gravyfingerz
2018
This game was pure joy from beginning to end. Flying around New York as Spider-Man is amazing. The only thing I dislike about this game is Spider-Man being cop friendly (ACAB), but otherwise it’s concentrated spidey goodness in video game form. I gladly achieved the platinum trophy for the game, a feat I haven’t replicated since.
2023
This review contains spoilers
Starfield is the first new open world rpg from Bethesda in a long time, and the first(?) under new owners Microsoft. I’ve been playing it since release and doing my second playthrough through new game plus, and I find it hard to articulate what I love about it so much. I don’t think it’s my game of the year, that probably goes to baldurs gate 3, but starfield does a lot more right than wrong. The way new game plus is integrated, it’s awesome, and I think they could have done more to more tightly integrate it, but choosing the new dialogue options is so satisfying.
The main quest is good, but I think the faction quest lines are really really good, and having done almost all of them, I think you could pick any one and do that and have a great time. In that regard, starfield has some of the best questing I’ve played this year.
Shooting is fine, I’m not a connoisseur of shooting games so I can’t remark on them. The level up benefits system is pretty good, though some of the challenges for perk levels 3 and 4 are really out there and feel grindy.
I haven’t really touched spaceship building or outpost guilting, it’s not really an area I find a lot of enjoyment in general. Thankfully starfield has a more simplified option for upgrading your ship.
The biggest controversy seems to be how you travel, with a lot of people being dissatisfied with fast travel and how you discover new star systems. I will say it probably could have been done better, but I can’t imagine how it would look, because I acknowledge that even if the game has sci fi magic and prefers to stick to realistic parameters everywhere else, traveling through a solar system would just take forever and that isn’t fun and fast travel is the only way to make traveling through the galaxy feasible. I’m sure the devs will take this experience and will refine it for next time.
If anything else, the takeaway should be that if you were worried about the next elder scrolls or fallout game or whatever new open world game then do, you shouldn’t be worried, the team at Bethesda knows how to put together an engaging video game with a surprising level of detail and well thought out world building. I’m super excited for what’s next from a studio that I’ve followed since I was a kid playing daggerfall.
The main quest is good, but I think the faction quest lines are really really good, and having done almost all of them, I think you could pick any one and do that and have a great time. In that regard, starfield has some of the best questing I’ve played this year.
Shooting is fine, I’m not a connoisseur of shooting games so I can’t remark on them. The level up benefits system is pretty good, though some of the challenges for perk levels 3 and 4 are really out there and feel grindy.
I haven’t really touched spaceship building or outpost guilting, it’s not really an area I find a lot of enjoyment in general. Thankfully starfield has a more simplified option for upgrading your ship.
The biggest controversy seems to be how you travel, with a lot of people being dissatisfied with fast travel and how you discover new star systems. I will say it probably could have been done better, but I can’t imagine how it would look, because I acknowledge that even if the game has sci fi magic and prefers to stick to realistic parameters everywhere else, traveling through a solar system would just take forever and that isn’t fun and fast travel is the only way to make traveling through the galaxy feasible. I’m sure the devs will take this experience and will refine it for next time.
If anything else, the takeaway should be that if you were worried about the next elder scrolls or fallout game or whatever new open world game then do, you shouldn’t be worried, the team at Bethesda knows how to put together an engaging video game with a surprising level of detail and well thought out world building. I’m super excited for what’s next from a studio that I’ve followed since I was a kid playing daggerfall.
2009
I think the original Bayonetta, while a little clunkier than the sequel, has more charm and fun moments. There are definitely a lot of moments where Luka is a clown and I was missing some of that humor in the sequel. I don’t like how the color palette for this game is muted until you get to Paradiso, but they managed to do a better job of making a colorful game in the sequel.
Again, these games aren’t really made for me, I don’t like the challenges and I play on easy because I want to play through the story and prepare myself for Bayonetta 3, but it was fun and I’m glad to better understand what Bayonetta is about. Looking forward to Bayonetta 3.
