dmgdoug
Fun Zelda-like bullet hell that didn’t mix up the gameplay enough as I progressed. I think it could benefit from more outlandish secondary weapons or unique abilities. Would still recommend
Still collecting my thoughts, just a wonderful annd surreal experience. One of the best games I’ve ever played as a big FF7 fan
2024
It’s the year of learning fighting games for me, I think about this game daily now. Getting better feels so rewarding
1995
I get the hype now. Absolutely deserves to be in the conversation on most influential games of all time
2024
Fun time with friends. Needs some polish but it’s early access so that’s expected. Regardless, hoping it pushes the monster capture genre out of the idle mud.
2020
This game set the stage for the next decade of RPGs. Already planning my next couple runs.
2023
Syringe plus goggles on huntress 👌
Such an impressive game even after over 20 years. A sequel with its own identity, filled with so many cool secrets that revolve around time and place. It's haunting and charming, a perfect game for October.
I loved all the quality of life enhancements in the 3D remake, made getting Fierce Diety way less tedious.
I loved all the quality of life enhancements in the 3D remake, made getting Fierce Diety way less tedious.
2023
It's my GOTY so far and jumped to top 3 in turn-based RPGs. Fell in love with the characters, presentation, combat, and music
From Software is overpowered when it comes to understanding what makes a mechanically driven game fun. This was my first Armored Core game, and with Dark Souls being my favorite gaming experience ever, I was very excited to see what FromSoft could do outside of the melee-based combat games.
With that context, AC6 is a hell of a ride. The journey of letting the foundational mechanics click, figuring out your playstyle, then finding a loadout that compliments that playstyle is so rewarding. You would think the amount of options would be daunting, but the progression pacing is set up really well so you never feel like you're in over your head while gearing up and buying parts. Plus being able to sell parts at the original price you bought them really does encourage experimentation.
In true FromSoft fashion, the bosses are flashy, memorable, and fun to learn. I don't want to say any more because I think the reveals of the bosses and their movesets are the best parts of FromSoft games.
I'd give it 5 stars if content wasn't locked behind multiple playthroughs, it's my only gripe as someone that usually doesn't do more than 1 credit roll when I first play a game.
All the other details like music, environment design, and side characters blend together so well in this mission-based mercenary campaign. Highly recommend if modern From Software, min/maxing according to playstyle, or bullet hell games like Returnal catch your interest.
With that context, AC6 is a hell of a ride. The journey of letting the foundational mechanics click, figuring out your playstyle, then finding a loadout that compliments that playstyle is so rewarding. You would think the amount of options would be daunting, but the progression pacing is set up really well so you never feel like you're in over your head while gearing up and buying parts. Plus being able to sell parts at the original price you bought them really does encourage experimentation.
In true FromSoft fashion, the bosses are flashy, memorable, and fun to learn. I don't want to say any more because I think the reveals of the bosses and their movesets are the best parts of FromSoft games.
I'd give it 5 stars if content wasn't locked behind multiple playthroughs, it's my only gripe as someone that usually doesn't do more than 1 credit roll when I first play a game.
All the other details like music, environment design, and side characters blend together so well in this mission-based mercenary campaign. Highly recommend if modern From Software, min/maxing according to playstyle, or bullet hell games like Returnal catch your interest.
2023
FFXVI has Devil May Cry 5 style combat and is heavily story/cutscene driven. If that sounds good to you, then I'd recommend it. I had a good time with this game overall, but that's only because the highs of the game are a thrill to experience. The lows, however, can feel like you're trudging through mud.
