lorb
2020
I remember having a lot of fun with this game when it first came out. The environments and world design are legitimately well-designed and are fun to look at and explore. Even though it does copy BOTW in many areas, I still enjoyed this take on it. I love the idea of each land being based on a different element. The towns are genuinely so cute and comforting too, like the castle area in Mondstadt is such a vibe. It's so nice and comforting.
The characters aren't bad either. I enjoyed the design for most of them, and I think they're very well detailed. Their personalities and dialogue are solid as well. I feel like I'm the only person who actually liked Paimon (I like that they had her do the Q&A sessions as well).
The combat is pretty fun as well. Combining different characters' attacks to create these elemental combos is a neat mechanic and makes the combat fairly enjoyable. There is a nice level of detail to their abilities as well. The only one I can remember is Kaeya being able to freeze water and walk across it, but I always thought that was cool.
The lore is intriguing, but I remember that there wasn't too much emphasis on it, so I've forgotten most of it by now.
However, there are a few things that are holding this game back.
First of all, the gacha system. I admit that I have enjoyed gacha games in the past (I was hooked on Dokkan battle for like 2 years) but having a gacha system for a console game just rubs me the wrong way. I've met people who have spent HUNDREDS of dollars on this game, and I don't feel like this game warrants that kind of commitment. Additionally, once you reach a certain point, the game just becomes a grind fest, which in my opinion does this game a disservice, because there is a lot of potential here. I'm happy that I stopped playing before I reached that point.
Also, I don't remember much of the specifics, but the adventure rank system also rubbed me the wrong way. You have to reach like level 10 or 20 before you can truly unlock everything, which again I feel hinders this game. There are some side quests that are apparently locked behind certain adventure ranks and again, I don't like that. I run into all these characters so often and they talk like they're going to give me a quest and then I can't do it? And there's no way the quests are worth grinding out a ton of levels for, just give me the content before I get bored. The characters are kind of interesting too, but if I have to wait until I'm a certain level to do stuff with them I'm probably going to forget.
The skill trees and other upgrades are pretty wild too. Artistically though, I do like the concept of the whole constellation thing. However, it perpetuates the grind. It's very difficult to upgrade these skill trees and I feel like the game isn't fun enough to warrant all this red tape. LET ME GET TO THE GOOD PART, or at least throw me a bone every now and then so that I don't feel hopeless.
This game is primarily a level-based, gacha grindfest instead of an immersive, freedom-based open world adventure, which is what I feel the game should be and is much better suited for. Take for example the characters. There are a lot of these sample dialogues that you can have with them where they talk about their life, or what they're doing, and sometimes even propose activities with you. Like, Amber asks you if you want to go for a jog or Ningguang asks you if you want to accompany her for some tea. Like, these all sound really fun and the game does not allow you to do any of them. I think this game would be a lot more fun if it were more character focused. I get that there are conversations and cutscenes with certain characters, which I do appreciate, but while I was playing I couldn't shake the feeling that I was playing a game that wanted to be something else, and I really wished it was. Like, you're going to put so much effort into creating these interesting and kind of charming characters, and then lock like 85% of that away in menus and soulless dialogue chains? LET ME HAVE FUN WITH THESE CHARACTERS. I just want to hang out with everyone :(
Also, I saw so many cute cats AND I COULDNT PET THEM. Idk if they've fixed that since. If they have, I'll consider giving this game an extra half star.
I genuinely think this game has the potential to be amazing but it's just the wrong kind of game. However, I will say that I quit before I really got into the gacha grindfest part of it, so I'm kind of happy where I left off, because all things considered I had pretty good memories of it.
Even though the game is probably cooked at this point, there is still hope for Genshin. They announced that it was getting an anime a couple years ago, and I'm pretty optimistic about it. Like I said, I enjoyed the world and the characters, so I think the anime could be pretty good. It's also being animated by ufotable so that's awesome. Looking forward to when that comes out though.
The characters aren't bad either. I enjoyed the design for most of them, and I think they're very well detailed. Their personalities and dialogue are solid as well. I feel like I'm the only person who actually liked Paimon (I like that they had her do the Q&A sessions as well).