Again, these games aren’t really made for me, I don’t like the challenges and I play on easy because I want to play through the story and prepare myself for Bayonetta 3, but it was fun and I’m glad to better understand what Bayonetta is about. Looking forward to Bayonetta 3.
I may have come from the NES era but I still think the original Metroid, while kind of revolutionary, was also kind of garbage. Metroid Zero Mission adds more modern QOL features to the original Metroid game (map being the most important) while adding some storyline, cut scenes, a new graphical upgrade, and saves! If you want to play the original Metroid, just skip it and play Metroid Zero Mission, it’s the superior version.
2022
An incredibly charming indie game, full of wonder and fun references to the Legend of Zelda. It was maybe 4-5 hours long but it was worth the time to play around, gather friends, and go on adventures and quests.
2020
Incredible game, there were so many games of the year for 2023, but at this time, Baldur’s Gate is my game of the year. It delivers the true successor to the BioWare party of traumatized outcasts who band and fuck together to save the world from evil. Incredible amount of latitude to just approach problems and situations in ways that make you feel like the devs really took the time to consider all the angles. Plus there is lots of opportunity to cheese things, so much cheese. I cheesed the last battle and I won despite how difficult it was. Game of the year for 2023.
2017
It was an interesting fighter and I liked the integration of motion controls for attacks, but it didn’t get the attention or support it deserved. I don’t know if I can suggest picking it up at full price but it’s worth trying at a reduced price.
2023
Frasier Fantasy is a gameboy color game made well past the original hardware life of the handheld it’s designed for. You play Frasier Crane, Seattle radio personality and psychologist, on a mission to hold an unveiling ceremony for your new mother of pearl luncheon set. You soon realize you have three tasks to make it happen: get the grape scissors back from Niles, do your radio show, and get your dad and Eddie out of the condo before the event.
It’s a short game but it’s lovingly set in the sitcom world of Frasier, making references that fans of the show will understand; but like the show, the situations and characters are ridiculous enough to propel the comedy for all audiences. I immensely enjoyed my time playing it, and I wonder how the developer will top this title with his next one.
Best enjoyed with tossed salads and scrambled eggs.
It’s a short game but it’s lovingly set in the sitcom world of Frasier, making references that fans of the show will understand; but like the show, the situations and characters are ridiculous enough to propel the comedy for all audiences. I immensely enjoyed my time playing it, and I wonder how the developer will top this title with his next one.
Best enjoyed with tossed salads and scrambled eggs.
1990
I looked forward to this game when I was a kid and it was so amazing at the time. I still think it’s a really 2D platformer and stands the test of time, although I don’t know if I can fully recommend it now when there are so many games out there. If you want a Mario game that rivals Super Mario Bros. 3, with secrets and fun new mechanics, a large overworld, great graphics and sound, and is a cherished Christmas memory for me, then you should play this game.
1994
Super Metroid is the best metroidvania (in my humble opinion) on the original Super Nintendo. This game oozes atmosphere, from the level design to the music to the graphics, it isn’t as beginner friendly as modern games, but if you love metroidvanias then you should play it.
If you get stuck in a certain section with a collapsing bridge, hold the B button to run across. The game manual would have told you this, but these days it’s not assured that you have the manual handy.
If you get stuck in a certain section with a collapsing bridge, hold the B button to run across. The game manual would have told you this, but these days it’s not assured that you have the manual handy.
I gotta say this was a banger. It got overlooked and I think I got bogged down in all the various quests I picked up, but I was relatively close to the end, so I did some side quests and finished the main story, and wow, that last story quest is awesome! I mean all of the game is awesome, they really built on what was laid out in Horizon Zero Dawn and improved aspects, added new ways of traversing the open world, and put forth some cool environmental puzzles. I know some people aren’t into the climbing golden ledges sort of traversal but I don’t get tired of it. It’s sad that these games keep being overshadowed because they are solid games with beautiful environments and a lot of characters with their own stories running around, really rounding out the world and making it feel real despite all the fantastic elements.
