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Nintendo did it again. Sort of.
To save you some time, if you liked Breath of the Wild, you'll like Tears of the Kingdom as well. If you didn't, nothing will change your mind.
It's all here. Engaging exploration, cute visuals, lots of surprises, crazy breakable weapons, shrines, great OST, koroks, creepy enemies, cool towers, funny writing, a nice story and endless gameplay possibilities.
Only now you have some pretty new and impressive things to keep things fresh. Ascend is probably one of my favorite mechanics ever in a game, ultrahand is godsend, endlessly attaching things to your items never gets old and rewinding is pretty useful and creative. I'm not a "puzzle" guy and I thought these new things weren't going to stick the landing with me, but I was definitely wrong. It all works very well.
There are also two new maps. The sky islands and the depths. I absolutely loved everything in the sky, especially how well they were implemented to the story. It's astonishing. The depths were pretty fun and ominous at first, but became annoying and repetitive after a while.
TOTK is definitely remarkable, with plenty of things to catch you off guard, from the story to gameplay. The ending nearly brought me to tears, with some of the best "cinematic" moments and battles I've experienced in this franchise. It is, without a doubt, a good sequel to BOTW. A good one, with few flaws to point at.
Yet, one major feeling slowly crawled inside me on my 180h playthrough.
The sense of novelty kinda vanishes. Don't get me wrong, a game isn't supposed to throw new and shocking things at you at all times! But that overwhelming feeling I had when I played BOTW faded after 80h in. I felt like I was pretty much done with it after experiencing nearly everything new that the game had to offer. But there were MANY other things to do and explore. Felt like I was playing BOTW again and, although I LOVE that game, its replay factor might be its weakest aspect. The story is very shallow as well. Not that the first one was amazing, but it worked. Now it just...doesn't. It hardly even mentions the previous one.
That's really the only thing I have to complain about it. Or the biggest thing, in a way. A few problems from the previous entry are still here (like how they handle the "memories" and the infinite shrine hunting) or how the new "friend abilities" don't hold a candle to the likes of Revali's Gale or Mipha's Grace.
Tears of the Kingdom is a great game and there's A LOT to talk about it. But, for now, I'll just repeat what I said before: if you're like me, and you loved BOTW, pick this one up now. If you didn't, it will not change your mind.
To save you some time, if you liked Breath of the Wild, you'll like Tears of the Kingdom as well. If you didn't, nothing will change your mind.
It's all here. Engaging exploration, cute visuals, lots of surprises, crazy breakable weapons, shrines, great OST, koroks, creepy enemies, cool towers, funny writing, a nice story and endless gameplay possibilities.
Only now you have some pretty new and impressive things to keep things fresh. Ascend is probably one of my favorite mechanics ever in a game, ultrahand is godsend, endlessly attaching things to your items never gets old and rewinding is pretty useful and creative. I'm not a "puzzle" guy and I thought these new things weren't going to stick the landing with me, but I was definitely wrong. It all works very well.
There are also two new maps. The sky islands and the depths. I absolutely loved everything in the sky, especially how well they were implemented to the story. It's astonishing. The depths were pretty fun and ominous at first, but became annoying and repetitive after a while.
TOTK is definitely remarkable, with plenty of things to catch you off guard, from the story to gameplay. The ending nearly brought me to tears, with some of the best "cinematic" moments and battles I've experienced in this franchise. It is, without a doubt, a good sequel to BOTW. A good one, with few flaws to point at.
Yet, one major feeling slowly crawled inside me on my 180h playthrough.
The sense of novelty kinda vanishes. Don't get me wrong, a game isn't supposed to throw new and shocking things at you at all times! But that overwhelming feeling I had when I played BOTW faded after 80h in. I felt like I was pretty much done with it after experiencing nearly everything new that the game had to offer. But there were MANY other things to do and explore. Felt like I was playing BOTW again and, although I LOVE that game, its replay factor might be its weakest aspect. The story is very shallow as well. Not that the first one was amazing, but it worked. Now it just...doesn't. It hardly even mentions the previous one.
That's really the only thing I have to complain about it. Or the biggest thing, in a way. A few problems from the previous entry are still here (like how they handle the "memories" and the infinite shrine hunting) or how the new "friend abilities" don't hold a candle to the likes of Revali's Gale or Mipha's Grace.
Tears of the Kingdom is a great game and there's A LOT to talk about it. But, for now, I'll just repeat what I said before: if you're like me, and you loved BOTW, pick this one up now. If you didn't, it will not change your mind.
2022
Soul Hackers 2 was another fun ride through the SMT franchise. Far from being a very memorable experience and it does go on for a bit longer than it should, but I think it managed to do well what it sets out to do.
One thing that is immediately clear in SH2 is how they tried to inject a lot of style over substance. And, hey, don't get me wrong, there's still a lot of gameplay to be had here. Just not the most diverse, because "stylin' it" worked, for the most part. It's probably the least atmospheric and immersive SMT game I've played, but still manages to convey a nice Tokyo-like city in a near-future. They don't show much, but I really liked what is there to see and discover.
That's why, of course, graphics, art style and soundtrack played a great part in my enjoyment of this world. I like the direction they went with its looks, character and demon design is top-notch as usual and the OST is great! Unfortunately, there are not a lot of tracks in the game, but the ones present are pretty cool.
The story could've been better, however and that's what hurts it the most.
It's solid, but gets fairly boring towards the end. Which is a shame given how well it starts and how charming the main characters and villains are. Writing is to blame here. The concept and plot are interesting, but dialogues are ghastly. Conversations are redundant (borderline useless at times), motivations are questionable, characters NEVER shut up even DURING combat and there's a twist near the end that made no sense to me.
This aspect alone could've ruined SH2 for me because it's also quite time consuming (I clocked around 60 hours). Still, its classic SMT gameplay works so well! There's not a lot of praise to be said about the press turn system that I already haven't before, so I'll just say that this is one of the most accessible ways to get into it. Even more so than SMT V. Especially due to the Sabbaths, which were a fun strategic addition. It's also fairly forgiving, while challenging. Bullshit moments are still the, just, well... I got used to it by this point.
Two things I wish I could change from this game, however, were the Axis and Requests. Requests are ok, but they get stale due to lack of variety and lukewarm rewards. Axis dungeons are just obnoxious. It starts off pretty cool, as it looks and sounds very ominous, can be a bit challenging and you find out more about the main characters. But BY GOD, DID IT NEED TO HAVE 5 FLOORS OF THE SAME FUCKING THING? Wasted potential, I guess.
And I think that's it for Soul Hackers 2. Honestly, there's not a lot more to it. It's another fun SMT spin. Just not a remarkable one. But I feel like it's a good entry point to the franchise, even though it doesn't pack the best it has to offer.
One thing that is immediately clear in SH2 is how they tried to inject a lot of style over substance. And, hey, don't get me wrong, there's still a lot of gameplay to be had here. Just not the most diverse, because "stylin' it" worked, for the most part. It's probably the least atmospheric and immersive SMT game I've played, but still manages to convey a nice Tokyo-like city in a near-future. They don't show much, but I really liked what is there to see and discover.
That's why, of course, graphics, art style and soundtrack played a great part in my enjoyment of this world. I like the direction they went with its looks, character and demon design is top-notch as usual and the OST is great! Unfortunately, there are not a lot of tracks in the game, but the ones present are pretty cool.
The story could've been better, however and that's what hurts it the most.
It's solid, but gets fairly boring towards the end. Which is a shame given how well it starts and how charming the main characters and villains are. Writing is to blame here. The concept and plot are interesting, but dialogues are ghastly. Conversations are redundant (borderline useless at times), motivations are questionable, characters NEVER shut up even DURING combat and there's a twist near the end that made no sense to me.
This aspect alone could've ruined SH2 for me because it's also quite time consuming (I clocked around 60 hours). Still, its classic SMT gameplay works so well! There's not a lot of praise to be said about the press turn system that I already haven't before, so I'll just say that this is one of the most accessible ways to get into it. Even more so than SMT V. Especially due to the Sabbaths, which were a fun strategic addition. It's also fairly forgiving, while challenging. Bullshit moments are still the, just, well... I got used to it by this point.
