A pleasant surprise from Destiny, finally.

This one's a pretty interesting one in that it seems to have a full understanding of almost every gameplay issue Destiny 2 had before. The campaign this time around is really good, with a super strong set of missions each with interesting encounters and fun to fight bosses. In fact the game revels in this structure, with a complete boss rush of sorts in various arenas each around one of the eight you send to the grave, and other than maybe one or two stinkers, it's the most fun I had in destiny outside raids. The campaign itself is also solidly presented to, with an intro mission that sets the pacing and some of the tone, and even leads to a couple strong narrative beats.

Not to say this story is any good now, cuz hoo boy it's not. Themes of Forsaken are minimal as they are washed out in grime. You do get like one or two raw moments especially in the 'final' campaign mission, but the ideas of "going down the dark path" or having so called "character motivations" are completely thrown out by one) the villain literally wanting to go genocide a whole race so you're completely justified in going down to kill this guy, and two) the villain motivation ends up being, (spoilers), oooooo this evil was the thing that made him insane and was pulling the strings the whole time oooo. It's super disappointing, because there's potential to be explored here that isn't even touched again.

There's a couple strong low points that end up as large cracks around the expansion as well. Mostly being that the grinds are still here and they say hello, especially when the campaign forces you to do one of them (two if you care about the optional epilogue mission). Even in seasonal content, the lore is yet again tied behind pretty meh grindy quests, although at least more than a few of them have more solid arenas now. The lore itself is pretty good, but when has it not? It's just really disappointing that postcampaign content is yet again checkbox grinds that I very well do not recommend actually playing through.

THAT BEING SAID, the raid here is fucking excellent. Last Wish is genuinely great, with incredibly good challenge and mechanics. There's a lot of constant team synergy at play especially in the final couple parts of it, and the fight against Riven is mwah. You still have to toy with Bungie's ass LFG option if you want to get into the raid without joining a guild, but it's worth the pain this time around, moreso than Leviathan.

I was really overall impressed with Forsaken, and it's certainly actually worth most of a recommendation now instead of "haha never touch this game." You can honestly just skip straight to it, don't worry about literally anything else, none of it matters.

Stand tall, my friend.

Shadowbringers was very much a personal journey for me, as was largely the intent of the game I imagine. Its excellent writing between each of the major characters reflected equivalently on the Warrior of Light's development. Its themes of post-apocalyptic despair and the misgivings of humanity of the past are shined brightly on as the shadow of the world is reclaimed. I felt a strong attachment to the setting by the end, an irreplaceable memory of all that transpired that left me walking away at the end bittersweet and in tears. There's a lot to get into, especially in terms of the utopian breakdown in Amaurot, but I would choose to move on with the idea that people on their own can come to play Shadowbringers and think, hear, and feel exactly how these stories came into play.

The music and aesthetics themselves are the best the MMO's ever had too. Though it does similarly work with Heavensward and Stormblood's motif usage, the way tones were remixed and placed in the story were incredible. The oft-memed song is A Long Fall, but I have stronger attachment to Tomorrow and Tomorrow. The cutscenes also have phenomenal lighting and direction, and there's actual animation with some of the scenes now, especially with the latest ones.

The gameplay has also reached new peaks, especially with the latest patch's trial. While there are a lot of issues with how they made classes simpler (that I guess fortunately haven't experienced myself having joined afterwards), the ending rotations in Shadowbringers are still intensely fun to manage, some even for the first time. The solo duties continue to be interesting now since the tail end of Stormblood, and dungeons now let you play with the Scions, which is such a welcome change in terms of making the experience more personal. The raid and trial content especially hits new peaks, with the Seat of Sacrifice being my all time favorite fight in the entire game up to this point. Or at least, my favorite fight on Normal, since I have yet to do any of the Savage/Extreme/Ultimate content.

There are a few issues in the rough through it all. Despite my massive love and respect I hold towards this game and Yoshi-P now, there were definitely still weak points to cross over I can't easily forgive. The first half of the tempest pace breaker and the trashy trolley subplot I could very well have done without. The Alliance Raid, while WONDERFUL NieR fanservice, is mostly disappointing in its story and newest content too. The Raid and postgame Trial storyline are similarly at underwhelming ends here, the latter much worse for the potential it could've explored.

There's still three major patches of content left we haven't seen out of Shadowbringers by the time of this review, but it doesn't matter at this point. Shadowbringers is my favorite FF game, and I recommend anyone reading this make it a point of consideration to get far enough in FF14 to make it to this point.

