A truly amazing video game narrative that should not go ignored by anyone who is a fan of story-driven titles. The dialogue and the characters are so skillfully done. I don't want to reveal anything, but the game's story is so ambitious and daunting in scale and it somehow pulls it off. It's a game about SO many things and it somehow doesn't lose itself in that abundance of plotlines and concepts. Every time I thought I saw all that this game had to offer, it one-upped itself and just progressively rose further and further amongst some of my favorite stories within the medium; particularly stories that are not part of a series of titles. I foresee this game staying fresh within my mind for a long, long time.

A f*cking masterclass. Is roughly about the same length as Hotel Dusk at around 14 hours (in my playthrough) but it just leaves the impression of being a million times more grander in scope and cinematic than that game that it feels much longer. Rest assured, in a good way, because it has the same turns-and-twists as your average mystery novel, only with extremely poignant writing that will make you shed tears. So it's runtime will likely feel bittersweet, with you feeling some pain as you have to part with the game. This is because the characters are so true-to-life in their struggles that, while probably not matching actual humans come the closest I think I've ever seen in the video game medium, no exaggeration. So it feels like saying goodbye to friends as you leave this game, just like Hotel Dusk.

You'll likely feel the same spatial memory navigating the apartments in this game you would have going to a place you know well (you may actually memorize where each of the tenants live) - I think a testament to how well the atmosphere at play here "settles you in".

It has the same comforting noir ambience, just, with like I said a much less "hardboiled" (in the sense of superficially tough) approach. It's softboiled crime fiction lets say, with its very sentimental take on how far we carry our burdens, how far we try to escape from the past, how we even have a sentimental attachment to the past that keeps us anchored even with the painful shit we had to go through. In a way, some of us stubbornly hold onto even painful memories- no, especially painful memories. We have a Stockholm syndrome towards the past. I myself fall into this sometimes - because isn't the past all we have to define ourselves on? Maybe or maybe not this is a wrong way of thinking. I'll spare you my soapbox for now lol.

It keeps the same pleasure of exploring your surroundings in a cozy, slice-of-life feel, but it merges with feelings of mystery and suspense as you progress through seeming to unravel the entire world in this one mundane place.

I won't spoil anything, hopefully I didn't give anything away. Give this a shot, maybe try Hotel Dusk first however, I found this game to be somewhat more unforgiving in it's interrogation segments, and I think Hotel Dusk will give you a good foundation of how the duology plays out. However, you really can't go wrong starting with either of these games.

Games that tell stories only capable of being relayed through the medium of gaming will always hold a special place in my heart. Since my first encounters with video games as a whole, I've never quite found any method of storytelling to even compare to it. Sure, the occasional film or manga or what have you might catch my attention, but those I hold at the peak of any other medium don't really come close to the experiences I've had with gaming.

Return of the Obra Dinn has once again solidified this idea for me, and it does so in such a way where I feel that everything within the experience is deserving of commendation. The actors, writing, art, music, and everything all together unite for an extremely fleshed out and cohesive experience that held my attention the whole way through. I believe this holds true for much of the game's playerbase due to the incredible completion rates seen on each of the achievements. Return of the Obra Dinn manages to create a very unique gameplay loop I haven't quite seen elsewhere, it's an incredibly fresh and engaging experience that I feel anyone with a brain could hold appreciation for. It might not be a grand story in comparison to other titles of today, but it sure as hell is a good one, a GREAT one.

A game that will constantly have you thinking, theorizing, trying new things, finding new angles, and most importantly, keeping you engaged following through its bizarre and beautiful storytelling. This is a game that I believe couldn't and shouldn't be passed up, if you're interested, play it. You won't regret it.

7'scarlet shows its age as an Otomate release in both features and structure. It's missing what is now the standard (like a flowchart, affection-up indicators, and skip-to-choice), and the strange way later endings are unlocked and accessed certainly is an experience because of it. It's also really bad at foreshadowing; after playing Virche Evermore and seeing good examples of this, playing 7'scarlet a second time while knowing everything really has no particularly satisfying payoff.