Two things I wish I could change from this game, however, were the Axis and Requests. Requests are ok, but they get stale due to lack of variety and lukewarm rewards. Axis dungeons are just obnoxious. It starts off pretty cool, as it looks and sounds very ominous, can be a bit challenging and you find out more about the main characters. But BY GOD, DID IT NEED TO HAVE 5 FLOORS OF THE SAME FUCKING THING? Wasted potential, I guess.
And I think that's it for Soul Hackers 2. Honestly, there's not a lot more to it. It's another fun SMT spin. Just not a remarkable one. But I feel like it's a good entry point to the franchise, even though it doesn't pack the best it has to offer.
2022
I really don't get why people didn't like Ghostwire Tokyo. Personally, I had a blast with it! I wasn't expecting to have as much fun as I had with it. Definitely surprised me in a positive way.
For starters, the thing that I loved the most was the setting. If the game were just purely exploring and photographing the amazing attention to detail put into Shibuya I'd still play the shit out of this. The city feels great (although dead, literally) to travel through, find collectibles and complete quests. It also looks beautiful as hell. I don't know how accurate this depiction of Tokyo is to the real one, but it felt solid enough to me.
The way they incorporated Japanese folklore and horror stories into the whole experience was amazing as well. I'm a sucker for those tales and seeing them as they are in the game was fascinating. The entire conundrum of the experience revolves around those myths in fact. It just enriches how well put together it all is. Enemy design helps a lot, too. Unfortunately, variety is scarce and their placement ends up being a bit overused.
And that leads me to the story. While the writing is just ok, I found Ghostwire's plot to be really touching and often creepy. It deals with death and closure in a sensible way, with its build up to certain events paving the way for a solid character development. It's good, not great, but packs a good punch. The ending is bittersweet, leaving me with Fatal Frame vibes.
Sidequests were also a highlight! They were all very interesting, with cool little short horror stories, filled with new mysteries and engaging/fun narratives. Try not to skip out on them.
So what prevents Ghostwire from being a better game? To be honest, its major flaw is the combat. At first, I found it quite original, but then I saw through the cracks. It is stiff and repetitive, packing some very clunky aiming and uncomfortable shooting that lacks impact, sense of proggression and, well, fun factor. Stealth is barely useful as well. Not to mention that some enemies were VERY annoying to fight. And you do fight A LOT! It is a huge bummer.
Some other things started to get stale around the final couple of chapters. Like, I love the city and its sidequests, but I don't really enjoy its 'collectathon' aspects. It brings nothing new to the campaign and it's always the same things. Acquiring spirits got old really fast, bosses were boring, enemies are overused, some story questions are left unanswered and I fucking hate having to find hidden statues and pray for them to give me, like, ONE extra ammo.
Ghostwire Tokyo was a surprise. A good one. Its traditional Japanese horror roots really got to me and this "free" trip to Shibuya definitely won't leave my head so soon.
For starters, the thing that I loved the most was the setting. If the game were just purely exploring and photographing the amazing attention to detail put into Shibuya I'd still play the shit out of this. The city feels great (although dead, literally) to travel through, find collectibles and complete quests. It also looks beautiful as hell. I don't know how accurate this depiction of Tokyo is to the real one, but it felt solid enough to me.
The way they incorporated Japanese folklore and horror stories into the whole experience was amazing as well. I'm a sucker for those tales and seeing them as they are in the game was fascinating. The entire conundrum of the experience revolves around those myths in fact. It just enriches how well put together it all is. Enemy design helps a lot, too. Unfortunately, variety is scarce and their placement ends up being a bit overused.
And that leads me to the story. While the writing is just ok, I found Ghostwire's plot to be really touching and often creepy. It deals with death and closure in a sensible way, with its build up to certain events paving the way for a solid character development. It's good, not great, but packs a good punch. The ending is bittersweet, leaving me with Fatal Frame vibes.
Sidequests were also a highlight! They were all very interesting, with cool little short horror stories, filled with new mysteries and engaging/fun narratives. Try not to skip out on them.
So what prevents Ghostwire from being a better game? To be honest, its major flaw is the combat. At first, I found it quite original, but then I saw through the cracks. It is stiff and repetitive, packing some very clunky aiming and uncomfortable shooting that lacks impact, sense of proggression and, well, fun factor. Stealth is barely useful as well. Not to mention that some enemies were VERY annoying to fight. And you do fight A LOT! It is a huge bummer.
Some other things started to get stale around the final couple of chapters. Like, I love the city and its sidequests, but I don't really enjoy its 'collectathon' aspects. It brings nothing new to the campaign and it's always the same things. Acquiring spirits got old really fast, bosses were boring, enemies are overused, some story questions are left unanswered and I fucking hate having to find hidden statues and pray for them to give me, like, ONE extra ammo.
Ghostwire Tokyo was a surprise. A good one. Its traditional Japanese horror roots really got to me and this "free" trip to Shibuya definitely won't leave my head so soon.
Wo Long is a very entertaining game with a clumsy execution. It's funny because it works flawlessly at times, but when it doesn't, it's awkward and heavily frustrating.
Wo Long's story is extremely forgettable and its presentation is... uh... bad, to put it simple. Also, I played it on Series S and by god that console struggled to deal with the most simples things. Nevertheless, the game is ugly and its environments are sort of repetitive. Without interesting characters and an engaging tale to keep you hooked, fun factor was foun in other things.
While the environments are dull, the level design can be pretty clever sometimes, with some main missions and sidquests being very well structured. I'm a sucker for shortcuts and hidden places and Wo Long is filled with them. It all comes to a full circle by the end of a level, as long as you don't miss out on anything.
Characters are very bland, but the way they help you during combat and their design is just really nice. Hero or villain, they look cool as shit. Hell, even the armors and weapons you get look super slick. The Divine Beasts are impressive as well but, unfortunately, not all of them are very useful. Monsters and bosses look nice too, but variety is UTTERLY low, killing the element of surprise.
But where Wo Long shines (and sometimes falters) the most is in its combat. I'm going to make the obvious comparison because there's no other way around it: this game tried to be Sekiro. Sometimes it nailed it, but sometimes it failed.
Fighting styles are sharp, every weapon is useful and has its own perks and strenghts, your character is highly customizable, learning damage partterns from enemies and bosses can be extremely fun, most spells are pretty sick and I loved the different kinds of martial arts you learn. This is where more than half of the fun in Wo Long lies and, like I said, when it works, it's amazing.
The problem is, it lacks a certain level of polishment, I think. From enemy placement to boss fights. In fact, ESPECIALLY in boss fights! This game really knocked it out of the park with bosses like the final one, Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo and Zhang Liang. Then completely dropped the ball with others like Aoye, Zhang Rang, Liu Bei and that weird demonic dragon. It is fun, yes, but also absolutely inconsistent.
I also feel like Koei keeps repeating the same mistakes since the first Nioh. An unnecessary amount of repetitive loot, too many systems and mechanics that could totally be cut from the game, the morale system can be quite inconvenient and the game feels bloated. The side quests aren't that good and rewarding as they can be very repetitive sometimes. So why keep it going for so long?
It may seem like Wo Long is a bad game from everything I wrote, but it's not. It's just... complicated. It is also a game that made me appreciate Sekiro even more, for inspiring more fun parry based combat systems like this, but also for how well it executed its original intricate formula.
If you're a fan of games like that, then do give it a go. Just do not expect anything near perfection.
Wo Long's story is extremely forgettable and its presentation is... uh... bad, to put it simple. Also, I played it on Series S and by god that console struggled to deal with the most simples things. Nevertheless, the game is ugly and its environments are sort of repetitive. Without interesting characters and an engaging tale to keep you hooked, fun factor was foun in other things.
While the environments are dull, the level design can be pretty clever sometimes, with some main missions and sidquests being very well structured. I'm a sucker for shortcuts and hidden places and Wo Long is filled with them. It all comes to a full circle by the end of a level, as long as you don't miss out on anything.
Characters are very bland, but the way they help you during combat and their design is just really nice. Hero or villain, they look cool as shit. Hell, even the armors and weapons you get look super slick. The Divine Beasts are impressive as well but, unfortunately, not all of them are very useful. Monsters and bosses look nice too, but variety is UTTERLY low, killing the element of surprise.
But where Wo Long shines (and sometimes falters) the most is in its combat. I'm going to make the obvious comparison because there's no other way around it: this game tried to be Sekiro. Sometimes it nailed it, but sometimes it failed.
