (or if you start a save file on Hell Mode, from the very start), you unlock the Pact of Punishment, which allows the player to toggle various conditions and difficulty modifiers to effectively customize the game’s difficulty. No matter what kind of player you are, Hades has an experience tailor-made for you.

Of course, Hades isn’t just a masterpiece on the merits of its gameplay. The game is a marvel artistically as well; visually, it has a unique Greek-inspired style with beautifully rendered areas ranging from the depths of Tartarus to the burning meadows of Asphodel to the lush fields of Elysium. The dialogue is tightly written and occasionally hilarious as well—Hypnos quipping about the enemy that just killed you after a death will put a smile on the face of even the saltiest of players—accompanied by fresh depictions of your favorite characters from Greek mythology and some stellar voiceover work. (Shoutout to Darren Korb, who provided a phenomenal performance as Zagreus AND did the game’s soundtrack.) I must’ve played this game for over 20 hours before hearing a single repeat line of dialogue, and the fact that even 100 hours in, I’m still hearing full conversations I’ve never heard before shows just how much passion and effort went into this game. (I mean, how long did they have these voice actors in the studio for?!) The dynamic soundtrack (which you can also buy separately and I recommend that as well) perfectly fits the action onscreen, while also providing some more contemplative ambience in areas such as Chaos and the House of Hades. On top of that, Hades is one of the most technically polished games I’ve ever played; I’m running this game on an Acer Nitro 5, and to this day, I don’t think I’ve witnessed any glitches or performance hiccups with it even when other games make my computer chug. For how good the game looks, it’s surprisingly light on hardware, which is a breath of fresh air in the PC gaming world.

In short, Hades is an incredible game that I can’t recommend enough to roguelike enthusiasts and strangers to the genre alike. With its many accessibility options and remarkably fair design, there’s truly no better place to start and the game will have you coming back for more even after dozens of runs. For 25 bucks, this one’s an absolute steal (and if you find it on sale for less, then it might as well be a felony).

I respect this game and what it tries to do, but my GOD I just cannot get behind it. I have tried on no less than four separate occasions to play through this game, and every time I get bored and drop it before even getting out of the first area. Nothing in the world compels me to explore like in other Xenoblades, and traversing it by foot before you get access to your Skell (which you only get in Chapter 6 of 12) is painfully slow, even with the run button this game adds. I can't say I feel bad about this game being considered the black sheep of the Xenoblades; it certainly is and not at all in a good way, in my opinion.

The Johto region is great and it looks better than ever in this game, and the Gen 2 games are probably one of the best Pokemon adventures to this day. However, the level curve is absolutely ABYSMAL in Johto, forcing you to either rematch trainers, which is time-sensitive for some reason, or grind against low-level wilds in order to keep pace as it jumps ahead of you by the endgame. The remake, unfortunately, did very little to address this, which knocks it down a star in my opinion and keeps HeartGold from being the masterpiece it otherwise might've been.

Not perfect, but VERY good. This game is a model sequel, taking the Paper Mario formula and refining it to a shine. The presentation is leaps and bounds ahead of its N64 predecessor, the story is unique next to the hackneyed "Bowser stole the Princess" plot, and the battle system and pacing are near-perfected in this game. The worst I can say about it is that a lot of the side content does amount to just backtracking to previous areas and not doing anything interesting there, but the main adventure is so good that I can forgive that.

This is how you do a different take on Paper Mario RIGHT. Unlike some of the later games, this game broke from the traditional formula in a way that I think really works. The action-platforming angle might not work for some people, but I honestly prefer it to even TTYD's gameplay. The locales and their inhabitants are all super unique and adventurous (areas like the Underwhere are straight up un-Mario) and the story is arguably the best we've seen in a Mario RPG. Overall, very good, very underrated.