Am I having fun? Uhhhhhhhhhh.

Due to my 'burnt' experience with BOTW, I was extremely skeptical of any re-iterations of BOTW whether a straight sequel or the formula itself. But, I wanted to understand what can be monikered as 'the BOTW magic,' so I always intended to queue for Breath of the Wild 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Admittedly, it's nice seeing some disappointment from a wide array of people this time. Prior, I was in a minority so small it was a gag; imagine not liking BOTW! Whatever... I'm glad that, people are airing grievances they forgave in the first, realizing that they don't like this or that, any etc reasons for disgruntlement. Video game Schadenfreude...

So, the big memeable mechanic is Ultrahand, which addresses perhaps my most upset with BOTW; hated that I couldn't impact the world in any meaningful way, that all my solutions or impacts were temporary, to be erased when the game unloaded that area... now, there's an illusion of... tactility? Although it'll eventually disperse still, I can reuse the mecha. For example(s), multiple times I'd stumble upon an unpaired Korok. I'd build my NASA-knock off machine, and enroute (through clever world design) I'd discovery a battle, or Hudson's fanboy, or anything nearby I can drive towards... and once I'm finished with that, Goodwill NASA remains! The Korok's still lonely! Wheeeee!

In spades, the road - and roadtrip - is better, longer, more immersive. Without Guardians' anthills across the fields, the path well-traveled feels simultaneously secure and suspenseful. I have to rely on, I got a bad feeling about this, versus treading faaaaaaaaar awaaaaaaaay from the presumable zombies. Even midair, diving down from any particular high elevation; I take chances, to see if at this angle I'll see a new shrine, or a Stable, or a campfire, or, or, or, or-!

I dunno. It's a good timesink. I committed so little of BOTW's map to memory thanks to my aforementioned apathy; if I did care for it like most, would I now dislike this map? Odd situation; if I compliment it now, it's an insult to the original, and the vice versa...

But, if I am praising TOTK for ingenuity -

I don't like that your Zonai devices are disabled in shrines. Why? Cheese? Shouldn't players be rewarded for participating in the gachapon & individual creativity re: problemsolving, instead of punished for the easiness? Not everyone is going to understand, have fun, or care for every single puzzle; keeping them as a discouraged possibility is better than total denial. A lot of shrines would've been more fun, engaging, if I was allowed to solve with them the devices *I* felt were best appropriate. Something something, NakeyJakey Lego bucket vs. Lego set analogy, something something.

That's all I got so far. I arrived to this 'marathon' fashionably late, in this world of fast metabolism game release-intake, and I only just finished the Rito quest. I might tire of the journey soon... or I'll appreciate it further. Who knows.

Weeks later, I'm still reeling over IT2.

Prior to this, I couldn't fathom why it won 2021 GOTY. A simple-looking co-op game...? Really? Is the generic audience that lonely?

Uh! It! Totally deserves that GOTY! I was deceived by appearances, I wish I played this game months ago, I adore it to bits.

For hand problem relevancy - I had, few, near nonexistent, problems with grip and motor control. It was really nice and the only pain I got was emotional.

Enrapturement akin to Sims 3.

It took about three or four tries until I 'got' Minecraft. An acquaintance in junior year gave me a very legitimate copy of the game and ever since then I Have Tried.

Minecraft never clicked with me until the combined efforts of my S/O and friend ELI5'd the mechanics of Minecraft. Once I had the very basic, very literal building blocks understood I dove head-first.

(Everyone is mean to me about my tunnels.)

Probably biased because this my first (and only) Mario game; I really really liked Odyssey! Platformer-heavy by nature yet not inaccessible.

Very much a pick up and play game. The controls remain the same with no power-ups sans the captures - which remind you of their unique controls whenever you possess something.

Definitely holds your hand and it's unfortunate that there's no remapping or similar features. It tries to be open to everyone which inevitably isolates somebody.

...quirky.

By all accounts, Umurangi is a great game. I'm just a little stupefied; how can a game be so sensitive and generous with certain objectives, while specific - to the point of suffocation - about others?

Indie developments, y'know.

The combination of its time + capture limit frustrates me. Finding myself unable to fulfill a bounty because I wasted shots, shots I only wasted because the game didn't register other shots, self-fulfilling circle etc etc.

It makes me sad that I have occasionally restarted the level because of these above factors. The restraint does work in favor of its core loop experience, sure, but that also encourages rushing through a checklist. As a result, I'm not really engaging with these levels.

My mixed feelings towards GRIS are wholly because I wildly misinterpreted its plot. I think the intended message is pretty cliche but inoffensive.

Although, I don't want another game to steal its spectacular ending. This world and its ending are linked to one another; its conclusion would not have resonated so strongly if its story hadn't been so underwhelming.

Gameplay-wise, this is an oddity wherein I prefer the underwater sections. The world opens up a lot more thanks to this mechanic, it's executed perfectly, etc...