2007
This review contains spoilers
I try to be fair when I talk about games and recommendations, but that was hard to play, as one having played the new AC RPG trilogy as my first AC games. It was slow, the controls are frustrating, the difficulty spikes felt substantial, and the final fight with Al Mualim just felt like such a bullshit and frustrating fight. I had brief moments of enjoyment in spite of the games attempts to quash those moments. I guess you had to be there in 2007 to play this game and enjoy it.
I didn’t expect to like a golf game because I don’t usually go for sports games, but this was fun. The story mode isn’t anything worth writing about but it’s fun enough and takes you through all the stages, so I didn’t mind playing it. Didn’t really play the game for multiplayer so I’m probably missing a big part of the game, but I feel like it more or less set out to do what it aimed to do.
The Yakuza series is a rare series that is unwilling to jettison its long winding story arc over 9 mainline games to make it accessible for someone new to the series. I know people want to play the newest and most current game, but I please urge you to start from Yakuza 0 and work your way through each game. If you do that, your reward will be all the greater as you fall in love with these reoccurring protagonists and side characters, as Kazuma Kiryu and later, Kasuga Ichiban. You love to see characters like Date, Yuya, Akiyama, Majima, Saejima, the Florist, Daigo, and other make their appearances and help Kiryu in some way. You love to see the villains appear and then exit as they come to realize that Kiryu isn’t just the biggest most beastly bare knuckles fighter in Kamurocho, but his strength comes from his own dedication to righting wrongs, fighting injustices, and dealing with a legacy of violence and warring between the Tojo clan and various other criminal groups. A word that I’ve come to use a lot because of Infinite Wealth is legacy: at this point you get to see the legacy of all the choices made by many people fighting for a small piece of Tokyo.
Infinite Wealth was an emotional experience for me because you are reminded of the legacy of the Tojo Clan and of Kiryu. You are reminded of many moments of Kiryu’s life, and you get to see first hand how his choices have affected the people he cared about. You get to know the bittersweet answer to the question, what will the world be like without Kazuma Kiryu. You get to see a new generation of heroes take up the burden that he carried for so long, and even though it’s their biggest and most dangerous adventure yet, somehow they will come through it.
It’s a big ask, I know, but I can assure you that if you play yakuza 0 and you love it, your reward for playing this series from 0 to 8 will be great indeed; you will get to see the life of Kazuma Kiryu, a life worth viewing and experiencing. You will get to see Kasuga Ichiban and his ragtag group of friends. And you will get to play some incredible games.
Infinite Wealth has its issues, but in my opinion it’s peak yakuza. It is unafraid to make major changes to the yakuza formula while retaining the heart of what makes all these games so great. I can’t think of a series that is more deserving of being experienced. It is not the Japanese Grand Theft Auto, it is something richer and more dramatic. It is a life well lived.
Infinite Wealth was an emotional experience for me because you are reminded of the legacy of the Tojo Clan and of Kiryu. You are reminded of many moments of Kiryu’s life, and you get to see first hand how his choices have affected the people he cared about. You get to know the bittersweet answer to the question, what will the world be like without Kazuma Kiryu. You get to see a new generation of heroes take up the burden that he carried for so long, and even though it’s their biggest and most dangerous adventure yet, somehow they will come through it.
It’s a big ask, I know, but I can assure you that if you play yakuza 0 and you love it, your reward for playing this series from 0 to 8 will be great indeed; you will get to see the life of Kazuma Kiryu, a life worth viewing and experiencing. You will get to see Kasuga Ichiban and his ragtag group of friends. And you will get to play some incredible games.
Infinite Wealth has its issues, but in my opinion it’s peak yakuza. It is unafraid to make major changes to the yakuza formula while retaining the heart of what makes all these games so great. I can’t think of a series that is more deserving of being experienced. It is not the Japanese Grand Theft Auto, it is something richer and more dramatic. It is a life well lived.
1987
I was quite surprised by how good this was. Of course it’s archaic by modern standards, but the differences between this JRPG and JRPGs on the NES during the same time period are noticeable, and unless you’re hardcore into 8-bit JRPGs, I wouldn’t recommend playing this. There is apparently a remake on the PS2 that is the best way to play it, but the Sega Ages version for the Nintendo Switch is also a good candidate.