Fighting styles are sharp, every weapon is useful and has its own perks and strenghts, your character is highly customizable, learning damage partterns from enemies and bosses can be extremely fun, most spells are pretty sick and I loved the different kinds of martial arts you learn. This is where more than half of the fun in Wo Long lies and, like I said, when it works, it's amazing.
The problem is, it lacks a certain level of polishment, I think. From enemy placement to boss fights. In fact, ESPECIALLY in boss fights! This game really knocked it out of the park with bosses like the final one, Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo and Zhang Liang. Then completely dropped the ball with others like Aoye, Zhang Rang, Liu Bei and that weird demonic dragon. It is fun, yes, but also absolutely inconsistent.
I also feel like Koei keeps repeating the same mistakes since the first Nioh. An unnecessary amount of repetitive loot, too many systems and mechanics that could totally be cut from the game, the morale system can be quite inconvenient and the game feels bloated. The side quests aren't that good and rewarding as they can be very repetitive sometimes. So why keep it going for so long?
It may seem like Wo Long is a bad game from everything I wrote, but it's not. It's just... complicated. It is also a game that made me appreciate Sekiro even more, for inspiring more fun parry based combat systems like this, but also for how well it executed its original intricate formula.
If you're a fan of games like that, then do give it a go. Just do not expect anything near perfection.
2012
Asura's Wrath is too cool to be true. So cool, in fact, that ends up being just that. A cool overglorified visual novel with a lot of wasted potential.
One thing that Asura's Wrath makes pretty clear is that what matters the most is the story. Pulling from bits and pieces of mythologies here and there, Capcom managed to create a plot interesting enough to get me to the ending, plus its unnecessary hidden episode. It is full of tropes and obvious anime set pieces, but it excels when it comes to character design, epic duels and 'deity drama'.
Fights are the highlights of the game, with some of them crossing the line of ridiculous, while still holding its own pretty well. It is engaging from beginning to end, even if the writing fails to be anything more than fodder for MORE duels and gibberish.
One other thing that impressed me a lot was the art style. This game is from 2012 and still manages to be one of the best looking anime games I've ever played. Quite stunning, visually, at least. That was, in fact, what made pick it up in the first place.
But this is where Asura's Wrath stops working. It is a nice "battle shonen", but that's it. It forgets to be a game most of the times and when it remembers, it's just not good enough. The gameplay is repetitive, boring, lazy and it seems to be there just for the sake of being. The only actual good fights are the ones against Augus and the final boss.
Outside of art direction and some points in storytelling, there's not a lot to do here. The hidden episode is a waste of time, the soundtrack if forgettable to say the least, enemy variety sucks, there is little to no challenge and the unlockables just weren't enough to boost its replay factor.
You either do it out of love for the story or you leave it.
I do get the appeal of this game. It may seem like I don't, but I truly see beauty in it. There was a lot to explore here. The sheer sense of scale and overarching plot could've turned this into Capcom's own God of War clone. A cool one. But it's not like they dropped the ball. They didn't even get a hold of it in the first place.
If you want a fun interactive battle shonen to have in your console, this could be nice. Maybe give it a go on Youtube, at least. If not, don't even try it.
One thing that Asura's Wrath makes pretty clear is that what matters the most is the story. Pulling from bits and pieces of mythologies here and there, Capcom managed to create a plot interesting enough to get me to the ending, plus its unnecessary hidden episode. It is full of tropes and obvious anime set pieces, but it excels when it comes to character design, epic duels and 'deity drama'.
Fights are the highlights of the game, with some of them crossing the line of ridiculous, while still holding its own pretty well. It is engaging from beginning to end, even if the writing fails to be anything more than fodder for MORE duels and gibberish.
One other thing that impressed me a lot was the art style. This game is from 2012 and still manages to be one of the best looking anime games I've ever played. Quite stunning, visually, at least. That was, in fact, what made pick it up in the first place.
But this is where Asura's Wrath stops working. It is a nice "battle shonen", but that's it. It forgets to be a game most of the times and when it remembers, it's just not good enough. The gameplay is repetitive, boring, lazy and it seems to be there just for the sake of being. The only actual good fights are the ones against Augus and the final boss.
Outside of art direction and some points in storytelling, there's not a lot to do here. The hidden episode is a waste of time, the soundtrack if forgettable to say the least, enemy variety sucks, there is little to no challenge and the unlockables just weren't enough to boost its replay factor.
You either do it out of love for the story or you leave it.
I do get the appeal of this game. It may seem like I don't, but I truly see beauty in it. There was a lot to explore here. The sheer sense of scale and overarching plot could've turned this into Capcom's own God of War clone. A cool one. But it's not like they dropped the ball. They didn't even get a hold of it in the first place.
If you want a fun interactive battle shonen to have in your console, this could be nice. Maybe give it a go on Youtube, at least. If not, don't even try it.
2023
Hard to say anything about RE4 remake, because RE4 is my favorite.
Capcom has proved again and again to be the queen of remakes. I didn't know I needed this until I played it. And it's very close to perfection, in my opinion. I think this remake might even rival RE1's!
It's one of the most perfect examples I've ever seen when it comes to a "Faithful Reimagination". Almost everything is there. The atmosphere, the jokes, areas, challenges, bosses, enemies, characters, storytelling and even secrets. Yet, it all feels brand new. You can tell they've done a good job because it's actually hard to explain how accurate the experience is. Especially for me, who's been a huge fan of this franchise forever.
RE4 didn't need fixing (let alone an entire remake), but they nailed some things extremely well. Like the new emphasis on story. The original's was ok and its tale and tone worked well for the time, but this new take on characters, cutscenes, events and detailed incidents worked even better. It makes more sense now and it's better explained, not losing RE's twisted 80s sense of humour. I was even impressed with the writing, which is something that's usually not good in RE games, even with past remakes.
One thing I loved was how new features that I thought unnecessary worked like a charm. For example, I didn't want a stealthy Leon, but it wasn't uverused and furtivity felt badass. I didn't want a scary RE4 either. The original was scary due to how over the top and intense it felt. And they nailed that just fine. Krauser's final encounter, the first Garrador and the opening sequence are perfect examples of this "tension" I mentioned.
Hell, even the soundtrack is fantastic! The original had my favorite of the franchise and they managed to knock it out of the park AGAIN!
Although not every area made it in (unfortunately), the ones recreated, reimagined and restructured were incredibly well done. Parts like the battle in the shack, nightfall in the village, meeting El Garrador, Ashley's gameplay, both El Gigantes, the Regenerators and both of Krauser's encounters were astounding. A major improvement, while not changing or killing the original's atmosphere and urgency, without a doubt. It's all very well paced, not too mention how stunning this game looks on PS5.
Gameplay received a major overhaul, of course. Not only due to obvious and necessary modern quality of life improvements, but now it finally feels like a real sequel to past RE games. It took me quite a while to get the gist of it, but now I know how delicious it feels to play this. Just as I felt back when I mastered the original's gameplay. And I'm not only talking about combat. The merchant, puzzles, Ashley's interaction, bosses, menu management and even extras. Everything is new and works better now.
All in all, few things take the prize of best remake from this game. I don't care much for Mercenaries, but I really missed Separate Ways, even though it might be a future DLC. I also found unlockables and secrets quite complicated to get. A bit unnecessary, I think. Oh, having to repair your knife and vest constantly was a pain as well.
In fact, this entire game is very complicated. I didn't think it'd be THAT difficult. Maybe it's because I've become very good in the original, but goddamn some combat sequences and item management moments kicked my ass. Maybe it's me, but although I love this style of gameplay, aiming has been feeling a bit off since RE2. So when you put this style against 100 Ganados on a military island... you either get good or die trying. Some bosses like Saddler and Salazar were also a bit weird. Entertaining as hell, but odd.
Also, what the hell was that El Gigante on chapter 8? It was one hell of a surprise, sure, but couldn't they trade this for U3's fight, for example?
At last, but not least, while some characters like Ashley and Salazar are way better now, I felt like Ada and Saddler lost or shifted their original charm a bit. It's not bad, but I wish they were more faithful to the original. This happened with voice acting as well. GREAT job, for sure, but... I guess I prefer 2005's Leon and Luis. RE4 was a "serious" game that didn't take themselves too serious. Here, things feel a bit more critical.
