lithiumproject
1998
There are times with MGS where I get it: the tone, the atmosphere, that soundtrack, the early use of (very decent) voice acting, the backdrop of the Cold War being used to frame a mostly compelling narrative.
But Kojima just cannot help himself; every cutscene feels like it goes on 5 minutes longer than necessary; every bit of dialogue has to overexplain some aspect of the story or character motivations that ends up leaving you more confused; and every effective plot twist smashes head first into another twist that adds nothing to the story. Oh, and every boss goes on a 15-minute monologue while dying? Get in the bin.
MGS is a dope as fuck game, and I totally see how a 12-year-old played this and OOT in the same year and was hooked on games for the rest of their life. But one of these games still plays and feels as revolutionary now as it did then, and it doesn't involve the thespian Liquid Snake.
But Kojima just cannot help himself; every cutscene feels like it goes on 5 minutes longer than necessary; every bit of dialogue has to overexplain some aspect of the story or character motivations that ends up leaving you more confused; and every effective plot twist smashes head first into another twist that adds nothing to the story. Oh, and every boss goes on a 15-minute monologue while dying? Get in the bin.
MGS is a dope as fuck game, and I totally see how a 12-year-old played this and OOT in the same year and was hooked on games for the rest of their life. But one of these games still plays and feels as revolutionary now as it did then, and it doesn't involve the thespian Liquid Snake.
2023
A low stakes BOTW and love letter to New Caledonia. I genuinely think traversal in Tchia is some of the most enjoyable I've experienced in an open world format; pinging between animals and boucning on tree tops to move across the environment is a blast.
However, combat feels incredibly bare bones, and the game ramps it up in the final third, which drags you away from where the game shines.
However, combat feels incredibly bare bones, and the game ramps it up in the final third, which drags you away from where the game shines.
1990
Quite simply, a perfect platforming game and one that will forever be timeless.
1985
Its influence is inarguable, but just like the original Zelda and Metroid, it would take a follow up or two for them to truly perfect the execution.
2011
MK7 walked so MK8 could fly.
2021
An action/adventure with a core gimmick based on surfing the ocean with your feet. It's a gimmick that works well and between the scale of the ocean and the facial animations, it's riffing hard on Wind Waker (and doing a fine job).
It's a good game, but not necessarily a great one; combat is severely lacking and the overall flow the game brings falls into a fairly routine pattern quickly.
It's a good game, but not necessarily a great one; combat is severely lacking and the overall flow the game brings falls into a fairly routine pattern quickly.
A star and a half for the soundtrack.
Only 3 licenced robots, a miserabl grind-y economy, and bad gameplay.
There's totally a 25 quid modern day indie spin on the Robot Wars idea that would rock - this ain't it.
There's totally a 25 quid modern day indie spin on the Robot Wars idea that would rock - this ain't it.
A fantastic remastering of a Gamecube classic. However, in the 20 years or so between its release and this new version, 2 things have become apparent. First, the game is a bit rough with its save points, which is not a total dealbreaker, but there's stretches where you can go an hour without being able to save, which can be a pain.
Crucially, though, this game can become incredibly tedious with its backtracking. You'll be seeing those Magmoor caverns 50 fucking times before you hit credits, and a fast travel system between save points wouldn't have hurt.
Crucially, though, this game can become incredibly tedious with its backtracking. You'll be seeing those Magmoor caverns 50 fucking times before you hit credits, and a fast travel system between save points wouldn't have hurt.
1995
A slightly more methodical but solid platformer from the tailend of the mega drive. It suffers from some bonkers random difficulty spikes across but the level design is creative.
Worth checking out if you've never played.
Worth checking out if you've never played.
2023
Easily going to top a bunch of 'best surprise' lists come the end of the year, both for its launch and the fact it's a Tango Gameworks game.
The first few hours are a blast, with a fusion of PS2/Dreamcast era cel-shaded visuals and a soundtrack that would also fit around that time. However, around the middle section, it treads treading into ‘cult of the lamb’ territory, where you feel it won't stick the landing. There are a couple of chapters where HFR runs out of ideas and escalates the difficulty by throwing more enemies at you. Unfortunately, the more enemies on the screen, the quicker the game falls into the trappings of a standard hack n slash-style brawler; when this happens, the enemy design simply isn't interesting or varied enough to compensate for this.
But oh man this game nails the landing, and the last few chapters ties everything together, gets you actually to care about these characters and used some inspired needle drops (I say inspired, it just went through the most played songs on my iPhone from 2011) to end Hi-Fi Rush on an undeniable high.
Hey now, you’re a rock star.
The first few hours are a blast, with a fusion of PS2/Dreamcast era cel-shaded visuals and a soundtrack that would also fit around that time. However, around the middle section, it treads treading into ‘cult of the lamb’ territory, where you feel it won't stick the landing. There are a couple of chapters where HFR runs out of ideas and escalates the difficulty by throwing more enemies at you. Unfortunately, the more enemies on the screen, the quicker the game falls into the trappings of a standard hack n slash-style brawler; when this happens, the enemy design simply isn't interesting or varied enough to compensate for this.
But oh man this game nails the landing, and the last few chapters ties everything together, gets you actually to care about these characters and used some inspired needle drops (I say inspired, it just went through the most played songs on my iPhone from 2011) to end Hi-Fi Rush on an undeniable high.
Hey now, you’re a rock star.
2022
A short and sweet bullet hell / shoot 'em up with effective low poly visuals, an array of different enemies requiring fast reflexes and constant shifts in your tactical approach, and an overall solid feedback loop for the player.
Doesn't outstay its welcome but would have welcomed more content.
Doesn't outstay its welcome but would have welcomed more content.
A classic of 90s arcade coin munchers. Has a number of cheap spots to steal a few lives from you, but overall it holds up well and the soundtrack is secretly incredible (but you would barely be able to hear it at the arcades)
1989
I'd be lying to myself if I gave this anything less than 5 stars, even with that dog's body of a final boss fight.
2023
A competent roguelike marred by a lack of content or variety to the levels. It shouldn't take more than a few hours to see the end boss, but past that, it doesn't offer enough to its core experience to warrant further runs.
However, everything here is polished to a fine sheen and for roughly a tenner there are far worse ways to spend an afternoon.
However, everything here is polished to a fine sheen and for roughly a tenner there are far worse ways to spend an afternoon.