So I didn't end up finishing the game because I forgot to save and lost hours of gameplay, but I made it about two thirds of the way through and watched what I didn't complete. There's a lot of interesting ideas, I actually like the phone mechanic and the therapist segments but I found the gameplay lacking.

I didn't care for the running segments, and the Nightmare world lacked the punch seen in previous titles. The fog in Silent Hill was switched out with snow, and the industrial horror aesthetic of the Nightmare world was replaced with ice. It's an interesting choice but overall ineffective.

The narrative was good and I think a lot of the themes present are intriguing. To me, this is similar to Silent Hill 4: The Room in the sense that the gameplay wasn't as good as the main trilogy but the story, atmosphere and other mechanics made it very interesting.

Although, Silent Hill 4 is a lot better than this.

I know this opinion might not be too popular. But somewhere in Chapter 4 it hit me; I have no desire to see this through.

Impressive and flashy animations can only get you so far. The repetition of it all really got to me. The enemies, the environments. I know, I know. Bayonetta 3 does try and switch things up A LOT with new mechanics like the train, the spider etc. but these failed way more often than they succeeded. Often I'd be not into these segments or even flat out dread them, to the point where the regular moment-to-moment gameplay was keeping me engaged. Then that got repetitive, too.

Because the story sure wasn't engaging me. At first I was a bit charmed by just the pure ridiculousness of it, but it got tired fast. It quickly became background filler for me. No idea what's going on, and I couldn't find it within me to care.

And I hate to say it, but the power of the Switch holds this back. I know, this wouldn't exist without Nintendo in the first place. Nintendo NEEDS to upgrade its hardware to keep up with most games outside its first-party fare. If I want a fun, sleek, engaging action hack-and-slash game to play, I'll go back to Devil May Cry V.

Not saying this is a bad game...it's just not for me.

I gotta be better about not accidentally destroying my saves on my SNES classic.

Anyways, I did not finish FFV (I lost hours due to a save issue) but it’s really great so far. Typically it’s not mentioned in the same breath as IV or VI and I can understand why, but it’s still excellent. The 16-bit Final Fantasy formula with these three titles is immaculate.

The soundtrack is a bit of a step down so far but there’s lots of really interesting ideas. I love the Job system. I love how there’s dragons instead of airships. You spend a lot more time on a ship in this one as opposed to IV. The story is engaging enough so far, again a bit of a step down but by no means bad. Character designs I find aren’t as creative as other entries but the enemy design is still top tier.

My hope is that they’ll port the Pixel remasters to console and I can start fresh from there (and they fix the font, but I’ll take anything.)

Finally beat the main story after taking my sweet time with it, and I have many thoughts. Above all else, God of War: Ragnarok is an excellent game, but not without its flaws.

In all things related to story and character, this game nails just about everything. I do think the overall narrative is maybe a little longer than it had to be, but that's a very minor complaint. I think the game starts out strong, slows down a bit, but then really picks up about halfway through and doesn't let go from there. The performances, the writing of these characters is pretty top notch within gaming. I love my Mimir, Brok & Sindri etc. but Kratos is the real star of the show here, having now felt like a fully developed character. Shoutout to Heimdall and the actor who portrayed him. Everything about this slimy, shithead character worked and I felt he singlehandedly brought the narrative up with him.

Gameplay wise it's really satisfying to play and never really lets up. Random enemy encounters are fun to go through but boss fights are where it really shines. They're spectacular.

Some of the gameplay mechanics that I didn't care for in God of War (2018) are here as well. I found some of the Uncharted-style puzzle solving to be annoying, interfering and really slowed down the gameplay unnecessarily. I think the fast travel system, while it makes sense is tethered to the previous game, is imperfect. I think the menus, while improved, are still a little cumbersome and overwhelming.

All that aside, God of War: Ragnarok absolutely nails so much of what it sets out to achieve. It's beautiful, with little to no technical flaws and really satisfying. Sony first-party titles are really special, something that gaming needs. Many of those games are must-play, and this is no exception.

Yes, this was my first time playing A Link to the Past to completion in my entire life. Better late than never, am I right? Hey, we all have games we missed when we were younger, for one reason for another. No shame in catching up on those titles we've long moved past.