Again, it's hard to rate this game, because this is my favorite. And unlike RE1 and RE2, I still prefer the original.
Yet the quality here is beyond ABSURD! Whether you've been here since 2005 or not, I highly recommend to pick this one up.
Capcom has proved again and again to be the queen of remakes. I didn't know I needed this until I played it. And it's very close to perfection, in my opinion. I think this remake might even rival RE1's!
It's one of the most perfect examples I've ever seen when it comes to a "Faithful Reimagination". Almost everything is there. The atmosphere, the jokes, areas, challenges, bosses, enemies, characters, storytelling and even secrets. Yet, it all feels brand new. You can tell they've done a good job because it's actually hard to explain how accurate the experience is. Especially for me, who's been a huge fan of this franchise forever.
RE4 didn't need fixing (let alone an entire remake), but they nailed some things extremely well. Like the new emphasis on story. The original's was ok and its tale and tone worked well for the time, but this new take on characters, cutscenes, events and detailed incidents worked even better. It makes more sense now and it's better explained, not losing RE's twisted 80s sense of humour. I was even impressed with the writing, which is something that's usually not good in RE games, even with past remakes.
One thing I loved was how new features that I thought unnecessary worked like a charm. For example, I didn't want a stealthy Leon, but it wasn't uverused and furtivity felt badass. I didn't want a scary RE4 either. The original was scary due to how over the top and intense it felt. And they nailed that just fine. Krauser's final encounter, the first Garrador and the opening sequence are perfect examples of this "tension" I mentioned.
Hell, even the soundtrack is fantastic! The original had my favorite of the franchise and they managed to knock it out of the park AGAIN!
Although not every area made it in (unfortunately), the ones recreated, reimagined and restructured were incredibly well done. Parts like the battle in the shack, nightfall in the village, meeting El Garrador, Ashley's gameplay, both El Gigantes, the Regenerators and both of Krauser's encounters were astounding. A major improvement, while not changing or killing the original's atmosphere and urgency, without a doubt. It's all very well paced, not too mention how stunning this game looks on PS5.
Gameplay received a major overhaul, of course. Not only due to obvious and necessary modern quality of life improvements, but now it finally feels like a real sequel to past RE games. It took me quite a while to get the gist of it, but now I know how delicious it feels to play this. Just as I felt back when I mastered the original's gameplay. And I'm not only talking about combat. The merchant, puzzles, Ashley's interaction, bosses, menu management and even extras. Everything is new and works better now.
All in all, few things take the prize of best remake from this game. I don't care much for Mercenaries, but I really missed Separate Ways, even though it might be a future DLC. I also found unlockables and secrets quite complicated to get. A bit unnecessary, I think. Oh, having to repair your knife and vest constantly was a pain as well.
In fact, this entire game is very complicated. I didn't think it'd be THAT difficult. Maybe it's because I've become very good in the original, but goddamn some combat sequences and item management moments kicked my ass. Maybe it's me, but although I love this style of gameplay, aiming has been feeling a bit off since RE2. So when you put this style against 100 Ganados on a military island... you either get good or die trying. Some bosses like Saddler and Salazar were also a bit weird. Entertaining as hell, but odd.
Also, what the hell was that El Gigante on chapter 8? It was one hell of a surprise, sure, but couldn't they trade this for U3's fight, for example?
At last, but not least, while some characters like Ashley and Salazar are way better now, I felt like Ada and Saddler lost or shifted their original charm a bit. It's not bad, but I wish they were more faithful to the original. This happened with voice acting as well. GREAT job, for sure, but... I guess I prefer 2005's Leon and Luis. RE4 was a "serious" game that didn't take themselves too serious. Here, things feel a bit more critical.
Again, it's hard to rate this game, because this is my favorite. And unlike RE1 and RE2, I still prefer the original.
Yet the quality here is beyond ABSURD! Whether you've been here since 2005 or not, I highly recommend to pick this one up.
2012
Good to see you finally retire, Max! Especially in my country!
Look, Max Payne 3 is a fine game.
I had a lot of fun with it and loved finally concluding this trilogy. The gameplay was improved from the previous one, they managed to successfully change the environments and the game's tone. The writing is still pretty cool and Max is still a badass protagonist. Voice acting alone could convince you to fall for this game, in fact. Even if it feels, at times, quite forced, with exaggerated plot points and murky point of views. But it IS supposed to be a moody noir game after all and they manage to sell this through storytelling, bloody set pieces and frenetic gunplay.
I also really liked how they set this one in Brazil. Not only for the necessary change of pace that the game (and character) needed, but also from the perspective of someone who lives in a coastal city in São Paulo. They hyperbolize and dramatize the country's crime gangs A LOT, but they did it in an interesting way, nailing a few of the environments, from the rich to the poor ones, as well.
What mostly fucks this game up are problems from the past, though. The same things I hated back in the previous both games are still present. Somehow improved, sure, but still a mess. Clunky aiming, weird cover system, too edgy, mindless shooting endless enemies, repetitive level design, weak replay factor, Max Payne's life is made of thin paper and too many bullet-sponge-soldiers. I swear, you could shower someone in bullets but some fuckers just refused to fall. Felt like Gears of War, but without sense, because you fight humans here.
Playing this game on harder difficulties must not be fun at all.
I also felt like this game took longer than it should. Outstaying your welcome by doing the same flaws, repeating things over and over, just isn't good. Especially right at the end of a trilogy, with an actual cool story. It just kills the rhythm.
So, yeah, I'm glad Max finally retired. It was a fun ride and I do recommend this game if you've played the other ones. But, honestly, I'm pretty much done here. Enjoy Bahia, Max!
Look, Max Payne 3 is a fine game.
I had a lot of fun with it and loved finally concluding this trilogy. The gameplay was improved from the previous one, they managed to successfully change the environments and the game's tone. The writing is still pretty cool and Max is still a badass protagonist. Voice acting alone could convince you to fall for this game, in fact. Even if it feels, at times, quite forced, with exaggerated plot points and murky point of views. But it IS supposed to be a moody noir game after all and they manage to sell this through storytelling, bloody set pieces and frenetic gunplay.
I also really liked how they set this one in Brazil. Not only for the necessary change of pace that the game (and character) needed, but also from the perspective of someone who lives in a coastal city in São Paulo. They hyperbolize and dramatize the country's crime gangs A LOT, but they did it in an interesting way, nailing a few of the environments, from the rich to the poor ones, as well.
What mostly fucks this game up are problems from the past, though. The same things I hated back in the previous both games are still present. Somehow improved, sure, but still a mess. Clunky aiming, weird cover system, too edgy, mindless shooting endless enemies, repetitive level design, weak replay factor, Max Payne's life is made of thin paper and too many bullet-sponge-soldiers. I swear, you could shower someone in bullets but some fuckers just refused to fall. Felt like Gears of War, but without sense, because you fight humans here.
Playing this game on harder difficulties must not be fun at all.
I also felt like this game took longer than it should. Outstaying your welcome by doing the same flaws, repeating things over and over, just isn't good. Especially right at the end of a trilogy, with an actual cool story. It just kills the rhythm.
So, yeah, I'm glad Max finally retired. It was a fun ride and I do recommend this game if you've played the other ones. But, honestly, I'm pretty much done here. Enjoy Bahia, Max!
2023
Atomic Heart is probably the worst game I've finished in 2023 so far. And that is a shame, giving the major potential it had. The main problem here is lack of identity and bad execution of good ideas.
From the start, this game captivated me with its beautiful world and premise. It all looks and sounds very nice. The presentation is, in fact, the best thing it offers.
Great artstyle, cool animations, an amazing soundtrack, creepy enemies, crazy abilities and even crazier weapons. It was all off to a good start. Hell, even the jokes were fun, ocasionally. But... the more I played the more I disliked it.
For every good thing in Atomic Heart, there are two equally bad things. That feeling only got worse by the time I watched the credits roll. The enemy variety got stale, the semi-open world got boring, the interior environments got repetitive, puzzles were obnoxious, melee combat became a joke, the difficulty spiked out of nowhere, the sense of pregression halted... the magic just died.
