The quality of cases 3 and 5 almost made me forget the slog of cases 1 and 2. As for case 4 it was alright, it would fall under 3rd case syndrome but this game had a unique setting for its 2nd case which had no courtroom aspects whatsoever and sought out to introduce the deduction mechanic. To be honest I think this slowed the start of the game down alot and case 2 is probably one of my least favourites in the whole series, especially after case 1 which is a long and arduous journey to get through.
Once those first 10-15 hours of setup finally finish we're introduced to the setting of the game which I really enjoyed being from the UK myself. And then we get perhaps the best 3rd case in the series which completely blew me away. It introduces the jury mechnic which I was quite fond of and I think trial sections are at their best in the series in this game with alot of different mechanics working together in tandem.
As for the characters, Herlock was a great addition and he really grew on me towards the end, Ryunosuke just kind of seems like a less interesting Phoenix and is perhaps the most basic MC we have seen in the series, Wilson and Susato are both good companions I feel. There's alot of great side characters in this game I think, particularly the likes of Mcgilded and Ash Greydon. The OST was fine but felt more like a Layton clone than an Ace Attorney soundtrack at times.
Finally, I should say that the game felt like it wrapped up its main story pretty well but there's no denying that it left many questions unanswered in the end and it seems blatantly obvious that they had to cut content and make a 2nd game because they couldn't fit all their ideas into one game.

Super Mario 64 sees Mario skip 59 entries jump into 3D and 64-Bit gaming as a launch title for Nintendo 64. Remember when Super Mario 64 title was a “work in progress”? Anyway, it’s a classic, remembered fondly by many, it’s important and influential like many of Nintendo’s works, so of course it had to be included in Nintendo’s Super Mario 3D All-Stars to celebrate 35th anniversary of Mario and his 3D gaming history. Most importantly, is the game any good? Well, unfortunately, I personally didn’t find as much joy in playing it.

My biggest gripe with the game is it’s controls. Even towards the end of the game, I never felt confident in controlling Mario, never quite grasped the game’s physics. When I thought I could maneuver the levels well, I would get stumbled by something, like not grabbing the ledge, or bonking off the wall or not turning properly, or anything in-between. There were a few moments where I could get stuck in a landed-airborn state and slide towards my doom (when at the very edge of some platform). The air control is not very good, it feels pretty stiff, kinda similar to the original Super Mario Bros.. Now, this is a Super Mario 3D All-Stars version, and I heard it has some input lag, which no doubt contributed to some of my frustration, but even then, even if I didn’t have input lag issues, that wouldn’t fix clunky control (you can also argue the controller layout also contributes to this, since it’s obviously different, compared to the original N64). The flying with winged cap is similar to the cape feather from Super Mario World, but it just doesn’t feel as good to maneuver in air. Another big issue, which I’m sure most of you can actually agree with, is the game’s camera. The rotation is quantized, instead of modern smooth scrolling, but the camera isn’t very intelligent, there’s little vertical camera control, aside from panning the camera further or closer, and it likes to show unhelpful angles where you’re behind some object. Sometimes, the camera won’t even scroll further, usually when it doesn’t really make sense. Like, when I was fighting Bowser, I REALLY wished the camera would show me those bombs, or just kept full arena in view at all times.

The graphics are also a little dated, which is understandable since this is a Nintendo 64 launch title. Mario himself looks a little odd, where he is made out of multiple chunks that are clearly visible (though you get used to his look), and Bowser, well… he is Bowser, alright. However, I think the bigger issue is the game’s textures, or more specifically, how some of them are stretched to look smeary and ugly on surfaces, Super Mario 3D All-Stars and it’s resolution bump makes them more apparent. Again, this is an early 3D game for Nintendo, so the artwork is a little rough as the company was gaining experience in 3D modelling, and you can see their experience improve over time, most apparent in the game’s remake, Super Mario 64 DS. The game does have a charming early 3D look, which can be nostalgic, but I’m not going to pretend that the graphics are greater than they really are.

Don’t get me wrong, the game is not a bad one. When controls and level design work, the game can be fun to platform through. And there are some enjoyable levels, like the very first level – “Bob-Omb Battlefield”, or “Big Boo’s Haunt” or “Raibow Ride” (despite latter having some slow carpet riding). The game’s open nature is also to be commended. I was stuck early on, trying to win the penguin race at “Cool Cool Mountain”, and I kept sliding off, which was really frustrating. Then I simply decided to move onto a different level, like “Jolly Roger Bay”, and I started enjoying myself far more. If you find some stars difficult, you have plenty of options in different stages, though if you’re going for 100% completion, you’ll have to contend with everything. You can also collect stars out of order in the same stage – most of them aren’t locked, and even though you don’t receive a tip on how to obtain them, you’re free to explore around, which is great, really contributes to the open sandbox gameplay the game offers. Ultimately though, I just didn’t enjoy that much, thanks to the control issues, camera and other tidbits. It’s just another classic that I didn’t vibe with to the pile. I don’t find it to be a timeless masterpiece, but I also don’t find it to be “overrated” – it has it’s merits and fans. It's dated, janky, yet legendary.

