Not a review but going back to the first game for a bit after beating the rest of the trilogy made me realize that oh, this is one of my favorite games ever. I love just thinking about it, untangling this confusing mess of loose threads that come together so perfectly. It's also the only game in the series that has you read some of the most esoteric shit in any game while some bumping MIDI tune is playing, only to never directly reference said writing again. The feeling created by the way the story is told, the confusing and sometimes bullshit level design, and the extremely charming visuals and music is entirely its own, and it plays nicely too. No other game hits quite the same as Marathon 1 and I cannot appreciate that enough.
On a side note, the Mandalore review is great but PLEASE don't think there's nothing left for you here if you watched that. If you're at all into Bungie, old school shooters, or just weird games in general, I implore you to give it a shot. It's free and coming to Steam soon enough as well.

Not a review, just some personal highlights:

The new music is good and stands up to the insanely high quality of the original tracks. I'd be lying if I said I always preferred the new tracks but I'd rather it be this way than if there was no new music.
The way the Noise interacts with various stage gimmicks is incredible. Pizza Tower has always been masterful at conveying characters non-verbally and this update just continues doing that perfectly.
The Noise feels a bit more advanced in comparison to Peppino. It takes a bit to learn him but mastering him allows for things you couldn't have dreamt of before and it's just great. Perfect for being a reward for clearing the game as Peppino.

It's insane to think that this game has not one, but two of the best playing characters in its genre now. I couldn't kiss its ass enough even if I tried

This is a review exclusively about The Final Draft NG+ mode. There are full spoilers for both the base game and the NG+ ahead.


I'm not gonna beat around the bush, The Final Draft really disappointed me. The main game is a 5/5 for me, whereas this NG+ would at best be a 2/5.
First off, the new content: it's just not enough. Not enough to jusitfy an entire additional playthrough. Starting a new game with all your weapons and everything doesn't change as much about the game as you'd really want it to. I imagine there aren't a lot of people who love this game solely for its gameplay and at the very least I can say it isn't worse in NG+, but it certainly isn't improved. Of course I love the new Darling cutscenes as a massive Control fan - they are easily the best part of this. The new poems added to Saga's story are a joke in comparison.
Secondly, my major gripe with The Final Draft: the new story content. The changed dialogue in general is actually really interesting and just as well written as you'd expect from a Remedy game but the ending just ruins it. The Final Draft adds an extra cutscene taking place right after the main game's ending. That original ending is extremely ambiguous which suits the tone perfectly. Mystery is a huge part of why I love these games, this universe. This additional cutscene does its best to get rid of all ambiguity and just provide the most ideal outcome imaginable. Logan is fine, Saga is fine, Casey is fine, hell even Alan is fine. That one irks me. The last hours of the game are spent between Saga and Alan discussing how for the story to reach its conclusion, the hero must sacrifice themselves. Alan was to be that sacrifice and yet here he is, just fine, better than fine even. He says himself Scratch is gone. Excuse me but what the fuck does that mean? The "Wake is Scratch" twist is genius because it completely recontextualizes all of Scratch's actions - it makes you understand that the things he wanted to achieve don't stem from a place of pure evil. Scratch represents the dark in Alan. The things he doesn't want others to know about and hides even from himself. Scratch is a reflection in a mirror that is a lake that is really an ocean. So I ask again, what does "Scratch is gone" mean? To me it almost reads like Alan is "cured" which is just silly. I hope there is more to it than the literal reading of "the evil is defeated" but I really can't say, all I know is that it felt extremely deflating and underwhelming. The best comparison I could give is Nier: Automata, which also has a very ambiguous very good ending, only to later receive supplemental material that expands on it and by doing that lowers its impact.
I can't say there is an easy way to "fix" The Final Draft. More non story content would certainly be a start. But from a story perspective, I could totally see this being a sendoff to Saga, Alan, and the rest of the characters. If that was the intent, it might be unfair to critisize the new ending for being too positive. I do want these characters to get happy endings. But even then, I feel it should've been handled differently.