Honestly, the story was the only thing that, in my opinion, got better as I moved forward, but that was ultimately held back by bad character development, poor storytelling (like dumping major plot points on you while robots kept jumping in your face), empty endings and a gameplay that just didn't seem to hold up! I can't quite put my finger on why, but I started to loathe how its slow and cumbersome system plays and, especially, its inconsistent pace.
And those bosses? My god, they were insufferable! I'm not kidding when I say that this game would improve, like, 30% if they fixed boss fights. Almost all of them felt annoying, frustrating and, most of all, unrewarding. The only ones I enjoyed were the two final battles. Pack this with the amount of dreadful puzzles you encounter in the game and you have yourself a very tedious experience. And not all of the puzzles were bad. Some were quite clever. But there were A LOT of them and A LOT of unnecessary and recurring ones.
One of the puzzles even made me play SNAKE, FOR FUCK'S SAKE...
Atomic Heart's real problem lies in its identity crisis. It was almost as if the game tried to be other great FPS games. It wanted to be Wolfenstein, Bioshock, Fallout, Duke Nukem, Dishonored, Half Life and it managed to be nothing. Not even its own thing.
There is fun to be had here. But very little. It's cool to try this out if you have Gamepass. If you don't, just don't waste your time.
From the start, this game captivated me with its beautiful world and premise. It all looks and sounds very nice. The presentation is, in fact, the best thing it offers.
Great artstyle, cool animations, an amazing soundtrack, creepy enemies, crazy abilities and even crazier weapons. It was all off to a good start. Hell, even the jokes were fun, ocasionally. But... the more I played the more I disliked it.
For every good thing in Atomic Heart, there are two equally bad things. That feeling only got worse by the time I watched the credits roll. The enemy variety got stale, the semi-open world got boring, the interior environments got repetitive, puzzles were obnoxious, melee combat became a joke, the difficulty spiked out of nowhere, the sense of pregression halted... the magic just died.
Honestly, the story was the only thing that, in my opinion, got better as I moved forward, but that was ultimately held back by bad character development, poor storytelling (like dumping major plot points on you while robots kept jumping in your face), empty endings and a gameplay that just didn't seem to hold up! I can't quite put my finger on why, but I started to loathe how its slow and cumbersome system plays and, especially, its inconsistent pace.
And those bosses? My god, they were insufferable! I'm not kidding when I say that this game would improve, like, 30% if they fixed boss fights. Almost all of them felt annoying, frustrating and, most of all, unrewarding. The only ones I enjoyed were the two final battles. Pack this with the amount of dreadful puzzles you encounter in the game and you have yourself a very tedious experience. And not all of the puzzles were bad. Some were quite clever. But there were A LOT of them and A LOT of unnecessary and recurring ones.
One of the puzzles even made me play SNAKE, FOR FUCK'S SAKE...
Atomic Heart's real problem lies in its identity crisis. It was almost as if the game tried to be other great FPS games. It wanted to be Wolfenstein, Bioshock, Fallout, Duke Nukem, Dishonored, Half Life and it managed to be nothing. Not even its own thing.
There is fun to be had here. But very little. It's cool to try this out if you have Gamepass. If you don't, just don't waste your time.
I've played this game many times before, back when I was way younger. It was one of my mom's favorite games and I used to help her with puzzles and fights. This was my first time finishing it solo.
Fatal Frame 2 is an amazing game and a nice improvement over its predecessor. From how it looks to how it plays, this should definitely be your first game in the franchise. The setting of the lost village is quite disturbing and the incredible sound design, weird voice acting and haunting (or sometimes beautiful!) soundtrack helps to create a sinister atmosphere from start to finish. It is undeniably unique in what it sets out to do.
The game is way less frustrating than its predecessor as well. They polished the combat a bit more, made movement a bit less stiff and gave you more room for improvisation, with a tiny bit of customization mixed in. Replayability is very much encouraged, as well. A step into the right direction, without a doubt.
One thing that I didn't like at all, however, was how Zero Shots/Fatal Frames work here. It made more sense in the first one. Now you have to get too close to the ghosts and the windows for the shots are quicker than they should be. Also, I'm glad that the game is more puzzle-light and less punishing than before, but did it need to be that easy?
And while the village and some VERY creepy places left quite an impact on me, I also feel like the mansion worked a bit better. Don't get me wrong, this game can get quite scary, but the first one did better, I guess. I blame that, especially, on the bad map design.
In fact, this may be the one true bad aspect of the game. Again, the scenarios are great and the game is hauntingly pretty, but when you're inside the houses, it all looks the same! It's easy to get lost, hard to know what to do, sometimes. And item placement is a bit iffy. Some crucial items to understand the story or tweak your camera can only be found by randomly interacting with everything, everywhere, with little indication.
And then there's the story... I'm not gonna lie, but the ending always brings me to tears. Both PS2 endings do, in fact. The story is a bit tricky to piece together at first, but when you're close to the end, it flows amazingly well. You understand what's going on and the writing makes everything seem dire, urgent and bloody. Mio and Mayu were also great simple protagonists. Their bond, Sae and Yae's ordeal and the village's wicked fate brings the story to a perfect conclusion.
I did not play the other Fatal Frames, but after this ending, it could all stop here and it would be perfect. Fatal Frame 2 is a fantastic overlooked survival horror game, with a unique approach to the genre's cliches and a lovely story.
I do hope they rerelease it, someday.
Fatal Frame 2 is an amazing game and a nice improvement over its predecessor. From how it looks to how it plays, this should definitely be your first game in the franchise. The setting of the lost village is quite disturbing and the incredible sound design, weird voice acting and haunting (or sometimes beautiful!) soundtrack helps to create a sinister atmosphere from start to finish. It is undeniably unique in what it sets out to do.
The game is way less frustrating than its predecessor as well. They polished the combat a bit more, made movement a bit less stiff and gave you more room for improvisation, with a tiny bit of customization mixed in. Replayability is very much encouraged, as well. A step into the right direction, without a doubt.
One thing that I didn't like at all, however, was how Zero Shots/Fatal Frames work here. It made more sense in the first one. Now you have to get too close to the ghosts and the windows for the shots are quicker than they should be. Also, I'm glad that the game is more puzzle-light and less punishing than before, but did it need to be that easy?
And while the village and some VERY creepy places left quite an impact on me, I also feel like the mansion worked a bit better. Don't get me wrong, this game can get quite scary, but the first one did better, I guess. I blame that, especially, on the bad map design.
In fact, this may be the one true bad aspect of the game. Again, the scenarios are great and the game is hauntingly pretty, but when you're inside the houses, it all looks the same! It's easy to get lost, hard to know what to do, sometimes. And item placement is a bit iffy. Some crucial items to understand the story or tweak your camera can only be found by randomly interacting with everything, everywhere, with little indication.
And then there's the story... I'm not gonna lie, but the ending always brings me to tears. Both PS2 endings do, in fact. The story is a bit tricky to piece together at first, but when you're close to the end, it flows amazingly well. You understand what's going on and the writing makes everything seem dire, urgent and bloody. Mio and Mayu were also great simple protagonists. Their bond, Sae and Yae's ordeal and the village's wicked fate brings the story to a perfect conclusion.
I did not play the other Fatal Frames, but after this ending, it could all stop here and it would be perfect. Fatal Frame 2 is a fantastic overlooked survival horror game, with a unique approach to the genre's cliches and a lovely story.
I do hope they rerelease it, someday.
2023
Fire Emblem Engage is one of the greatest Tactical JRPGs I've played. The story may be its biggest slip, but the rest of the experience more than makes up for a very entertaining game.
From its opening cutscene to how well it runs, from beginning to end, it's very noticeable that this is one of the most beautiful games on the Switch. The environments are a bit empty, but it's all very colorful, charming, sometimes bleak and, overall, inviting! Character designs are great, the Somniel looks pleasant and comforting, the arenas feel grand and even the overworld map is amazing.
The cast of characters pleased me right from the start! They're definitely tropey and a bit cliche, but I loved most of them, their usefulness in battle, their backstories and little support/bond conversations. I got attached to them. From Citrine's questioning of Yunaka's past, to Goldmary and Panette's weird cooking lessons. You'll definitely find your favorite and there are A LOT of them. Maybe more than it should, I think.
But it's hard not to talk about the cast without touching upon the dialogues. And I'll be frank: it's obnoxious! The story is your basic "good vs evil" shonen, with a few predictable twists here and there. It's not great, but it's fine. There were some genuine epic moments, in fact. But when it comes to its writing? It's bad.
