"fuck it, finally a fantasy"
~fred durst (2021)

consistently fun but bogged down by way-too-frequent mmo-esque fetch quests, a dogshit main antagonist and jill's comical lack of characterization

when it hits though, it really fucking hits. clive is a terrific lead, (kupka is also a fantastic rival) every major set piece manages to one up the last and the combat, while a bit easy for an action game absolutely braindead, is really fucking fun

only ps4/5 game thus far to feel like a truly "next gen" experience and a crystal clear reminder of the heights this series can reach when it's not rife with developmental problems

edit: that last line is still mostly correct but not in the way i'd like. it's certainly next-gen in terms of scope and scale with regards to spectacle, but the actual writing is piss poor. this was very much a honeymoon game and ng+ made it clear. xvi feels like a first draft

the protagonist immediately outs herself as a sociopath, but she's by far the most righteous out of the entire cast. this is also one of the few pieces of media i can think of that accurately displays how fucked in the head white supremacists are... among other things

if that makes your head tilt in a positive way, check it out. i don't even have to hesitate giving this a 10. i laughed way too hard at the godlike voicework (some of the best va of any game/vn/whatever) to care about the shitty renpy engine

great story and a tense horror romp through and through. my sole gripe is that this tension tends to be illusory as the bakers themselves are rarely as threatening as they're presented. marguerite is especially fearsome until you get "caught" by her and realize she just throws easily disposed bugs and eats headshots for breakfast

definitely starts feeling more like a horror laced shooter after a while due to abundant ammo supplies and finite enemies. i did however enjoy shooting the goopy boys very much despite their horrible hit registration and i see this as a great foundation for re8 to build on top of

fuck that magnum though. 9 coins for one bullet?? i was fucking scammed bro

edit: additional half star awarded for joe baker gaming. charge complete