Anyways, it's not a shocker that this game is excellent. The classic Zelda formula is one of the greatest in the history in gaming (right up there with Metroidvania-Castlevania titles, turn-based 16-bit Final Fantasy and so on) and frankly it's one I don't think I'll ever grow tired of. When they remade Link's Awakening in 2019, I jumped at it and adored it. It plays in a very simple, masterful way. The art style is lovely, which is in line with countless other absolutely gorgeous SNES titles. Pixel art will never die.

I really liked a lot of the mechanics that spruced up the gameplay. I liked the puzzles, which is not something I can say about every game. Here they felt just the right amount of challenging and with little to no frustration. I loved that the map isn't small, isn't large but it just right. While a fast traveling system is introduced, it still isn't a major pain if you have to make the trek across the map.

In a way I'm glad I didn't complete this when I was a kid because if I did not have the strategy guide there's no way I would've figured some of this shit out. I can say that about most of my favorite games so it isn't a knock; just an observation.

All in all an amazing game.

Starting off my 2023 gaming journey in the weirdest way possible.

Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game does not need to be analyzed to understand why it's not a good game. Based off of a movie no one likes (except for 3-5 year old me) it lifts the digitization of actual actors from the movie (and no doubt inspired by Mortal Kombat) and manages to be fundamentally worse than just about everything that came before or after it. It's pretty baffling to me that Capcom put out a game in the mid-90s that feels so stiff and so unintuitive.

Since the game is based off of the movie, it's inherently campy and oddly charming, the only reason I gave this 1.5 stars instead of 1. I got a bit of a nostalgic kick seeing footage of the movie in the game, and if only the game was remotely fun, I could've seen myself playing through the "movie mode" just to see it through.

I'm glad this exists because every once in a while it makes me laugh, but in the future I'll just laugh at it from a distance instead of playing it.

Great game! I remember when the original Gears of War came out and the impact it made on my friends and I at the time. Here was a game that looked different and played a bit different than anything before and it felt like a true next gen experience, at the time.

Gears of War 2 does not do a hell of a lot in terms of iteration on its predecessor. Instead it refines the ever fun gameplay of the first, steps up a bit in the writing department and offers more creative and engaging environments.

At the end of the day, Gears is like a popcorn action movie and it delivers on carnage, violence and the like and I can’t imagine it ever not being fun.

What a cute, fun little game this is. I've never played a Pikmin title, but if the gameplay is similar to this, then I gotta get to those games.

I just had a lot of fun, platforming around the cleverly-designed levels, and using the tinykin you find and free to unlock new areas. I know some have criticized the art but I personally didn't mind it. I loved the soap bar you could glide on, and then the rails you could unlock to traverse around more easily.

I think this game is a very appropriate length for what it is and doesn't outwear its welcome. Overall, I had a lot of fun!

As I do with games that I pick up and drop shortly after, I'm not gonna rate this because I didn't see enough of the game to give it any kind of fair rating.

But this is just not for me. Souls-like as a genre is not for me. I wish it was, because they are just massive right now. You boot one up, create a character, get dropped into a world and get destroyed. I just lose my patience with these games very quickly. I'm not curious enough to learn the mechanics. I'm not curious enough to explore these worlds. These games don't represent why I like games and why I play.

This is extra disappointing for me because I quite liked the demo. I like that it isn't as slow, heavy and trudging as a From Software title. I like that it has a jump button! But that's about it.

Just absolutely excellent.

I always had a bit of a complicated relationship with Resident Evil 4. I still think it's a great game, but it was a turning point in a series I really loved that was for the worse. A heavier emphasis on action was introduced here and Capcom took that ball and ran with it in future titles and I always blamed RE4 for being a negative catalyst.

To put it very simply, this is better in every way than its original because it's just so fun to play. Capcom has something really special with the RE engine and with the direction they've taken this series lately. There's a good amount of weapon variety and with this game being so focused on action, it makes you feel powerful and like you have choice in your encounters.

I like the story and the characters . I'm a Leon guy (I still love you Jill) and in particular I liked what they did with Luis. I remember in the original being really annoyed with Salazar and thinking he's a bit lame, but I thought he was a little better here.

Really though the highlight for me is the moment to moment gameplay. It's just constantly a ton of fun, a little scary and a little strategic. I do think Leon's movement could be a little improved, but it's more or less the same argument someone would have against tank controls in the original. They're not the most intuitive but they invoke challenge and suspense. His movement is a bit slow, and you can only really evade on QTE prompts and I suppose I would've liked a little more control over him, but I got by fine with what we had.

