A juggernaut in the gaming space, it's incredible that Nintendo was able to give the Legend of Zelda franchise such a breath of fresh air with this title. It manages to redefine the Zelda games whilst changing the open world genre as a whole for the better. Open-ended games have always been a favorite of mine, but never has a game balanced the objectives and the open world so perfectly. Never feeling forced to do something unfun or tedious, this game is constantly surrounding you with interesting things to do and locations to explore. There are aspects of this game that hardcore Zelda fans might be disappointed to see missing, but in their absence is a wholly new experience that was able to outdo anything that came before. This game invokes the spirit of a classic video game, and the seemingly endless number of opportunities you can experience when you begin diving into this game is like no other.

An essential experience for any Assassin's Creed fan, and really where the foundation of the original series found its foothold. Florence and Venice are beautiful, even 14 years later. Parkour has been done better in later titles like Unity, but the foundation of that system lies here, and traversing Italy's architecture and rooftops is still usually more engaging and fun than it is frustrating. Combat is smooth and the counter is responsive, although it can become repetitive after you've upgraded your armor and weapons more, especially in the last 2 hours of the game. Doing side content and collecting the feathers and money chests scattered around the map feels natural and like a fun distraction, rather than a required chore. I loved this game when I played it when it came out, and I still love it today. Desmond and his friends in the present-day sections are still more boring than they should be, but those are short and easily sped through. You can see the passion project that this game is for the developers, and Ezio's story is still the most compelling out of any Assassin's Creed game I've played.

Monetization system is horrendously anti-consumer. $30 on average for a single character skin, a single emote or dance your character can do, a sticker you can paste in the game world, and an icon for your player profile. The Battle Pass progression system is the only progression system in the game now, and new players are locked behind either a paywall or hours of grinding before they're allowed to play half of the character roster. Not a good change or update from the original, feels like 5 steps backwards. The gameplay itself can still be fun but the soul of the game has been lost.