I really like this game, though. It's partially horror and involves some instances of blood, violence and death, but it's one of the coziest games I own. The soundtrack and backgrounds are so comfortable and relaxing the majority of the time. I may not be completely sold on much of the romantic content, but I am sold on the protagonist — with a beautiful design and convincing big puppy dog eyes, I can imagine why these guys would fall for her. It was nice seeing her, Yua, Yuzuki, and Okunezato again!

Anyway, I'm glad this game ends after Yuzuki's endings and there's no secret route whatsoever❤️

A game that could very easily have fallen into any number of pitfalls in the messages it tried to convey or they ways it tried to convey them, but deftly dodges every one. A game about numbers and systems and relationship values that is steadfastly against the idea of gamifying life and relationships, that asks us to value each other and the in-between moments of life.

On my good days, I’m here. On my bad days, I’m still here.

Losing parts of ourselves and our identities are as essential to the experience of living as growing them is. Individuals can only do so much but they can still be so much for each other, and that’s worth as much as anything else. In a world where there is no ultimate victory for ideology or faction, where there is no intrinsic value in any one outcome that is ultimately worth more than any other, we’re still gonna find ourselves in each other.

I’m still here.

this game is incredible; in fact it has completely changed my relationship to video games as a medium & it is now my favourite of all the games I've played so far- & I knew it would be early on. immaculate vibes, soothing & catchy music, wonderful sound design, beautiful character art, slick gameplay & deeply emotional writing. like full crying emotional release depths; it's just so human & such a perfect non-binary mix of heart-warming & heart-breaking. so much came up for me during my first playthrough~ just rolled credits twice before I got my first final ending, and I'm so excited to play it again and again so I can uncover & weave every possibility together & experience each unique Sleeper life that unfolds. very excited for the third update & to whatever happens next with this game and whatever Gareth does next (I'll also be playing In Other Waters). the game just vibrates with all the love they poured into this game~ I'm feeling every bit of it & will be recommending this to anyone and everyone!

also, as a non-binary person I deeply appreciated all the magnificent & subtle non-binary representation (& just the diversity of representation in general!)- finally, we are entering an era where ungendered pronouns are just used casually!

what an absolute gem of a game <3

most fun I've had with a pokemon game maybe forever? very fun gameplay loop, checking off research tasks brings me such autistic joy~ most pokemon games lose me by the endgame but I'm still working on fully completing my pokedex, & this is the first one to get me into shiny hunting (a lil bit) with mass outbreaks, flying with braviary & the shiny sparkle & sound making it more accessible for me. I LOVE being able to catch them without battling, something I've always wanted to see~ & so many other quality of life improvements!! no forgetting of moves, nixing of HMs & TMs, fast transitions in battle, agile/strong styles, evolving if/when I want, ride pokemon, just so many. I actually really like the graphical style, and though the game could've been optimized better to reduce pop-in & framerate issues, it didn't rly affect my experience much. if for the next Legends game they did that, hired better writers, did sum voice acting, improved the inventory system a bit, improved accessibility options, and just spent more time working on it, I would be absolutely thrilled! honestly, not even going to bother with mainline games anymore unless they implement lots of arceus quality of life features (or just give their games more customizability options so we can individually tailor our experience), especially considering the complete mess that is Scarlet & Violet...

if u are debating which to get, I wholeheartedly recommend Arceus! finally some actual change & innovation in this tired series. played 100 hrs before moving on from it~

spoiler free as always
I loved it~ it has its issues, but they didn't stop me from having a great time! definitely recommend it