The presentation during conversations doesn't help either. When you have bad writing + bad character interaction scenes, you end up turning some story bits into shallow moments. There's no impact in places screaming for it! It's a major flaw, but one that I was gladly able to look past.
Especially since what holds FE Engage together is definitely its perfect combat system. It's easy to get into, never gets too complicated, it's challenging without being frustrating (fuck classic mode, tho), the arenas are stimulating, combat animations look amazing, objectives are nice and the whole loop is just super addictive. Once you're done with it, it's hard to let go!
I loved the Engage system and its celebration of the franchise. Character progression was certainly satisfying, as well. The only things that bothered me were how hard it was to acquire SP and Gold and how tiresome it became to inherit skills, having to swtch emblem rings constantly. Other than that, it was incredible. Especially boss fights on arenas with weird terrain effects. I think it will be hard to go back to past instalments after experiencing this level of refinement.
And last, but not least, the soundtrack is superb! It's thrilling, calming, ominous and quite epic. Remixes of old FE themes that played during some paralogues were fantastic. And what about Somniel's songs? Simply remarkable! I don't think there's a single song I didn't like. Just wish I could listen to it on Spotify or something.
Fire Emblem Engage is my 3rd and favorite game in the series, so far. It has almost everything you need for a good JRPG: great cast, perfect battle system, charming world and an excellent soundtrack.
It's a shame that they dropped the ball on the story. With the right writing, better dialogue presentation and an overall deeper plot, this could be one for the ages.
I understand how somethings in it can make you ignore it, but trust me, don't let it.
From its opening cutscene to how well it runs, from beginning to end, it's very noticeable that this is one of the most beautiful games on the Switch. The environments are a bit empty, but it's all very colorful, charming, sometimes bleak and, overall, inviting! Character designs are great, the Somniel looks pleasant and comforting, the arenas feel grand and even the overworld map is amazing.
The cast of characters pleased me right from the start! They're definitely tropey and a bit cliche, but I loved most of them, their usefulness in battle, their backstories and little support/bond conversations. I got attached to them. From Citrine's questioning of Yunaka's past, to Goldmary and Panette's weird cooking lessons. You'll definitely find your favorite and there are A LOT of them. Maybe more than it should, I think.
But it's hard not to talk about the cast without touching upon the dialogues. And I'll be frank: it's obnoxious! The story is your basic "good vs evil" shonen, with a few predictable twists here and there. It's not great, but it's fine. There were some genuine epic moments, in fact. But when it comes to its writing? It's bad.
The presentation during conversations doesn't help either. When you have bad writing + bad character interaction scenes, you end up turning some story bits into shallow moments. There's no impact in places screaming for it! It's a major flaw, but one that I was gladly able to look past.
Especially since what holds FE Engage together is definitely its perfect combat system. It's easy to get into, never gets too complicated, it's challenging without being frustrating (fuck classic mode, tho), the arenas are stimulating, combat animations look amazing, objectives are nice and the whole loop is just super addictive. Once you're done with it, it's hard to let go!
I loved the Engage system and its celebration of the franchise. Character progression was certainly satisfying, as well. The only things that bothered me were how hard it was to acquire SP and Gold and how tiresome it became to inherit skills, having to swtch emblem rings constantly. Other than that, it was incredible. Especially boss fights on arenas with weird terrain effects. I think it will be hard to go back to past instalments after experiencing this level of refinement.
And last, but not least, the soundtrack is superb! It's thrilling, calming, ominous and quite epic. Remixes of old FE themes that played during some paralogues were fantastic. And what about Somniel's songs? Simply remarkable! I don't think there's a single song I didn't like. Just wish I could listen to it on Spotify or something.
Fire Emblem Engage is my 3rd and favorite game in the series, so far. It has almost everything you need for a good JRPG: great cast, perfect battle system, charming world and an excellent soundtrack.
It's a shame that they dropped the ball on the story. With the right writing, better dialogue presentation and an overall deeper plot, this could be one for the ages.
I understand how somethings in it can make you ignore it, but trust me, don't let it.
2023
Hi-Fi Rush isn't the type of game I'd pick up and play, but I heard so many things about it that I just had to try it (thank you, Game Pass). It sorta ended up being what I already expected, with a few surprises along the way.
This game is downright gorgeous! The animations, vibrant colors, cutscenes, character design and even the visual cues were amazing. It makes you feel comfortable to play, while doing it all in style. The level design is also quite amazing. At times I loved the platforming moments, little puzzles and just traversing through areas way more interesting than the battle system.
Unfortunately, the story and writing are very dumb and obvious. I know that its silliness can actually be intentional, but I just couldn't do it with the dialogue and the lack of development on the plot and its characters. I loved the presentation and the cast/villains were quite charming, but I couldn't care for them. Honestly, the worst aspect of the game.
But the real deal here is the combat. A cool weird mix between Devil May Cry and, I don't know, Guitar Hero, I guess. For me, it worked. Not always, but it did work. It took a long time to click, but it was fun when it did. The thing that bothered me the most was that, sometimes, it didn't really feel like I was doing combos on the beat when I KNEW that I was. And yes, I checked and tweaked things in the options menu. Also, sometimes I was more focused on the beat than in actually moving forward. It's very strange, but there is beauty in it.
The bosses were hilights for me, the enemy variety is interesting but sort of lacking (some of them, like the bird and the samurai, are annoying as hell), the environments look very good but are somewhat repetitive and combos were cool to pull off but buying them on the store didn't seem to shake up the combat that much.
The parry mechanic left me a bit conflicted as well. Hitting perfect parries made feel like an untouchable badass, but I HATED the obligatory parry moments as they were more of a nuisance than an impactful quirk.
One other thing that was a bit of a hit or miss for me was the music. I think that's what kept me from enjoying this game more. The licensed music is great. I never thought I'd actually fight a video game boss to the sound of NIN, Number Girl and even a Flaming Lips cover. That was amazing.
As for the original music? It was bland and forgettable. And for a game that puts music as the forefront of its design, it needed to be awesome.
Hi-Fi Rush is not my type of game, but it's a fun experience, for sure! I liked how entertaining, charming, imaginative and technical it is, but I did not fall in love with its cast, story, world and, most importantly, music.
If you have Game Pass, though, you should definitely give it a try!
This game is downright gorgeous! The animations, vibrant colors, cutscenes, character design and even the visual cues were amazing. It makes you feel comfortable to play, while doing it all in style. The level design is also quite amazing. At times I loved the platforming moments, little puzzles and just traversing through areas way more interesting than the battle system.
Unfortunately, the story and writing are very dumb and obvious. I know that its silliness can actually be intentional, but I just couldn't do it with the dialogue and the lack of development on the plot and its characters. I loved the presentation and the cast/villains were quite charming, but I couldn't care for them. Honestly, the worst aspect of the game.
But the real deal here is the combat. A cool weird mix between Devil May Cry and, I don't know, Guitar Hero, I guess. For me, it worked. Not always, but it did work. It took a long time to click, but it was fun when it did. The thing that bothered me the most was that, sometimes, it didn't really feel like I was doing combos on the beat when I KNEW that I was. And yes, I checked and tweaked things in the options menu. Also, sometimes I was more focused on the beat than in actually moving forward. It's very strange, but there is beauty in it.
The bosses were hilights for me, the enemy variety is interesting but sort of lacking (some of them, like the bird and the samurai, are annoying as hell), the environments look very good but are somewhat repetitive and combos were cool to pull off but buying them on the store didn't seem to shake up the combat that much.
The parry mechanic left me a bit conflicted as well. Hitting perfect parries made feel like an untouchable badass, but I HATED the obligatory parry moments as they were more of a nuisance than an impactful quirk.
One other thing that was a bit of a hit or miss for me was the music. I think that's what kept me from enjoying this game more. The licensed music is great. I never thought I'd actually fight a video game boss to the sound of NIN, Number Girl and even a Flaming Lips cover. That was amazing.
As for the original music? It was bland and forgettable. And for a game that puts music as the forefront of its design, it needed to be awesome.
Hi-Fi Rush is not my type of game, but it's a fun experience, for sure! I liked how entertaining, charming, imaginative and technical it is, but I did not fall in love with its cast, story, world and, most importantly, music.