Pray don't forget us, your bygone kin
With one world's end does a new begin
And should our soul scatter onto the wind
Still we shall live on.

In a few Discord servers, I've stated, usually in very chide one-off statements, that this game sucks. I've never actually spent time elaborating why it sucks, and I realize that just saying it does doesn't really help any conversation whatsoever, or really have anything new to put forth.

Because, to be honest, to say this game is all bad is missing the mark just as much as saying “anime is for weebs”... which is largely true but still missing some information that could point a different direction..

So what is DDLC? It’s a very, very short VN that lampshades what happens in most VNs, where you meet a handful of characters and deal/handle their personal issues, except without a lot to say about it. It uses its runtime to poke fun at the laughable traits of the worst of VNs while then proceeding to put some valid criticism of unconditional attachment, while peppering its runtime with enough shock value to make streamers freak the fuck out and thus become a touchstone of Twitch culture with its reaction and memes such as “just Monika”. I highly doubt that all of that was intentional, but the impact can’t be disregarded, because it did become a part of online video game culture as a whole… for better or for worse.

There is something I need to outline. While I agree usually that a game should not be based on its toxic fanbase, DDLC is so big that it’s tough to ignore. It is extremely hard to detach the community and fanbase as a whole from the game. We can agree to disagree from there.

Let’s be clear, the shock value fucking works for one key moment. I am a wimp and autistic and find very emotional attachment to video games that is borderline unhealthy, and thus the very infamous first shock rolled me over like a lawnmower and I still have nightmares thinking about it. If there’s one thing to give credit to DDLC, it is that it’s very unpredictable, although at the expense of pacing or having a good kind of shock value past the first moment.

Everything else is very standard and frustrating to go through, particularly a moment where you have to “auto-skip” for a moment that abuses its time to the fullest extent. I don’t care if it’s not supposed to be fun, it’s nauseating. It doesn’t have anything to gain for its inclusion OTHER than shocking the player and to hammer harder how messed up Monika is, which would have benefitted from a tighter pace. Subversion, especially when it’s creatively done like DDLC, is fine, but its pace and execution despite its concept hampers this to an extreme.

DDLC’s good, however, comes in two things: a general and well done understanding of depression and the pain it causes through its first introductory character arc, and the danger and toxicity of parasocial relationships represented via Monika’s rampant fascination with the player. The latter unfortunately…. is not even knee deep. It does not deconstruct how it comes to exist but rather comments on its existence, which is fine but doesn’t leave a lot to take away.

So what anecdotal interactions poison the game for me? It is that it has massively poisoned talking about VNs and the Western reaction to VNs as a whole. The game is definitely pointing at a very particular subgenre of VNs, but its popularity has created a vacuum of using the game as a point to how “all VNs are bad” and how ridiculous the genre is. Yes, people can sometimes be dumb and stupid, as can I, but I’ve seen it happen EVERYWHERE.

I’m not an expert on VNs (in fact I’ve only started recently to delve into the genre with games like Umineko, The Silver Case, and Nekojishi), but it’s insane how much DDLC has colored VN’s image that the games themselves have been not at all what’s expected. I don’t even… know of any game DDLC is really pointing out here. In the end, it feels like it has a blanket “VNs bad” side to its conversation around the medium where the tropes it is subverting in its runtime a mainstay more for anime as a whole rather than VN dating sims instead. Am I missing something? Maybe I need to play more VNs.

Trust me, it’s not that there aren't bad VNs. I can go to fucking TOWN on Nekojishi for its disgusting moments with its true ending and in the end having zero to take away from other than… the tiger guys are adorable.

The biggest struggle comes from where, when I enjoy a VN (or when other big friends of mine do), it’s tough to recommend, because the image that DDLC has created in popular culture casts a big enough web to catch SUVs. There are other barriers to entry such as price and it not being as “video game” as other genres, but this to me has been the biggest barrier now.

My hope is to understand where I come from now when I say “Fuck DDLC”. It’s partly the game but way more because of the culture that surrounds it.

At least it’s free.

This game is fuckin boring. The only weapon that feels good to use is the axe, even though the rocket launcher for this game SHOOTS PLANETS. Visually I'm mixed but I don't hate it. None of the enemies are very interesting to fight and even on Evil difficulty (the highest) its not very difficult. Playing it reminds me of Heretic, which is a very Not Good thing. There are also no advanced movement options, no bunny hopping, strafe running, etc. which is one of the things that makes boomer shooters so sick usually.
Play Dusk instead its actually hype.

