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Red Dead Redemption 2
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Games Backloggd


Recently Played See More

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Mar 21

What Remains of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch

Mar 18

To the Moon
To the Moon

Mar 04

Somerville
Somerville

Mar 04

A Little to the Left
A Little to the Left

Feb 29

Recently Reviewed See More

The Uncharted franchise played a big role in defining my love of video games growing up so I was excited to play the one main entry that I hadn’t yet completed. The Lost Legacy is a comparably short entry in the franchise, taking me around five and a half hours to complete, although it is still a standalone title and not an expansion.

The Lost Legacy brings back an apparently beloved character from the original trilogy, Chloe, who I admittedly do not remember much of as I haven't played those games in ages. Additionally Nadine, who was introduced in Uncharted 4 acts as Chloe's sidekick now. While I know that there were many complaints about Nadine's character, I personally do not mind her all that much. I think many complaints were based on Nadine’s actions in the previous installment which I do not really remember much (that’s a common theme here I guess). Regardless I think both characters are fine although they are a bit under developed and never feel like fully fleshed out characters. Part of this is likely due to the short runtime as there is just not as much time to develop these characters and the relationship between the two.

The story is a typical Uncharted treasure hunt but is remarkably generic. The villain is the sort of generic bad guy that is evil because he wants power and the motivations behind both parties are either dull or not explained very well. You have your arcade-like shootouts, puzzles, and big set pieces that the Uncharted franchise is well known for as well as a large open world section. The open world section is similar to that of Uncharted 4’s where you get to explore the level in a vehicle and can find treasures and clear outposts along the way. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the Uncharted franchise is very well suited for these large and open areas as there is really no incentive to explore other than to find meaningless treasures.

The combat in these games has never necessarily been all that great. Maybe it’s the result of my maturing, but I found the shootouts to be a bit tedious and repetitive after awhile . It really comes down to just shooting until you run out of ammo and then picking up another weapon to repeat the process until everyone is dead. It’s not necessarily a bad time but it certainly gets old after a little while.

While there are certainly parts of the game I didn’t enjoy, there is still a lot to like. The introduction of new characters is refreshing even if they are not as fleshed out and interesting as I would have liked. Chloe and Nadine have some fun banter and although obvious Nadine’s arc through the story is enjoyable. I also particularly enjoyed the introduction and finale levels. The environment in the introduction looks fantastic and I thought it was a fun way to get the ball rolling. The set piece at the end feels a bit generic but is a pretty thrilling experience. All in all the game works out as a pretty standard Uncharted experience, which is to say an enjoyable time. At this point I think the series has kind of exhausted itself and needs to bring something new to the table in future installments.

What Remains of Edith Finch is one of the best games I have ever played and has immediately become a favorite of mine. It feels like the type of game that elevates its medium into something grander. Sitting at a brisk two and a half hour playtime, you can complete the game in the time it would take for you to finish a movie. The comparisons to film are apt in some regards, but What Remains of Edith Finch is not cinematic for the sake of feeling cinematic, nor does it attempt to disguise itself as a film. It uses the very fact that it is a game to its advantage. Its inherent interactivity conveys its story in a manner that would never be possible in any non-interactive medium.

This is a game about an enigmatic family full of brilliant, creative, and quirky individuals who are supposedly plagued by a curse that has resulted in the untimely deaths of most of the family members. The story plays out through the journal of Edith Finch, who you control as you walk through the brilliantly designed family home. As you explore the house and enter the rooms of the deceased family members you find different artifacts recounting how each family member met their end. You then play out each of these artifacts as Edith narrates it. This obsession with stories within stories and the central interest with dysfunctional families is on some level reminiscent of the work of Wes Anderson (I was reminded of The Royal Tenenbaums).

Since each death is told through something that someone else has written, each story has an element of myth to it. The deaths themselves are often obscured or abstracted away. The fact that these are ultimately stories is always present, although there is always a darker truth buried underneath the fantasies. The use of narration and creative subtitles is brilliant and serves as a reminder that what you are playing is ultimately Edith’s interpretation of the stories that she is experiencing herself.

This is a layered and complex story that is an amazing. As much as I want to talk about how amazing this or that scene is, it would be a disservice to anyone that hasn’t played the game to spoil them (...and I don’t want to write much more). Simply put, there are parts of this game that I found to be some of the most heartrending and profound moments I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing in in video games. It is a story about generational trauma, family, storytelling, mental illness, and of course, life and death. It is outstanding that such a short game can feel both so epic and so intimate. I am already wishing that I can forget playing this game so I can experience that feeling of playing it for the first time again.

This is a widely praised game that I unfortunately just did not enjoy. The story sets itself up with an interesting premise. There are are two scientists who go back through peoples memories in order to alter them to make peoples wishes come true on their deathbeds. It's a very cool idea and I think there was lots of room to explore the ethics of this kind of technology. This never really happens though and the ending is played off as though it is supposed to be sweet, but really just comes off as kind of predatory and completely ignores the agency of one of the main characters without questioning it at all. It always feels like the narrative is just begging you to be moved and it never happened for me. The writing is god awful and the music is so overly-sentimental it is almost unbearable at times. The humor is cheesy and doesn't fit the rest of the narrative well, especially because it is corny AND poorly written.

Gameplay wise there isn't really anything. You just click on objects and people to gain orbs that allow you to travel back in time through the memories. There are also some incredibly dull puzzles that you need to complete in order to progress back through time and there is a pretty awful action section towards the end which is clunky and doesn't really add anything. Regardless this isn't really something I cared too much about as I was expecting the game to be mostly dialogue driven anyways. But when the dialogue isn't good it gets tedious fast with no actually gameplay being offered.

All in all this wasn't for me. Regardless, it is a grand achievement to make a game in and of itself. It is remarkable that this team made this small game that reached this large of an audience and connected with so many people. That is something to be celebrated.