If you have Game Pass, though, you should definitely give it a try!
Danganronpa is the weirdest and most stylish VN game I've ever played. A cliche heavy narrative filled with cool plot twists, plenty of mystery and unusual choices.
Danganronpa is a unique game. At least from the perspective of someone who didn't play a whole lot of visual novels. But out of the ones I did play, this is the most stylish and best good looking one. Character design, artstyle, the school atmosphere and the creepy little cutscenes you get as you progress through the story. It's not only cool to experience but just fun to look at.
The soundtrack helps a lot with the overall tone and mood of the story. It's amazing! Plenty of unique memorable songs that are still in my head even after I put the game down. It's a shame that they are repeated to INFINITY due to how few of them there are.
This is the type of game that embraces its cliches and quirks, wears them on its sleeves and parodies itself throughout the story. Sometimes it just really doesn't work at all, but the game can be really fun when it does. Those "cliches" are directly tied to the story and if you're cool with it, you're going to have a good time.
The story has its highs and lows. It's engaging, mysterious, keeps you on your toes by constantly making the player question EVERYTHING and manages to build its "murders and trials" very well. Not all of them, but most, at least. The writing can be a bit off sometimes, especially during class trials, but nothing that will ruin the whole thing.
Characters are a bit of a hit or miss. There were very good and well developed ones that kept me interested from beginning to end, like Makoto, Kyoko and Sayaka. While others like Hiro, Toko and Hifumi were extremely obnoxious. I liked the "free time" moments, because you could get an insight on their personalities a bit more, but they're not all worth it. The deaths and uncovering their murderers were cool surprises, though. Above all, the deaths of the ones I didn't like.
And then there's Monokuma... he's the best! He's annoying, funny, cute, creepy, part of a cool major plot twist and A FUCKING BEAR! I love him. The ending, for example, is cool on its own, but he just makes it even better.
The gameplay loop (the little that you actually get to play) gets a bit stale after a while, starting off really strong, but becoming inconsistent. It's not all bad, don't get me wrong! It's all basically split into Narrative/Investigation/Trial. I like the engaging narrative parts that drive the plot forward, I LOVE the investigation and build up to the chapter's climax, but I just didn't enjoy the trials at all. I know they might be the meat of the game, but I found the mini games irritating, random, confusing and the tutorial was awful.
In the end, Danganronpa is a game that actually grabbed me. After finishing it, I kinda wanted to get back to it, because I miss the whole cast (even the weird ones) and the quirky drama. It's not great, but it's a good experience, original enough to make you want to try it.
Danganronpa is a unique game. At least from the perspective of someone who didn't play a whole lot of visual novels. But out of the ones I did play, this is the most stylish and best good looking one. Character design, artstyle, the school atmosphere and the creepy little cutscenes you get as you progress through the story. It's not only cool to experience but just fun to look at.
The soundtrack helps a lot with the overall tone and mood of the story. It's amazing! Plenty of unique memorable songs that are still in my head even after I put the game down. It's a shame that they are repeated to INFINITY due to how few of them there are.
This is the type of game that embraces its cliches and quirks, wears them on its sleeves and parodies itself throughout the story. Sometimes it just really doesn't work at all, but the game can be really fun when it does. Those "cliches" are directly tied to the story and if you're cool with it, you're going to have a good time.
The story has its highs and lows. It's engaging, mysterious, keeps you on your toes by constantly making the player question EVERYTHING and manages to build its "murders and trials" very well. Not all of them, but most, at least. The writing can be a bit off sometimes, especially during class trials, but nothing that will ruin the whole thing.
Characters are a bit of a hit or miss. There were very good and well developed ones that kept me interested from beginning to end, like Makoto, Kyoko and Sayaka. While others like Hiro, Toko and Hifumi were extremely obnoxious. I liked the "free time" moments, because you could get an insight on their personalities a bit more, but they're not all worth it. The deaths and uncovering their murderers were cool surprises, though. Above all, the deaths of the ones I didn't like.
And then there's Monokuma... he's the best! He's annoying, funny, cute, creepy, part of a cool major plot twist and A FUCKING BEAR! I love him. The ending, for example, is cool on its own, but he just makes it even better.
The gameplay loop (the little that you actually get to play) gets a bit stale after a while, starting off really strong, but becoming inconsistent. It's not all bad, don't get me wrong! It's all basically split into Narrative/Investigation/Trial. I like the engaging narrative parts that drive the plot forward, I LOVE the investigation and build up to the chapter's climax, but I just didn't enjoy the trials at all. I know they might be the meat of the game, but I found the mini games irritating, random, confusing and the tutorial was awful.
In the end, Danganronpa is a game that actually grabbed me. After finishing it, I kinda wanted to get back to it, because I miss the whole cast (even the weird ones) and the quirky drama. It's not great, but it's a good experience, original enough to make you want to try it.
2022
Chained Echoes is exactly what you expect it to be. A retro indie game, trying its own take on classic JRPGs from back in the day. In my opinion, it actually succeeds in it, but it just doesn't reach greatness, like the games that inspired it.
The thing that you'll immediately notice when starting Chained Echoes is its charm. It oozes style and nostalgia with its beautiful graphics and solid environmental design. It's definitely a treat, if you like games like this. Characters and their animations are cool to watch, the monsters are quite creative, bosses look threatening, the world looks beautiful, dungeons are cool and the overworld map is just perfect.
In this beautiful world, I loved how fast and freely you and your armor can move, how quick you can explore the fairly linear areas and just how well each event is paced. You pick up things pretty easy and they never overwhelm or stay long enough to bore you. I also liked the focus on the main quest and how they handled the few sidequests you can find. More open world games and RPGs should take notes from this design.
On top of that, you have a very fun and engaging combat. It's quick, clean of grinding, the overdrive system keeps you on your toes and the freedom to swap characters and improvise during battles, creating your own strategy, was very neat. You can see how well the combat works during boss fights. They're not only epic, but require some thinking in order to win, while maintaining everything fast and fun.
It comes at a cost though. Chained Echoes is a very easy game, with very few good challenges. It manages to wipe the need of grinding, maintaining the flow with easy encounters. I actually don't mind it too much, but I know some people will not enjoy it. Also, while dungeons are cool to explore, some of the gimmicks are a hit or miss. They're good, for the most part, but some of them, like the final one, can get really annoying.
My biggest gripe with the game is something that I actually enjoyed. The story. It is good, but it's not great. It's engaging, but also sort of forgettable. The writing is mostly at fault here, along with how I just couldn't develop a good bond with almost any character or villain. It's all thrown at you. Motivations are shallow, with its issues being resolved with ease, sometimes. And that's a shame, because it actually reaches epic proportions at times, but it never really breaks the bubble of just being a decent story. Good, yes, but I wish it were much much better.
Soundtrack disappointed me as well. There are some really good songs in the game, but not a lot them. It's mostly repetitive, failing to immerse you in parts of the story. One other thing that kept distracting me, this time in regards to gameplay, was character progression. This type of leveling up system just did not work for me, as I felt I wasn't getting stronger or improving at all, just learning new things, often not as useful as who I was in the beginning. Leveling weapons and armor suffer from the same problem, since using crystal, upgrading them and then having to do it again and again once you get a different item just didn't cut it for me.
But, at heart, Chained Echoes is a good game! One that mostly succeeds in doing what it sets out to do. It did manage to scratch the itch for a good "classic" JRPG, even if just a little.
So if you really want to play FF6, but not replay FF6, now we have a solution for you now!
The thing that you'll immediately notice when starting Chained Echoes is its charm. It oozes style and nostalgia with its beautiful graphics and solid environmental design. It's definitely a treat, if you like games like this. Characters and their animations are cool to watch, the monsters are quite creative, bosses look threatening, the world looks beautiful, dungeons are cool and the overworld map is just perfect.
In this beautiful world, I loved how fast and freely you and your armor can move, how quick you can explore the fairly linear areas and just how well each event is paced. You pick up things pretty easy and they never overwhelm or stay long enough to bore you. I also liked the focus on the main quest and how they handled the few sidequests you can find. More open world games and RPGs should take notes from this design.
On top of that, you have a very fun and engaging combat. It's quick, clean of grinding, the overdrive system keeps you on your toes and the freedom to swap characters and improvise during battles, creating your own strategy, was very neat. You can see how well the combat works during boss fights. They're not only epic, but require some thinking in order to win, while maintaining everything fast and fun.