Maybe I'll write an actual review some day but here's some quick thoughts:

- The aesthetics are incredible. This game is an artistic achievement, I've never seen anything that looks and feels like it. Amazing touches like the music in the lobby and foyer.
- The gameplay is real damn fun. Getting a good run makes you feel like a god, everything just dies nigh instantly. The main problem is variety: not enough different floor objectives, not enough enemies & bosses, and not enough different color chips. The way the system works where every weapon basically already determines the run since they each have a specific category of power ups they are much more likely to get makes replaying weapons you've already beaten a run with kinda boring.
- The ending is good but frankly, not as good as something like Octo Expansion.
- The music is good too, very different from the rest of the series and I definitely prefer it that way, but again to my ear not as good as Octo.
- The story is fine in isolation but that title ain't lying: Side Order feels like a side mission. If you think about how important to the world of Splatoon the events of Octo Expansion felt and compare that to the events of Side Order, it's hard not to be a bit disappointed. The way it unlocks is pretty strange too: after your first run the story is essentially over but the game leaves many mysteries still open that gradually get answered by doing runs with other weapons. Fine on paper, but even with all of the weapons completed and all of the "lore" read, I still feel Octo had a much stronger impact.

Edit: after lots of mentally going back and forth between 4 and 4.5 stars I think I'll leave it at 4.5. Although this "review" sounds pretty negative it only is because I'm directly comparing it to the pinnacle of Splatoon instead of looking at it in the wider gaming landscape and compared to the other games I've played: yeah this is still leagues above most of them. What can I say, I just like my gay little squid games.

Peak Splatoon, this is not a full review but just some thoughts that really make it stand out to me as not just the best Splatoon content, but also the best DLC of any game I have ever played. Slight spoilers follow.

Part 1: Worldbuilding
The world of Splatoon is a really neat one. It's just fun to read into and you can tell the devs put a lot of love into it. Octo Expansion blew the doors wide open here. You finally get to see a completely different side to this world; a society existing deep beneath the ocean. And it still boggles my mind just how incredibly, incredibly well portraited that society is simply through the aesthetics and the random NPCs you meet on the subway. These NPCs serve so many purposes at the same time: they exist to liven up the subway, making it feel less lonely. They serve as comedic relief. They allow the designers to go wild and create even more out there, interesting character designs. But most of all, they sell the setting. Through the fact that you can't at all speak to these NPCs, that they exist not for you, not for the story, not for the other NPCs to interact with, but instead for themselves they are perfect. They are just people living in a world you don't fully understand. They don't care about you or your mission to save the world, they're just living their lives, implicitly telling so, so much about the world that simply would not be possible if they acted like other game NPCs and talked to you. You get the feeling they don’t even speak the same language as you, combining this with the general subway aesthetic, creating the image of being on the move, having shit to do, living their own lives independent of the other people here. And all that is just a small part of the worldbuilding Octo Expansion seemingly completely effortlessly is able to pull off. I haven’t even mentioned the liberation of the Octolings, beautifully realized with you finally being able to play as one yourself, thus leaving a permanent mark of your accomplishments on your account and noticeable in the world around you.