Assassin's Creed Unity offers the best stealth in the series, one of the best settings, very pretty visuals, and a parkour system that feels better for those that havent gotten into the tech of the earlier games. Its also a broken mess still, and the story is not well regarded. Co-op stealth is something really special, and makes it possible to work through all the many bugs and glitches that bring the game down. If there were not these setbacks, I'd put this closer to an 8/10, but when you throw a smoke bomb and run in, only for the smoke to have just disappeared from existence and not actually throw, you dont have as good a time as you wish.
I'd say this game is worth trying out, especially if you have a friend to run the co-op missions with.

I really wasn't expecting to dislike this game as much as I do, I thought I'd really like it in fact. But the best I can say about this game is that its got good music, there are some funny memes, and the combat is ok if you completely turn your brain off. Now for the bad.
The combat is boring and has zero depth to it. You hit light and heavy in the random order that feels good to you in that second and just mash the analog stick in the direction of the enemy whenever you do a light so you can parry them. The only thing that changes this is when you need to do the zandatsu or when the enemy does a yellow grab. The problem is, there are like 2 whole basic enemies in the game that do the yellow grab and theyre never placed well with other enemies to actually force that attack on you when youre focusing on parrying fodder. In a 1v1 with them its far too easy to react to and poses a threat only while you dont understand exactly how the dodge attack works. Ultimately every enemy in the game is boring and not different enough from eachother to make how you deal with them any different. You just mash and parry or mash and dodge. The zandatsu is just a flashy slash thing that has nothing to it except requiring you to slash a little more precisely during some boss fights, enemy spines are easy enough to get that they aren't actually a factor. Speaking of bosses, they range from ok (Blade Wolf) to godawful annoyances (Monsoon). Sam's boss fight was an incredible letdown and anticlimax, its the easiest fight in the game and its over in 2 seconds. I can understand there being thematic reasoning for it but its still a shame. The final boss Senator Armstrong has good stuff surrounding him but the fight itself is not fun. The cutscenes associated with him are fun and memorable, but fighting him was not particularly fun.
I honestly just don't see what the game has going for it unless you can completely ignore how boring the combat is and just wanna see the robot man say meme. Perhaps someone who's played MGS2 can find the story interesting enough to justify it.

As someone who's not like, really huge on beat em ups, as someone who tends to suck at them, and mentally fought with myself to make sure I went through Normal mode with zero assists used, this is a fucking amazing game to play.

It's crazy how much fun it just becomes on top of the excellent enemy design when you have situational specials to use, creating an elegant dance between going for maximum damage and dodging attacks. From taking care of overwhelming damage coming your way by sweetly timing your defensive super, to charging at an enemy's startup attack with an aerial, it's ridiculous fun to give and avoid receiving hits. There's even a training mode (or well, a battle mode that can figuratively act as one) and 4+unlockable different characters to play, each with their own attacks and specials that differentiate them. The toolset you have is so versatile that it's honestly a no brainer to the devs that they put in a battle mode.

The bosses are mostly all fantastic too, forcing you to go for proper whiffs and proper micromanagement, with some of the better ones throwing multiple enemies on screen you have to manage while going for these combos. There's a couple stinkers but it feels like it never missed.

By the end of it I was boiling with high praise to give it, even despite a few subliminal issues like star powers being basic shmup bombs, it was an excellent short and sweet experience. I'll probably go back to it at some point to play it on higher difficulties, or go for higher rankings by going for more optimal combos.

Bonus: You also get to kick the shit out of a lot of blue pigs in this game.

Hand-to-hand or fist-to-fist

Kicking nuts or twist your wrist.

God power keep my pimp hand strong

So trust me or you won't last very longggggg.

There is not much that's as good as God Hand. It's the quintessential stylish action game, featuring an incredible amount of depth in enemy design and exhaustive movelist. Every single level is an intricate weaving of evading moves and doing counterhits. Every enemy combination is an amazing fight to behold and to work around, the pace going fast and strong as you stand on the precipice of absolute destruction to your enemy or being hit by a string down to the ground. And tying it all together is a nonsense story keeping the comedy strong as you punch Elvis into a tombstone and then dragon fist him up into the air.

To this day, I still haven't found an action game that kicks ass as much as this game does.