It comes at a cost though. Chained Echoes is a very easy game, with very few good challenges. It manages to wipe the need of grinding, maintaining the flow with easy encounters. I actually don't mind it too much, but I know some people will not enjoy it. Also, while dungeons are cool to explore, some of the gimmicks are a hit or miss. They're good, for the most part, but some of them, like the final one, can get really annoying.
My biggest gripe with the game is something that I actually enjoyed. The story. It is good, but it's not great. It's engaging, but also sort of forgettable. The writing is mostly at fault here, along with how I just couldn't develop a good bond with almost any character or villain. It's all thrown at you. Motivations are shallow, with its issues being resolved with ease, sometimes. And that's a shame, because it actually reaches epic proportions at times, but it never really breaks the bubble of just being a decent story. Good, yes, but I wish it were much much better.
Soundtrack disappointed me as well. There are some really good songs in the game, but not a lot them. It's mostly repetitive, failing to immerse you in parts of the story. One other thing that kept distracting me, this time in regards to gameplay, was character progression. This type of leveling up system just did not work for me, as I felt I wasn't getting stronger or improving at all, just learning new things, often not as useful as who I was in the beginning. Leveling weapons and armor suffer from the same problem, since using crystal, upgrading them and then having to do it again and again once you get a different item just didn't cut it for me.
But, at heart, Chained Echoes is a good game! One that mostly succeeds in doing what it sets out to do. It did manage to scratch the itch for a good "classic" JRPG, even if just a little.
So if you really want to play FF6, but not replay FF6, now we have a solution for you now!
2022
It's hard to rate Signalis. I did enjoy it a bit, but its imperfections kept troubling my experience.
Signalis is a beautiful take on classic survival horror games. It feels obvious to say this, but some of its inspirations will be thrown at your face at times and I actually liked this. It is a solid mix of the OG Resident Evil and Silent Hill, while trying to create its own identity. And it kinda does! With beautiful visuals, bloody character designs, haunting environments, ominous use of sound and cryptic story.
That is what I liked the most about Signalis. It manages to convey a retro horror portrait filled with style and mystery. The shooting mechanics work alright, weapon variety is good, soundtrack is beautiful, level design flows well, the atmosphere is great and the final boss is technically and visually impressive!
At first, it seemed like I was going to love this game, but after watching the credits, I realized that... I did not.
One of Signalis' major problems, in my opinion, is enemy placement and enemy respawn. From the moment you fall down the elevator shaft until the end of the game, levels will be FILLED with fast respawning enemies. As usual, the focus here is survival and exploration, not combat, so you're not really encouraged to do it, but you either get maimed by everybody or you waste all of your ammo. Avoiding them doesn't always work.
This messy design choice absolutely hurts exploration and story telling. To make matters even worse, there's a whole chunk of the game where you won't be able to access the map. It's frustrating and gets tiresome quick, especially while solving puzzles.
Speaking of puzzles: I didn't like most of them. Admittedly, I'm not a puzzle guy, but I know how to appreciate the clever ones. Here, they are original, sure, but ultimately unclear and overly complicated. Most of the times I was left looking at confusing and obtuse things on the screen.
And lastly but not least, the story. It is... fine, I guess? You can see influences from Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell in it (especially aesthetically), but there's something missing. Characters were interesting, the mystery kept me going, but it just didn't pay off in the end. In any of the endings, in fact. Also, there are, like, only 3 bosses in the whole game. They're good, but it could be SO much better!
Again, this is a conflicting one. I liked and disliked playing Signalis. But in the end, I just feel like not wanting to go back to it. Good idea, but wasted potential.
Signalis is a beautiful take on classic survival horror games. It feels obvious to say this, but some of its inspirations will be thrown at your face at times and I actually liked this. It is a solid mix of the OG Resident Evil and Silent Hill, while trying to create its own identity. And it kinda does! With beautiful visuals, bloody character designs, haunting environments, ominous use of sound and cryptic story.
That is what I liked the most about Signalis. It manages to convey a retro horror portrait filled with style and mystery. The shooting mechanics work alright, weapon variety is good, soundtrack is beautiful, level design flows well, the atmosphere is great and the final boss is technically and visually impressive!
At first, it seemed like I was going to love this game, but after watching the credits, I realized that... I did not.
One of Signalis' major problems, in my opinion, is enemy placement and enemy respawn. From the moment you fall down the elevator shaft until the end of the game, levels will be FILLED with fast respawning enemies. As usual, the focus here is survival and exploration, not combat, so you're not really encouraged to do it, but you either get maimed by everybody or you waste all of your ammo. Avoiding them doesn't always work.
This messy design choice absolutely hurts exploration and story telling. To make matters even worse, there's a whole chunk of the game where you won't be able to access the map. It's frustrating and gets tiresome quick, especially while solving puzzles.
Speaking of puzzles: I didn't like most of them. Admittedly, I'm not a puzzle guy, but I know how to appreciate the clever ones. Here, they are original, sure, but ultimately unclear and overly complicated. Most of the times I was left looking at confusing and obtuse things on the screen.
And lastly but not least, the story. It is... fine, I guess? You can see influences from Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell in it (especially aesthetically), but there's something missing. Characters were interesting, the mystery kept me going, but it just didn't pay off in the end. In any of the endings, in fact. Also, there are, like, only 3 bosses in the whole game. They're good, but it could be SO much better!
Again, this is a conflicting one. I liked and disliked playing Signalis. But in the end, I just feel like not wanting to go back to it. Good idea, but wasted potential.
2022
So, it turns out that High On Life was pretty fun!
This game wasn't even on my radar, but I heard so many good things about it that I decided to give it a try. Glad it wasn't a waste of time!
High On Life doesn't stand out on many things, but it does well what it sets out to do. It has a fun writing, a solid story, good shooting mechanics and powerups, nice overall gameplay, cool environments and it's pretty good looking. To me, it felt like Justin Roiland's take on HALO. As crazy as it sounds. One of the gun even feels like the Needler.
The humor is definitely not for everybody, but it's the thing that mostly kept me going. I really enjoyed it. The game, as a shooter, felt really competent as well (and I loved the jetpack). From platforming to fighting hordes of enemies, they managed to get a good pace going, packing funny jokes, intense moments and collectables all around the areas. Besides, there's just a lot of things to do in such a short game. For example, you can actually watch entire movies on a cinema or on your living room. It's quite nice.
The thing is that there's not a lot to say past that point.
I had a lot of fun with it, but that's it. I wasn't a fan of some of the boss fights, using the other guns (aside from Creature) didn't feel as cool as using Kenny, they reused too much of the same environments for missions, not every NPC you interact has something interesting going and the ending kinda just... ends, you know?
High On Life is a pretty solid game. It's not impressive, it's not for everyone and definitely won't be your highlight FPS, but it is a nice fun shooter. If you have nothing else to play, maybe try this one out.
This game wasn't even on my radar, but I heard so many good things about it that I decided to give it a try. Glad it wasn't a waste of time!
High On Life doesn't stand out on many things, but it does well what it sets out to do. It has a fun writing, a solid story, good shooting mechanics and powerups, nice overall gameplay, cool environments and it's pretty good looking. To me, it felt like Justin Roiland's take on HALO. As crazy as it sounds. One of the gun even feels like the Needler.
The humor is definitely not for everybody, but it's the thing that mostly kept me going. I really enjoyed it. The game, as a shooter, felt really competent as well (and I loved the jetpack). From platforming to fighting hordes of enemies, they managed to get a good pace going, packing funny jokes, intense moments and collectables all around the areas. Besides, there's just a lot of things to do in such a short game. For example, you can actually watch entire movies on a cinema or on your living room. It's quite nice.
The thing is that there's not a lot to say past that point.
I had a lot of fun with it, but that's it. I wasn't a fan of some of the boss fights, using the other guns (aside from Creature) didn't feel as cool as using Kenny, they reused too much of the same environments for missions, not every NPC you interact has something interesting going and the ending kinda just... ends, you know?
High On Life is a pretty solid game. It's not impressive, it's not for everyone and definitely won't be your highlight FPS, but it is a nice fun shooter. If you have nothing else to play, maybe try this one out.