A surprisingly good under the radar game that even in it's early access form, has dozens of hours of engaging gameplay to digest. Enshrouded combines robust base building and survival mechanics with deeper RPG elements than you wouldn't expect in a survival game like this. The combat is comparable to the original Dark Souls only with less polish and impact. With that said, the combat feels to be a clear step up when compared to it's contemporaries. Besides a couple non-game-breaking bugs, I've really enjoyed my time with Enshrouded - give it a try if you enjoyed games like Valheim and V Rising.

The game's dynamic and emergent gameplay is very impressive. You might get bored for the first 2 hours until you figure it out but then this game will be crazy. You choose your own path: you can just defeat all the creatures in the world or you can just farm and mine to build your own base for the whole game. The RPG element is very good for a survival game and this game even has a gripping story. You'll be curious about the story behind the shroud and by the end of the game you might be enshrouded.

Let me start by saying that my initial experience with the game was soured by the motion sickness I endured for the first 1-2 hours of gameplay due to the lack of an option to disable motion blur. I almost dropped the game because of that, but thanks to modders, I was able to overcome this annoying issue and immerse myself fully into the game.

Alan Wake's soundtrack, atmosphere, and story are incredibly captivating. From the depths of dense forests to the eerie solitude of abandoned cabins, every location feels thoroughly designed to immerse you in its haunting atmosphere, creating a sense of constant unease.

Sadly, the game's greatest weakness is its gameplay. While the gameplay is well thought out, it became too repetitive rather quickly. And goddamn, Alan needs some cardio training because this man can't run 5 meters without getting out of breath. Seriously, the stamina could as well have been non-existent. I also feel like some set pieces have overstayed their welcome, making me wish they would just end already so that the plot I was really engaged in can go on. All of this dragged the pacing and overall flow of the story down for me.

At its heart, Alan Wake shines through its fantastic storytelling and engrossing plot. As someone who truly enjoys narrative-driven games, I had a good and unique experience. However, the repetitive and somewhat dull gameplay, specifically shooting down the Taken, diminished my overall enjoyment.

While not as popular or influential as its predecessor, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark certainly has its fans. I am not really one of them, so I don't have a whole lot to say about this game. Ok, byeee!

I have little reverance for this one, probably due to me skipping it when it released uhh, 23 years ago!? Jesus Christ. Of course, when collecting N64 games I knew I had to pick Perfect Dark up, as it's still a fairly iconic (if late) entry in the system's library. Not that it means much, the Nintendo 64 was so bereft of worthwhile games that the hurdle to collecting them is cost, not quantity. Point is, I finally possessed a copy that I paid real money for, and if you've made it through any number of my N64 reviews, then you know what that means: I've. Gotta. Finish iiiiiiiiit!!

Unfortunately, it just didn't land the same way with me that Goldeneye did. It's a fine game, but I think there's something to be said about Goldeneye's simplicity, and how Perfect Dark with its greater number of moving parts sometimes trips over itself. Some of the mission objectives just aren't that compelling, weapons just don't quite feel as good... About the only thing it really excels in over Goldeneye is its inclusion of voice acting and stronger focus on storytelling. Of course it looks better, too. Rare really wanted to push the graphical capabilities of the Nintendo 64 with Perfect Dark, and their efforts did result in one of the better looking games on the system. It also resulted in an absolutely atrocious framerate, and while Goldeneye is itself a far cry from "acceptable" in this regard, Perfect Dark bottoms out so much that a lot of the game feels like it's being played in slides.

None of that is enough to get me to hate the game, but it does make it difficult to fall as deeply into Perfect Dark as I'd like to. Some people feel very passionately about this one! I mean, I can kinda see why. There is some appeal to being able to hang out with a funny little alien. I love Elvis. Everyone loves Elvis. But there's just a bit too much here holding Perfect Dark back, and considering I lack the necessary amount of nostalgia to look past its faults, it just ends up being a very average - at times outright mediocre - shooter for me.