It's hard to put into words what has really been said often, I recommend watching this video at least

https://youtu.be/rUAclnNiusw

He puts it in much better words than I will.
Please try God Hand, you won't regret it. (10/10)

iD Software should probably go down as one of the best set of devs in history, because they have made a work so excellently crafted in its design and innovative in use of arena fps mechanics that it's easily the best game that has come out of this year so far as well as one of the best of all time. It manages to take every single lesson that needed to be learned from Doom 2016's failings and applied a perfect fix from a top-down level.

I've never played a singular fps that kept my adrenaline pumping at full blast for most of the way through, with encounter design so phenomenally set teeming with particular enemies that make true on its core gameplay loops. Doom Eternal juggles loops of resource management, enemy prioritization, and utilization of movement all intertwined to each individual enemy. From the Arachnotron, probably the best enemy of the lot that forces you to utilize its weak points while it dodges your fire and pressures you down, to the Cyber Mancubi, each enemy makes use of your weapon variety and asks for the best play you can muster especially on Nightmare difficulty (which I played on the whole way through). The waves are also set perfectly to where as you take heavy enemies down there's new challenges to surprise you, with especially the slayer gates and later levels showing the best of this wave design.

The weapon balance and depth is also excellent, with two alt fire mods you can swap with that each bring their own costs and benefits, as well as the resource grind constantly asking you to use your entire loadout. Good play isn't just tuned to dodging enemy fire and spacing yourself correctly, but also utilizing every single weapon to their fullest extent while keeping track of loot pinatas to keep yourself in the midst of carnage. You'll know when you're in the zone when you're hook jumping into the air and constantly keeping yourself up above them dashing and jumping as you pelt rocket damage down upon your foes. If you have a single thing not on cooldown you're not using everything that you have.

That's probably the most ridiculous component that iD managed to do, the huge complexity that the game slowly eases you in before letting you become a walking one man army of rip and tear. The pacing of unlocks is fine tuned to where you're always getting something new from level to level to play around with, with excellent tutorializing that makes sure you have the knowledge you need to play efficiently and work on mastering your kit.

Music and aesthetics are also fantastic, with every single level looking amazing compared to Doom 2016's mostly same-y color palette. This is probably Mick Gordon's best work too banging in the background, especially with its remixes of 2016's great hits and the final level keeping that blood pumping. Probably going to be listening to it long after I'm done replaying the game.

There are of course, some miscellaneous and weak components for a game so ambitious in its design and extremely accessible. The platforming serves as nice downtime to let your blood cool down, although some of it especially the swimming portions being kind of boring if not impeding on the nonstop joyride. Ideally I'd probably layer the mostly-and-intentionally-nonsensical codex-loaded story to be cutscenes between combat to give you downtime if you need it and allow them to be completely skippable, with some walking if out of dev time. Not that I don't appreciate some of the environments and sense of scale that you walk through, but one specific level i.e. Sentinel Prime seems almost like a weird pacebreaker that could've used way more over time development.

There's also some overtuning and balance issues in some places. The Marauder, while I can find him somewhat inoffensive, makes you play a different game. When you've killed all the rest of the heavies and he's the last one left, you play Sekiro and just time your shit to kill him. He's not an interesting enemy and I'd prefer better use of Archviles to force you into a "deal with this enemy while you fight the others" instead. Also some of the weak point exploits are too powerful, with Cacodemons especially taking one sticky or rocket to make them nothing. The bosses also ALL SUCK, and either need complete reworks or wayyyy more dev time to make them interesting and fun to fight. I give a pass to the Icon of Sin for being an amazing spectacle but even his fight is twice as long as it needed to be, serving as a bfg dump that's one phase too long.

Other combat issues: The BFG, Unmakyr, and Crucible are underdeveloped, although at least they're easily ignored. I can kinda get it with the BFG and Unmakyr, one's pretty much a get out of jail free card that requires no skill to use other than uhh don't hit a wall loser, and the other is a close range meltbox. I just wish the ammo was either one per level at MOST or in a different mode entirely (like a survival mode! they'd work like shmup bombs), because while they don't exactly make encounters entire jokes they do undercut the design by a significant margin. The crucible especially is probably the biggest disappointment. You have a whole level building up this sword that you craft over time, and all it does is IK for 3 pips, a get-this-heavy-off-me weapon with only one move. It could've been a way more fleshed out weapon with more utility and less breaking the game.

At the end of the day though I can't deny that this is not only the best fps game I've played but maybe even my all time favorite action game. These issues are something I can tolerate on my own, and the game gives free reign to fine tune a lot of the elements yourself. It's ridiculously accessible. I look forward to the dlc, and I think the rest of this year nay the decade has a lot to live up to after this. (10/10)