- u can tell there is a loooot of love poured into it
- so much freedom & closest to a true roleplay experience I've experienced in a video game yet
- character creation is rly fun! lots of customizability, but not so much so that it can veer out of the games art direction. we've still got a long way to go in terms of representation, but this is the best I've come across yet
- great characters that rly want to make u get to know them & care for them
- rly fun combat (played on balanced), & there's just so much there~ was still experimenting with playstyles & learning fun new things after 170 hrs, impressive feat, also just a wonderful capture of d&d
- great music, at times a bit generic yet great, & sum truly great tracks that stand out when they need to
- awesome sound design, v creative & varied
- love the cinematic aspects, the motion cap, the many great voices. the fact they have voice lines for when ppl are alive, a whole different set for Speak with the Dead, & for all animals with Speak with Animals, and for countless different scenarios based on different decision u make or what class or being u are... mind-boggling
- beautiful visuals, a world that actually feels alive & not just big to be big
- story is fun & though overall it's not super ground-breakkng or emotional, the wild & tricky dilemmas they put u through rly makes sum parts of it impactful, especially as u get to kno the main characters better. I cried several times at the ending, so that's a good game to me!
- the more intimate relationship scenes were surprisingly well done, u can tell they had an intimacy coach in the crew! bravo
- while the bar is very low in video games unfortunately, the levels of communication & consent in character relationships was much better then I anticipated, best I've seen yet! long way to go, but it's slowly happeningggg
- I just love how much Larian has managed to show up & flip the gaming industry on its head, a good solid step towards a future where all game designers can access health, wellness & creative satisfaction, gamers can enjoy games with real love poured into them, & where the creators & gamers can truly have a relationship instead of just unsustainably printing rushed products that are then consumed with no thought to the humans at it's origin

critiques:
- I do agree that the pacing of act 3 is a lil sloggy, esp after the epic build in act 2, but I quite enjoyed it regardless
- the character creator rly needs a cpl more body shape options/adjustable height & weight, and sum options like prosthetic/missing limbs or rune-powered chairs, wud help soo many more folks feel like they are appreciated, invited and can relate to their character, and just enrich the experience overall to be that much more human.
- while they attempted to allow avenues for a more open approach to relationships (which I rly appreciated as a relationship anarchist), it is still obvious that the creators were operating from a very mono-normative perspective, with almost all situations not allowing u to roleplay outside of that mindset (or even a cpl times, not allowing u to engage in proper communication or consent practices unfortunately). yes we have a long way to go, but tbh after experiencing this i have faith that this team could rly do that in the future~ it's definitely the closest I've seen an rpg get to portraying & encouraging healthy relationship dynamics
- i understand that this is a game based on a game that is based around combat and violence, but it would've been nice to have non-violent options available for more situations, i didn't like how many times i just had to fight no matter what, even when it didn't really make sense that there wouldn't be a non-violent approach.
- some of the issues I have are actually with the more problematic aspects of d&d~ like it's racist+ origins & it's continued influence, calling these different beings races at all in the first place & largely putting specific beings into distinctly good/evil categories- also why is looting & hoarding still such a prominent & encouraged aspect? makes me v curious to see what Larian does going forwards with projects that don't have Wizards of the coast & their baggage involved (will definitely play divinity 2 to get a better window into that too, I'm curious)

gnosia! i had a fantastic time with this game. while admittedly wary of the gameplay loop at first, i found it to be engaging and exciting. learning everyone's personalities was fun (although i could do without some of the creepier comments from one character, but at least that was acknowledged) and getting significantly better at the game with each new loop was satisfying.

i did look up a guide to not spend too much time looping, so a heads up for that. that didn't detract from my experience, necessarily, as i was pretty stoked for each new part of the story to be revealed as things went along. it's also worth looking up how to get the true ending.

additionally, gnosia's nonbinary representation largely strayed from stereotypes - a breath of fresh air in media, especially as a nonbinary person. setsu, the main character aside from the player, unexpectedly really resonated with me. the dreamy art and music on top of it all? definitely a treat.

lastly, it was wonderful to experience a story landing in my lap at just the right time. this visual novel's ending aligned perfectly with both a beloved text-based roleplay game i just wrapped up with some online friends (my OC's epilogue was released today...) as well as another writing/roleplaying project i just started working on. with that in mind, gnosia nudged me further into my emotions in just the way i needed. so. this review is probably rather biased from that alone... but gnosia has indeed earned a place in my heart!