Overall, I still think RE2 is the best of the series but that's just my personal opinion. However this remake succeeded in making me a bigger fan of RE4 in general, and has helped me in understanding the degree of reverence it has.

Great game! Easily the best of the pre-SNES Final Fantasy titles. This one took me a bit by surprise, I was expecting something good but this game is really solid and could potentially have reached classic status were it not for 4 and 6 being even better. This has a story on par with its predecessor but filters out a lot of the poorly aged or downright annoying mechanics. Instead this introduces the highly customizable Job system that we'll later see again in Final Fantasy V, and introduces other staples like summons and moogles. All in all a very important game in the franchise.

Of course most Final Fantasy titles features airships, but this one has a neat mechanic where you go underwater as well and can explore some locations. This also feels like the first one so far to really introduce side dungeons, completely optional content. Combat is also very fun and an improvement on both of its predecessors.

All in all if you're looking for a classic Final Fantasy experience I wouldn't skip this one. Onto the next one!

Platinum trophy #131
Platinum #7 of 2023

Most of my experience with the Twisted Metal franchise comes from playing Twisted Metal 2 a lot as a kid and looking back on it fondly. Until now, I had never actually revisited any of the PS1 titles, partially out of fear that none of them would remote hold up in the present day. I started the original Twisted Metal after it was added to PS Plus Premium and originally, I was put off. Oh boy, this did not age well I thought.

My mistake was starting out as Sweet Tooth, whose movement is a bit slower than your average vehicle. I tried out Warthog and then everything kind of clicked. I understood the mechanics of driving and shooting and started actually having fun. I'm not gonna say the gameplay is anywhere close to perfect because it is still outdated, but I had a lot of fun getting the platinum for this. There's a reason this spawned a bunch of sequels and has somehow stayed relevant. It's just a good time.

Platinum trophy #134
Platinum #10 of 2023

I enjoyed just walking around in a fucked up environment and interacting with it, but the actual content of the story and the way its portrayed is pretty amateur if I'm being honest. Some of these ideas are good but are presented in a pretty cheesy way.

This only reinforces how I feel about Konami re-entering the video game space. I'm not convinced they know what they're doing. Metal Gear Survive, Contra: Rogue Corps, taking on a bunch of Silent Hill projects, remaking Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3...I just don't think they can pull it all off and I'd love to be proven wrong, but this didn't give me the most confidence.

After playing this for a couple of hours (and completing numerous stages) I feel I have a bit of a grasp on what this game is and my thoughts on it.

From a glance, Gungrave G.O.R.E. looked appealing. The animations, both in gameplay and in cutscenes are flashy and kinda cool. It's based off of an anime (though I know it from the PS2 games) and it's available on Game Pass. I figured why not jump in.

This fits right in with games from the PS2 era with a better looking coat of paint, and to be completely honest, if I had this on my shelf when I was a kid I probably would've played it to completion. The reason I don't wanna see it through to the end now is my bar of quality is higher now than it was then and I have far too many other things I want to play.

Shooting is not very satisfying. You fire in bursts of four shots, so if you want to shoot continuously you have to keep mashing that trigger and it's not ideal. Aiming is also not ideal. You don't use the left trigger (or L2) to aim, but instead the LB (or L1) to both lock on and move the cursor which doesn't feel modern. Otherwise, the cursor comes up on the screen as you shoot. If the player was allowed free reign of the camera and a smoother aiming experience, the game would be a little better for it.

There's little to no engagement with its environments (some things you can shoot, but that's it) and it becomes repetitive, same with the enemy designs. The melee is a bit slow and clunky but has its moments. You have a chain that acts as a bit of a grappling hook in combat that can result in some satisfying kills. But any satisfaction you get from killing hundreds of enemies per stage wears off after a few of them once you realize that's all the game has to offer.

It's arcade-y, with short stages that tally up a score and hordes of enemies and it makes me feel that maybe this would've been better suited for a cabinet with a gun-con.

I don't think it's an awful game, I just think it's a bit hollow and has outdated controls and shooting mechanics. I wouldn't recommend it, but hey, it's on Game Pass if you wanna try it out.