really, this is what I think RE7 should have been (and might have wanted to be) from the start: they finally shed any pretense of being a "horror game" and went all-in with the idea of an action game that uses horror aesthetics, complete with streamlined level design and combat that is unambiguously fun.

while not a hero was a welcome return to the conventional resident evil aesthetic of "tacticool guy killing zombies in an abandoned lab," end of zoe feels like a firm grasp on RE7 as a game of its own that embraces the quirks of its setting, organically something born from the unique identity of the American deep south. joe is an everyman in his own right, but rather than being a milquetoast vessel devoid of outward personality like ethan he drips personality in everything he does, from his dialogue and interactions with other characters all the way to the little changes they make to the gameplay to fit him. while it might not have made much sense for ethan to know how to pick herbs and make medicine from them, it makes perfect sense for joe as a woodsman who has chosen to live a hernitic life in the louisiana bayous. ethan has an improbable familiarity with the guns he uses, whereas joe relies on his own two fists and makeshift recipes he's presumably picked up from his time in the swamp. even the two characters' motivations are so similar but so drastically different in execution: while there's so little to become attached to in the relationship between ethan and mia, all you really need to know to understand the passion joe has for his niece is that he's a southerner. as someone born and raised in the deep south myself, there are few things more unstoppable than a redneck who will take no shit and will stop at nothing to defend his family's honor.

of course, i don't mean to overinflate this DLC: it's an hour long experience that ultimately provides a tiny peek into what this game could have been at its core, a proof of concept delivered only at the very end of its host's life cycle. it's also still RE7, and as such cannot escape the manners in which RE7 just kinda sucks: enemy design is pretty terrible when you're not squaring up against the enemies that are designed to have good chemistry with melee combat, and combat can fall into being a chore again when facing fat or fast zombies — especially lame when this is the first time it feels like RE7 really carved out its niche as far as combat goes, from the genuinely satisfying and addicting fistfight mechanics to honest-to-god stealth that actually works and is fun to execute!!!

the bottom line is that there's no such thing as a bad game when you can suplex people in it

Tech Guy in Movie " Uh You're gonna wanna See this "

Turns Screen to Action Guy in Movie

Tech Guy " Theyre Overriding the Mainframe "

Action Guy " Uh in English Four Eyes "

Tech Guy " They Fuckin our Pussys.!! "

Action Guy "Now you're Speakin my Language " Cocks Gun

HBO Presents: Half Life 2 - Episode 1 (FakeFactory Cinematic Mod).

While both games are surely quite good, I'm still unconvinced by The Last of Us. There's REALLY nothing I can add on top of Pansy's wonderful review.
What mostly struck me was how sanded down much of the theming of this really was, the way the second half of the game begs you to find endearment in Abby and her family struck as cartoonish in the already well-trodden realm of player implicating. What I did find assuring was how much I agreed with the game's own assessment of Joel, despite eroding the ambiguity that gave the ending any kick to begin with. Considering how much the game caters itself to low common denoms, I'm glad it didn't take the easy way out and venerate him, making Ellie's Quest 4 Revenge as dicey as it needed to be. I genuinely only wish this wasn't a roving epic where 13 hours of playtime are dedicated to hugging walls, opening shelves and picking up scraps of metal. The developers dying at their desks for this game feels uniquely frustrating to me because of how... unambitious it felt despite dizzyingly high production values?? The whole thing is enemy chokeholds in dense concrete jungles separated w/ scripted segments where someone grapples you from offscreen for going through a door. Very brave, Druckmann.

when i was like 8 years old i had a dream once that i somehow was teleported to my grandpa's house

i remember hiding behind the trashcans in front of their house, watching my uncle sitting on the front porch with a friend of his sharing a 6 pack
i was so freaked out and i had no idea what would happen if they saw me

but then they did
and he stared right at me
and my entire body just went cold, frozen, paralyzed by the thought of "oh my god, what do i do, how do i explain this"
it wasn't necessarily fear of my uncle, i actually got along with him pretty well

it was the idea that i had intruded a place that i had no reasonable explanation for being at, watching people go about their daily routines, routines i were never meant to see, not because the routines were secret but because i was simply not a part of them

this fucking game man
anyways dlc was stellar, i played it before any updates so arguably i got the "worst" experience, and even then it was amazing
the visuals, the music, the story, the twists, the fear
all of it worked
and the ending was one of the most cathartic things i've ever felt

if you haven't played the dlc, or just haven't played outer wilds in general i absolutely IMPLORE you to try it
yes, it may not be for everyone, yes it may not "click" for you the same way it did for me, but you never know what experiences you're missing out on if you never give it a chance