The good:
Combat - very fun to get in a flow that fits your playstyle after tinkering with ability options
Music - Soken delivers again
World building - The lore is expansive and FFXVI has the best interactive archive of real-time lore and characters I've experienced in a game
Boss fights - while not much of a challenge, they are an amazing spectacle. Reminded me of QTEs from games like God of War 3
Writing - I thought the characters were solid with clear motivations and reasoning behind their tendencies. Side quest objectives are as generic as it gets, but they're sometimes worth doing if you like to get more backstory on characters or the location
The bad:
Pacing - there are a lot of slumps in the game where you feel like you're just running from one place to the next with the occasional mob to battle (which isn't helped by not being able to sprint in towns)
Enemy Variety - I can think of like 2 or 3 hunts that had unique enemies. Most of the rest of the hunt bounties and world enemies are reskins of early-game enemies
Weapon crafting rant - I wish games would just stop making the incentive for exploring crafting materials. It feels way more rewarding to find a ready-to-go weapon. In FFXVI, you'll get hundreds of materials throughout your journey just to craft the next best weapon, belt, or bracelet that will be available to you once you've completed a certain quest. And for crafting, you're simply aiming for the sword that hits harder or the gear that gives more defense. So you've got a mostly linear game that's gating the progression of these stats behind gear that is only available once you get to a certain point in the story or a certain side quest becomes available. Then you use the crafting material you've gathered (or just bought if you don't have enough, economy in this game makes no sense, but that's a different topic), to forge the gear just to keep up with enemy stat increases. It's so mindless. Besides accessories that have passive abilities, the sense of stat progression through gear and leveling feels meaningless. I'd rather have them get rid of the stat progression altogether on Clive and give you options on weapons with different attack patterns to craft or find in the world so there's an actual sense of choice. Even using a system similar to FFVII Remake would have been better where basically every weapon you're given is a viable option through the game because they are spec balanced to have strengths and weaknesses that affect other stats and don't just rely on "which one hits harder"
Overall, I like the action-focused mixup, but FFXVI doesn't commit hard enough to the pacing of an action game or the customizable intricacies of an RPG to excel at either genre. Final Fantasy as a franchise evolves with time so I hope they commit to one of those for whatever Final Fantasy 17 turns out to be. FFXVI isn't going to be for everyone, especially if you're still hoping for a classic turn-based FF experience. But we've got other games to fill that void such as Dragon Quest, Octopath Traveler, Persona, etc. FFXVI is far from my favorite in the series, but to me it was worth experiencing as a fan of the franchise.
The good:
Combat - very fun to get in a flow that fits your playstyle after tinkering with ability options
Music - Soken delivers again
World building - The lore is expansive and FFXVI has the best interactive archive of real-time lore and characters I've experienced in a game
Boss fights - while not much of a challenge, they are an amazing spectacle. Reminded me of QTEs from games like God of War 3
Writing - I thought the characters were solid with clear motivations and reasoning behind their tendencies. Side quest objectives are as generic as it gets, but they're sometimes worth doing if you like to get more backstory on characters or the location
The bad:
Pacing - there are a lot of slumps in the game where you feel like you're just running from one place to the next with the occasional mob to battle (which isn't helped by not being able to sprint in towns)
Enemy Variety - I can think of like 2 or 3 hunts that had unique enemies. Most of the rest of the hunt bounties and world enemies are reskins of early-game enemies
Weapon crafting rant - I wish games would just stop making the incentive for exploring crafting materials. It feels way more rewarding to find a ready-to-go weapon. In FFXVI, you'll get hundreds of materials throughout your journey just to craft the next best weapon, belt, or bracelet that will be available to you once you've completed a certain quest. And for crafting, you're simply aiming for the sword that hits harder or the gear that gives more defense. So you've got a mostly linear game that's gating the progression of these stats behind gear that is only available once you get to a certain point in the story or a certain side quest becomes available. Then you use the crafting material you've gathered (or just bought if you don't have enough, economy in this game makes no sense, but that's a different topic), to forge the gear just to keep up with enemy stat increases. It's so mindless. Besides accessories that have passive abilities, the sense of stat progression through gear and leveling feels meaningless. I'd rather have them get rid of the stat progression altogether on Clive and give you options on weapons with different attack patterns to craft or find in the world so there's an actual sense of choice. Even using a system similar to FFVII Remake would have been better where basically every weapon you're given is a viable option through the game because they are spec balanced to have strengths and weaknesses that affect other stats and don't just rely on "which one hits harder"
Overall, I like the action-focused mixup, but FFXVI doesn't commit hard enough to the pacing of an action game or the customizable intricacies of an RPG to excel at either genre. Final Fantasy as a franchise evolves with time so I hope they commit to one of those for whatever Final Fantasy 17 turns out to be. FFXVI isn't going to be for everyone, especially if you're still hoping for a classic turn-based FF experience. But we've got other games to fill that void such as Dragon Quest, Octopath Traveler, Persona, etc. FFXVI is far from my favorite in the series, but to me it was worth experiencing as a fan of the franchise.