Puzzle platformers aren't really my thing, so I'm shocked to announce that American Arcadia kept me very engaged for its 6 hour runtime. The key factors that contributed to this were the engaging story, the great dialogue writing and the variation. Each section of the game had something different going on, and the first person areas did wonders to spice things up a bit. Some plot beats were a little bit contrived, and some puzzles could get a little frustrating (especially one or two that couldn't be solved without seeing an easily missable clue), but ultimately I really enjoyed this one.

One last thing worth mentioning is that they nailed the difficulty. While it isn't a hard game by any means, there are some sections where it's incredibly easy to stuff up. Thanks to the quick restart, you get back to it pretty quickly, and thankfully not many areas were such a cinch that it got boring. That, I think, was key to keeping me engaged.

This is the only game I beat in one sitting this year and my general impression went from "did we discover the first enjoyable cinematic platformer?" to "dang this is way spicier than it initially lets on". Slaps the player over the head with Themes without a modicum of trust, and might be better off with this approach, as it allows for an incredibly brisk pace without waffling parts. A jolly fun time whenever there's a multitasking sequence, and the general perspective switching is quite well done too. For real though, I expected good and I'm still surprised how much I ended up digging this. A must play if you have strong feelings about certain Danganronpa V3 twist.

Positives
+ Beautiful 70s aesthetic
+ Truman Show vibes
+ Engaging story with unexpected twists

Negatives
- Performance issues (microstutters)
- Okay voice acting
- Lack of explanation of certain puzzle sections means you have to retry a LOT

so glad something like this can exist today. crisis core is probably one of the most expressively “edgy” mid to late 2000s games i’ve ever played - edgy in the sense that it’s filled with stylized teenage blood pumping action and nomura character designs fit for its audience - it’s so gratifying that this era of games can still remain relevant. in 2022 i’m watching a pre rendered fmv of smug long-sworded swordsman do battle on the edge of a nuclear cannon while the hardest drum n bass heavy guitar infused battle music beckons alongside. crisis core’s essence has remained untouched.
while the story is very clearly flawed in a handful of areas (specifically genesis’ handling), zack is still just such a joy to watch, despite the unfortunate decline in voice quality compared to the original. i can look past a lot of flaws because of how heartwarming the story and surprisingly great the gameplay are. every grievance i had with the original’s combat has been completely fixed to my shock. still has the bones of its psp blueprint but its a lot more fluid now and isn’t as easy to bore.

this is for sure the definitive version of crisis core to play with the visual and mechanical upgrades alongside some new bonus content and remixed music. but… i still do think the original is worth playing, being a bit of a time capsule for that era of the ff7 compilation and height of the psp; pushing the hardware to the limits alongside attempting the ambitious endeavor of further contextualizing one of the most beloved titles in the medium. nowadays there’s a lot less risk for square to do something like this, what with basically anything ff7 selling like hotcakes today lol. anyway i had a ton of sentimental fun reminiscing the compilation days while playing this, great remaster!

Every time I think about Astral Chain, I think of how this game manages to be mid and great at the same time.

This game’s story is not too impressive, the main character is unnecessarily silent, too many story information are just poorly presented text files and stealth sequences are horrible. And yet, Platinum Games created a new and innovative action combat system with the legions. Satoshi Igarashi composed one of the most impressing soundtracks I’ve ever listened to, the art style and graphics are beautiful, the character and legion designs are absolutely fantastic, the premise is really interesting, the lore is incredibly deep (if you read through the text files) and I’m an absolute fan of the change of pace and the investigation sequences in this game!

Astral Chain does so many things right and so many things wrong. It’s mid and great at the same time. It has a lot of unused potential and I hope Astral Chain 2 will fix a lot of my complaints. Oh yeah, give us a dedicated jump button. It truly has the potential to become one of the best games of all time and I really want to see that happen!

I highly recommend to play this game if you want to experience something you have never seen before!