The combat is pretty fun as well. Combining different characters' attacks to create these elemental combos is a neat mechanic and makes the combat fairly enjoyable. There is a nice level of detail to their abilities as well. The only one I can remember is Kaeya being able to freeze water and walk across it, but I always thought that was cool.
The lore is intriguing, but I remember that there wasn't too much emphasis on it, so I've forgotten most of it by now.
However, there are a few things that are holding this game back.
First of all, the gacha system. I admit that I have enjoyed gacha games in the past (I was hooked on Dokkan battle for like 2 years) but having a gacha system for a console game just rubs me the wrong way. I've met people who have spent HUNDREDS of dollars on this game, and I don't feel like this game warrants that kind of commitment. Additionally, once you reach a certain point, the game just becomes a grind fest, which in my opinion does this game a disservice, because there is a lot of potential here. I'm happy that I stopped playing before I reached that point.
Also, I don't remember much of the specifics, but the adventure rank system also rubbed me the wrong way. You have to reach like level 10 or 20 before you can truly unlock everything, which again I feel hinders this game. There are some side quests that are apparently locked behind certain adventure ranks and again, I don't like that. I run into all these characters so often and they talk like they're going to give me a quest and then I can't do it? And there's no way the quests are worth grinding out a ton of levels for, just give me the content before I get bored. The characters are kind of interesting too, but if I have to wait until I'm a certain level to do stuff with them I'm probably going to forget.
The skill trees and other upgrades are pretty wild too. Artistically though, I do like the concept of the whole constellation thing. However, it perpetuates the grind. It's very difficult to upgrade these skill trees and I feel like the game isn't fun enough to warrant all this red tape. LET ME GET TO THE GOOD PART, or at least throw me a bone every now and then so that I don't feel hopeless.
This game is primarily a level-based, gacha grindfest instead of an immersive, freedom-based open world adventure, which is what I feel the game should be and is much better suited for. Take for example the characters. There are a lot of these sample dialogues that you can have with them where they talk about their life, or what they're doing, and sometimes even propose activities with you. Like, Amber asks you if you want to go for a jog or Ningguang asks you if you want to accompany her for some tea. Like, these all sound really fun and the game does not allow you to do any of them. I think this game would be a lot more fun if it were more character focused. I get that there are conversations and cutscenes with certain characters, which I do appreciate, but while I was playing I couldn't shake the feeling that I was playing a game that wanted to be something else, and I really wished it was. Like, you're going to put so much effort into creating these interesting and kind of charming characters, and then lock like 85% of that away in menus and soulless dialogue chains? LET ME HAVE FUN WITH THESE CHARACTERS. I just want to hang out with everyone :(
Also, I saw so many cute cats AND I COULDNT PET THEM. Idk if they've fixed that since. If they have, I'll consider giving this game an extra half star.
I genuinely think this game has the potential to be amazing but it's just the wrong kind of game. However, I will say that I quit before I really got into the gacha grindfest part of it, so I'm kind of happy where I left off, because all things considered I had pretty good memories of it.
Even though the game is probably cooked at this point, there is still hope for Genshin. They announced that it was getting an anime a couple years ago, and I'm pretty optimistic about it. Like I said, I enjoyed the world and the characters, so I think the anime could be pretty good. It's also being animated by ufotable so that's awesome. Looking forward to when that comes out though.
GOWR: Valhalla is the best DLC I have ever played and it probably will stay that way for most of my life. I cannot believe how amazing this DLC is. It is UNREAL how incredible and fun this DLC is. I am just in genuine awe how amazing the existence of this is.
To put things into perspective, God of War Ragnarök is one of my favorite games of all time. I had finally finished this game a couple months before the DLC came out and felt very content and satisfied with my experience. So when it was announced at the Game Awards that it was getting a FREE DLC in just a week or so from the game awards, I was ecstatic. Like, I had never thought that GOWR would get a DLC, and I was totally okay with it not having any expansions, the game was already perfect. So, to see Santa Monica Studio announce a FREE expansion to an already amazing game in an age where corporate greed is seeping into the video game industry, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Just this expansion EXISTING for FREE is a gift from the heavens, but what's even crazier (but not unexpected) is that it's actually really fun.