Part 2: Aesthetics
I have come to realize that random stuff floating in mid-air is a peak aesthetic choice. It sounds deceptively simple, but all the backdrops of each stage in the Octo Expansion are a marvel to behold. They each feature collages of objects, not randomly thrown together but beautifully crafted to express to the player just the right emotions. Combine that with the best soundtrack in the series and the pure feeling of it all is intense and raw. Add to that the UI, and the level hub: the Deepsea Metro. The UI is clean; easy to read but at the same time has so much style and character. My personal favorite touch is when checking out mem cakes: the game shows a tiny 2D illustration of your manually created Octoling holding the mem cake and looking around. This teeny tiny picture impresses me every time. Of course, for one there is the fact that again, it actually reflects the Octoling you created, not just any random other Octoling. And for two it beautifully illustrates how simple does not equate cheap. These illustrations have a childlike quality to them, with shaky lines and bright colors, but the sheer appeal is immeasurable and that doesn’t just happen by accident. Works of art like these are deceptive in their simplicity, but to get them to feel just right is a massive undertaking. The same applies to the rest of the expansion. I already talked about the extremely strong feelings the subway evokes through its riders, but even without them the mental image it evokes is an insanely strong one. It perfectly carries the overall theme of nostalgia, and I find the exploration of that theme in this DLC to be a really unique one. It neither embellishes, nor decries it. It is content to simply show you these meticulously chosen objects and let you form your own feelings about them. These objects you might have a personal relation to just sort of floating in mid-air, far out of your reach, feels bittersweet. It’s like seeing a picture of an old friend without being able to contact them.

Part 3: Gameplay
Let’s make this one quick: Octo Expansion has the best levels in the series, and a lot of them. I’m not going to spoil anything here, but the buildup to the final battle and the battle itself will forever remain one of if not the single best series highlight. The Octo Expansion also has my absolute favorite boss fight in the series in its secret boss. It’s really obvious why they modeled Splatoon 3’s Hero Mode after the expansion: these levels simply have so much more to them mechanically and difficulty wise than anything prior and frankly, anything since. Splatoon 3’s Hero Mode has good levels, but the overall quality is still better in the Octo Expansion. I also feel the overworld 3 added could have done more for it, but ultimately, I much prefer Octo’s simple grid level selection. The Side Order DLC for Splatoon 3 went in a completely different direction so it’s not really fair to compare it directly to the Octo Expansion, but to put it simple: I still prefer how Octo plays.

Part 4: Conclusion
It’s the best. Simple as. No other single player activity in the series has managed to get as many things so right while being extremely innovative while also still being extremely unique. If you read all of this I honestly just want to say: thank you. Hope you’re enjoying Side Order.

I really love the presentation and mood, and the writing is so damn good. It plays good too, basically feels like old Doom but they do a lot of fun stuff with its implementation of free aim. Some levels are very questionable in design but most are fine and for every level there are walkthroughs available so I don't think its a deal breaker. Would've been a 4.5 for me if the ending had been a little stronger, just feels kinda cliffhanger-y.

Edit: spoiler territory okay don't read on if you don't wanna know but:
Thinking a bit more about the ending I find myself appreciating it more and more. The entire time Durandal has been playing you and the ending isn't you overcoming him or confronting him or anything, he gets exactly what he was aiming for the entire time and it makes sense too, he's the brain you're the brawn, he feels incredibly powerful the entire story despite realistically just being text on a black background and they actively choose not to diminish his power at the end and instead reinforce it by having things go his way.

Can't really imagine playing this in single player cause it's so designed around the multi player experience (with some baffling exceptions) but as a multi player game yeah it's good, it's fun to play and its paced pretty rapidly, it never gets stale really.
My main complains are with its weird structure. Randomized areas and bosses are pretty typical for multiplayer focused games like Risk of Rain or Deep Rock Galactic but the difference is that in those games a run is what, like an hour at most? Makes these games very replayable. This run took me and my two buddies about 9 hours, at which point I just lose motivation to replay it even knowing how much I'm missing out on due to its randomized nature. It doesn't scratch either itch for me, as I feel I didn't get as much out of it in a single run as I would have without all the random bullshit or in multiple, shorter runs that are all vastly different.

Feels kinda weird giving the main game as well as both DLCs the same score, but I really think the quality is super strong all the way throughout. This DLC probably has the strongest characterization for Alan yet while also teasing the players with questions yet to be answered. Gameplay continues The Signal's trend of utilizing familiar mechanics in some new ways and while it can be a bit frustrating with how quickly Alan goes down, I do think that overall adds to the tense atmosphere that makes up a huge part of my enjoyment of the game.