djbradford
Creative narrative structure, remarkable production value, well-crafted writing, and deep philosophical ambitions around subjects such as community, family, and heritage made for the best video game experience I've ever had.
2012
Childlike whimsy, creative puzzles, and an intriguing unfolding world
2015
Creative gameplay, clever examinations of video game history/philosophy, and a heartwarming central narrative
2021
A large variety of creative co-op gameplay experiences combine with whimsical, well-designed sandboxes to evoke a strong sense of childlike wonder.
2022
Grand, moody musical selections combine with a unique, analog gameplay experience to deliver a well-crafted deep space life sim with ambitious narrative themes (even if the writing quality is a bit uneven at times.)
2013
One of the most well-written (and acted) games ever made. It's a shame that it sometimes trips on all the typical AAA action game formula drawbacks.
2015
My main qualm with this game is ultimately that the world (as with all FromSoftware worlds) tends to feel almost too bleak and exaggerated at times- resulting in a mostly hollow, albeit marvelously detailed collection of gothic horror invention.
2022
Say what you will about the grand scale of this world and its well-thought-out combat mechanics, but you must admit that the amount of time required to see the narrative through to its end is simply too astronomically high to not be rightfully accused of dangerously approaching player exploitation territory. FromSoftware's formula is much more respectable when it matches players to a world with more reasonable expectations.
2019
A well-polished, well-written action gameplay experience with a uniquely mysterious and intriguing world to explore
2019
Man, this was so sick. I'm blown away by how much creative potential was realized in this title. Creating a vibrant world is one thing, but creating an entire microcosm is another thing entirely. What a wonderful experience!
2023
Typical open world skinner box mechanics absolutely ruin the magic.
2023
I really enjoyed the childlike whimsy that pervades all areas of the game. As my first foray into the Pikmin series, I must say it was quite charming. There are still plenty of time-wasting skinnerbox collectathons central to the core gameplay loop, but I forgave most of this in pursuit of seeing all the wonderful sandboxes the game has to offer.
The best part about this game's obvious commentary on the evils that often arise from greed/capitalism is that it doesn't overstay it's welcome. To do so would lend too much "fun" to what should ultimately be unsettling. But I will admit that as a game (as opposed to just being interactive art), it's hard to completely divorce that desire for "fun" when you offer upgrade paths, incentives to replay, etc.
2011
Interestingly enough, while I would assign the same rating to Portal 2 that I gave to the first entry, it is a step back in some ways (though certainly a step forward in others.) I found some of the "sequely" aspects to be a detractor from the strengths of the first's sparse, but intriguing world & storyline. The constant wisecracks from your new companion are humorous, but sometimes grow annoying. And the story itself, while fleshing out the world more, doesn't seem to ultimately stick the landing as well as the first game does. The added complexities of the puzzles and other quality-of-life improvements, however, are a welcome step forward.
2020
Quick aside, I think it's ridiculous that this console port was released in such an unfinished and buggy state (all my save data corrupted...) Shame on the developers (or whoever was in charge of the timeline) for rushing this out and giving no warning in-game about the major, game-ruining issues at launch.
Now that that's out of the way... I did really enjoy seeing all the creativity and artistry on display in this one, even if not all the art present in the game is rendered with the same level of technical excellence at times (obviously understandable with a small production!) However, as much as I liked the art, tone, premise, etc. the gameplay itself doesn't feel quite as interesting or polished. There is a general sense of not quite reached potential throughout. Perhaps ambitions had to be tempered to meet deadlines, or creators grew too impatient with parts of the process along the way. This is felt especially in the clunky combat and lack of clear onboarding for players (despite some valiant attempts being made.)
In addition, the writing (obviously a pretty integral part of a game like this) is similarly stunted overall. It's certainly not bad persay, just relatively bland and unimaginative in comparison with the rich art style and (most) ideas presented in the storylines. It often feels as though the writer perhaps lacked the vocabulary tools necessary to properly convey their ideas the way they envisioned them. Plenty of attempts to include vivid descriptors and leverage strong, foreboding prose are made, to be sure, but most of it doesn't quite stick the landing- further contributing to the sense of a slight lack of polish overall.
It never feels good to point out things like this in passion projects made by small teams of dedicated artists, but these are important to call attention to nonetheless, so that we can continue to push each other to strive for excellence in the medium, and to perhaps encourage each of us to consider working with others who might bring strengths to the table that we ourselves might lack. A better writer would likely have gone a long way in helping to convey the unique, ambitious ideas on display here. As is, the overall experience is often an intriguing one, but one that never quite reaches the heights of greatness that it aims for.
I still enjoyed my time with it nonetheless!
Now that that's out of the way... I did really enjoy seeing all the creativity and artistry on display in this one, even if not all the art present in the game is rendered with the same level of technical excellence at times (obviously understandable with a small production!) However, as much as I liked the art, tone, premise, etc. the gameplay itself doesn't feel quite as interesting or polished. There is a general sense of not quite reached potential throughout. Perhaps ambitions had to be tempered to meet deadlines, or creators grew too impatient with parts of the process along the way. This is felt especially in the clunky combat and lack of clear onboarding for players (despite some valiant attempts being made.)
In addition, the writing (obviously a pretty integral part of a game like this) is similarly stunted overall. It's certainly not bad persay, just relatively bland and unimaginative in comparison with the rich art style and (most) ideas presented in the storylines. It often feels as though the writer perhaps lacked the vocabulary tools necessary to properly convey their ideas the way they envisioned them. Plenty of attempts to include vivid descriptors and leverage strong, foreboding prose are made, to be sure, but most of it doesn't quite stick the landing- further contributing to the sense of a slight lack of polish overall.
It never feels good to point out things like this in passion projects made by small teams of dedicated artists, but these are important to call attention to nonetheless, so that we can continue to push each other to strive for excellence in the medium, and to perhaps encourage each of us to consider working with others who might bring strengths to the table that we ourselves might lack. A better writer would likely have gone a long way in helping to convey the unique, ambitious ideas on display here. As is, the overall experience is often an intriguing one, but one that never quite reaches the heights of greatness that it aims for.
I still enjoyed my time with it nonetheless!