Boons are cool and differentiate between runs

There being only 4 main bosses seems a bit weak and repetitive, I get that the main replayability comes from the different weapons and adding extra heat after you get one completion, but still imo adding new bosses or changing things around after getting your first completion would make the game so much better, or maybe after five completions. At least until the main story is completed. Also I don't really find changing up the Fury sisters as being a fundamentally different fight than against Meg, it's basically just a different skin

You can really feel yourself getting more knowledgeable as you play the game knowing what to do in certain situations, which boons to take, etc. As Zagreus gets more powerful, you get more knowledgeable

Losing doesn't feel bad, you always feel like you're progressing and getting stronger even when you fail, which is very difficult for a game to do

Combat, characters, art design, sound design, voice acting, are all amazing. The amount of dialogue in this game is actually insane, somehow every time you talk to a character they have something new to say even after 30+ hours

Every run I made sure that my heat bar was filled and I was using whatever weapon gave the bonus to to the Nyx's mirror shards, and having to do so many runs to beat the game started to make the game feel like a drag. What was at first amazing turned, at some points, into tedium with you basically doing the exact same thing every run. It is true that stories continue to advance like with Orpheus but at the end of the day, 10 clears in order to "beat the game" is a bit much for me. For the game to truly have as much replayability as it's demanding there really needs to be different bosses at the end of each zone, as well as different mobs throughout each of the zones. Or maybe even having zone mechanics themselves change. Sorry, but fighting Lernie for the 50th time isn't engaging anymore even if I have a slightly different build, am using a different weapon than before, and have some extra challenge placed on me by the added heat. I get that that's part and parcel of roguelikes and many people may enjoy this aspect of doing the same thing over and over with slight variations, but for me at a certain point enjoyment is replaced with tedium. According to HowLongToBeat.com, the average playthrough of Hades for the 10 completions takes about 24 hours, I think it's safe to say that doing fundamentally the exact same thing with minor variations would get monotonous for almost anyone after such a time period. That being said, the fight against Hades was always awesome, and I learned to hate Thesus so much haha.

Some enemies are just frustrating to fight, looking at you shield shades in Elysium

This game is so close to a 9/10 for me considering the fluidity of the combat, art style and voice acting, but its repetitiveness with lack of new content as the game progresses ultimately hampers the replayability which is necessary for any roguelike By the time I finished 10 clears and beat the game, I was already ready to move on. I will likely come back and attempt to 100% this at some point, but it also seems likely that the game will be too repetitive and tedious for me to actually 100% it.

Overall while Hades is a fundamentally fun game with great action combat, amazing visuals and voice acting its lack of content, repetitiveness, and length drags down what would otherwise easily be a 9/10, if not 10/10 game. I'm moderately excited for Hades 2 and will likely give it a shot when it releases

A terrific way to start the year. A wonderful experience overall. I haven’t played many visual novels, but the ones I’ve played weren’t fully animated and voiced like this one is. I’m pretty sure that this isn’t common at all in the genre, and I believe it’s worth trying out for that reason alone. In terms of its presentation, it’s more an interactive animated show rather than a traditional visual novel.

I found the story and characters to be wonderfully written. It really nails the very online sense of humor, but it’s never snarky nor mean. It’s a very heartfelt story, and even though nostalgia, growing up and the end of the world are key themes it’s never a bummer nor does it lean on despair.
In terms of its gameplay, the few rhythm sections are solid and fun to play through, and the decision making feels consequential enough to be consistently engaging.

The soundtrack is on another level altogether. Banger after banger of original soft indie rock songs accompanied by some beautiful background music. The album is already on my Spotify rotation.

I don’t really have much to say about it, it’s a short, very wholesome, very unique, experience that I’m happy to have played through.

I love-hated Ultros and I do-don’t recommend it. Like as a love child of two visionaries, it’s a perfect game for your shelf; and probably worth having the physical edition purely for how it draws the eye and stands-out in a sea of similar looking games. On the other hand, it’s got some of the worst gamefeel of any metroidvania I’ve played in a while, often leaving me disoriented, confused, and unclear if I’m supposed to be banging my head against some spinning spikes or… something else? At least the shitty tools the game gives you are uniquely unlike other unlock able in games like it. So, yeah, it’s kind of a bad time, but also a part of an uncharted alien timeloop inside the guts of a space uterus / sarcophagus that I couldn’t say no to.

Puzzle games are all about problem-solving. You hit a new obstacle, get lost at first, go through an individually unique process, and then come up with the right solution for the problem. The real trick is to make me work on the actual dilemma in the background, using the earthbound trials as puzzle pieces, going out of bounds of those simple steps (which is true for the gameplay as well!), and building up to the bigger picture.
I simply adore the way The Talos Principle directed my attention to the grand philosophical theme of humanity and its nature, started an infernal, internal struggle within me, and later on, made me accept it instead of solving it. It might sound corny, but it's just what happened because of the excellently thought-out message.
I felt like I was opening my eyes for once, finally seeing the new possibilities, which is exactly what I'm looking for in such a game. It's a literal room to think that everyone needs.

I used to be a big Assassin's Creed fan, but like many my interest waned post Black Flag for quite awhile until I jumped back in with Origins, which I enjoyed but the RPG system wasn't really what I wanted. As they went further and further in that direction I feared the series was done for me for good until this game got announced.

This isn't a perfect game by any stretch, but this is almost exactly what I wanted for many years. The stealth focus is back in a big way, I was able to play basically the entire game sneaking around assassinating from the shadows, utilizing multiple different tools to get the job done. The upgrades you got felt very useful and powerful also, by the end I was a true stealth assassin and felt like a badass. I really liked the investigation style of progression, where it just gives you a bunch of different directions you can go and you can tackle objectives in whatever order you want. While lots of the missions are pretty small scale there are also some big areas that allow you to find your own route to the objective which are really fun.

You can still see some of the RPG influence in this game, which isn't my favorite but honestly I was able to avoid it almost entirely. I played the game only upgrading my suit and weapons a few times each, so it does feel mostly like an addition if you want it. The story is totally fine, Basim was a solid protagonist but nothing really stood out to me in any strong way (I have no idea what is happening in the lore at this point so I was confused a few times but that ultimately didn't affect my enjoyment).

I think for me this is a great step back in the direction I would prefer for the series, I know the RPG games are well loved but I hope they continue to at least do spin offs in this style.