This is a fantastic remaster of an absolute classic. If it’s getting a 4, it’d be for the same reason I’d give the original a 4. Some of the levels here are frustrating, likely on purpose given the nature of the thing. Doesn’t stop them from being frustrating.

That said, this remaster actually makes the game’s most frustrating moments—the underwater level, the fire level, cow bear—much easier through sheer graphical improvement. The enhanced resolution leads to brighter colors and easier to see objects, thus making it actively possible to avoid hazards like the cheeky fire extinguishers and teddy bears.

This is a fantastic package all around too—the Royal Reverie bonus levels are great, and the added sticker collection is super fun and adds another layer of replayability. Just as the original is by and large an improvement on the first Katamari game, this is not just an improvement on KD Reroll in level design and substance but also as a remaster. The team was clearly given a higher budget to work with and more creative license to expand rather than just update, which really makes the whole thing feel more modern and worthwhile even for those who have access to the original and a PS2.

As much as I’d love to see a Beautiful Katamari remaster—I feel like I’m one of that game’s few shooters, it’s delightful—I actually am so impressed by Royal Reverie and other additions that I think this team has what it takes to make a new Katamari title. I think it’s time. Fingers crossed Namco sees that too.

that ending kicked ass. guide them through the darkness. the wait for game 3 is going to kill me.

this would have been a 5 if i hadn’t taken a break from it to play zelda. unfortunately, in that comparison, the flaws of this game become harder to bear. the bloat of the AAA game stains this title as much as any: polished but woefully unfinished, gorgeous but buggy, methodically crafted but clunky as all get out. unquestionably it is better than its predecessor in perhaps every regard aside from environment design, but i do wish more time had been put into tweaking the game’s movement, its physics, its camera. i adore how much was added to this game, particularly the wide array of combat styles, but i would have been just as happy with a more refined set of controls and the same two combat styles from the last game.

the lack of galaxy hopping does take its toll here, without a doubt. when i talk about fallen order being better at environment design, it’s because we saw so many more planets with varied environments. Dathomir, Illum, Kashyyk—they’re all super varied and have a lot of character, even if that character is just “fire level, ice level, swamp level”. most of this game takes place on Koboh, and while it’s a fun planet with plenty to do, i felt wanting for more environmental shifts and levels that weren’t just “desert,” “desert with buildings”, and “city”. i feel like building some of those snow/fire/water level styles into Koboh would have been a good alternative—once again, gesturing at Zelda for a good example of how to make a singular place feel much more vast by baking in a number of distinct environments.

with all these flaws it’s still a respawn star wars game and they’re really good at this, turns out. the lightsaber combat is still amazing, if a little clunky, with some phenomenal new styles that are just really fun to experiment and build with. the amount of character and item customization here is great, though i wish the undercut were a little less fashy and that the luke and obi-wan inspired customization items were unlockables rather than pre-order bonuses. and the story is…

i mean the story carries this thing. if you like a good star wars story, particularly Rebels-era storytelling, and you like the idea of some high republic shit, sit back and enjoy this, it’s really good, not going to spoil a damn word of it. go play the first one, it’s absolutely essential viewing for this. it’s clearly trilogy baiting and like i said at the top i am ready for the conclusion of this trilogy to absolutely destroy me. it’d just be nice if that concluding game had a less nausea-inducing camera.

This is my listing for the Lightfall campaign, which plays like a dream but leaves a lot of unanswered questions which I wasn't super into. I like the characters and setting, seemingly a lot more than the rest of the community--particularly the stuff around the CloudArk. However, there's a ton of questions about what exactly the nature of the Veil is that I think we'll need answered sooner rather than later. We've gotten some answers in subsequent content, but as a campaign alone it's going to leave players, particularly new players, wanting more.