The roguelike mechanics work really well here, I feel like most players tend to lean towards one or two builds and stick with them in the base game, so there's not much motivation to change things up in terms of Kratos' armor and augments. In Valhalla, you're constantly pushed into creating different builds and there are so many resources at your disposal to acquire these upgrades. It shares a lot of mechanics with Hades, but Hades is pretty much the perfect roguelike, so it's a good game to take inspiration from.
The combat is the same as it was in the base game, so it's still very enjoyable. However, there are some new additions to the areas and enemies. There's new maps which are like these mashup versions of the different realms, which I liked, but there's also an entirely new Greek inspired area which was so cool. This game goes back to Kratos' roots and because there is an entire Greek arena to explore and fight in, there are also Greek enemies, which was really cool. Fighting Greek soldiers, harpies, cyclops, sirens, minotaurs, wraiths, and centaurs was really fun. I also love that we got to see parts of Kratos' Greek past realized in the modern age of God of War.
The story and writing is as good as ever. It's a very introspective and personal journey for Kratos, so for the most part it's just him and Mimir, but I appreciated the reflective, kind of laid-back vibe that the story had. However, that does not mean this story is without drama. There are some powerful moments in this story that add a lot of weight to the plot. I was impressed by how much effort was put into the storytelling as well. This game isn't just a few new maps either. There are full-fledged cutscenes and everything, this feels like a genuine continuation of the base game's ending.
My favorite part by far though, is the final boss. I don't want to spoil anything major, but all I will say is that the boss was the one part of the base game that I felt slightlyyyy dissatisfied by, but honestly it wasn't a problem in the main game and I could overlook it. However, Valhalla not only fixes my minor issue, but makes it the highlight of the DLC and gives us one of the coolest boss fights in the series. I was so impressed by the final boss fight on all fronts. From a story, gameplay, and cinematic perspective it was perfect.
Overall, Valhalla is a very rare and special kind of DLC that we probably won't see again for a very long time, so cherish it. I would be okay paying $30 for this so the fact that it's free still blows my mind.
Thank you Santa Monica Studio. You are incredible and I love you so so much.
To put things into perspective, God of War Ragnarök is one of my favorite games of all time. I had finally finished this game a couple months before the DLC came out and felt very content and satisfied with my experience. So when it was announced at the Game Awards that it was getting a FREE DLC in just a week or so from the game awards, I was ecstatic. Like, I had never thought that GOWR would get a DLC, and I was totally okay with it not having any expansions, the game was already perfect. So, to see Santa Monica Studio announce a FREE expansion to an already amazing game in an age where corporate greed is seeping into the video game industry, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Just this expansion EXISTING for FREE is a gift from the heavens, but what's even crazier (but not unexpected) is that it's actually really fun.
The roguelike mechanics work really well here, I feel like most players tend to lean towards one or two builds and stick with them in the base game, so there's not much motivation to change things up in terms of Kratos' armor and augments. In Valhalla, you're constantly pushed into creating different builds and there are so many resources at your disposal to acquire these upgrades. It shares a lot of mechanics with Hades, but Hades is pretty much the perfect roguelike, so it's a good game to take inspiration from.
The combat is the same as it was in the base game, so it's still very enjoyable. However, there are some new additions to the areas and enemies. There's new maps which are like these mashup versions of the different realms, which I liked, but there's also an entirely new Greek inspired area which was so cool. This game goes back to Kratos' roots and because there is an entire Greek arena to explore and fight in, there are also Greek enemies, which was really cool. Fighting Greek soldiers, harpies, cyclops, sirens, minotaurs, wraiths, and centaurs was really fun. I also love that we got to see parts of Kratos' Greek past realized in the modern age of God of War.
The story and writing is as good as ever. It's a very introspective and personal journey for Kratos, so for the most part it's just him and Mimir, but I appreciated the reflective, kind of laid-back vibe that the story had. However, that does not mean this story is without drama. There are some powerful moments in this story that add a lot of weight to the plot. I was impressed by how much effort was put into the storytelling as well. This game isn't just a few new maps either. There are full-fledged cutscenes and everything, this feels like a genuine continuation of the base game's ending.
My favorite part by far though, is the final boss. I don't want to spoil anything major, but all I will say is that the boss was the one part of the base game that I felt slightlyyyy dissatisfied by, but honestly it wasn't a problem in the main game and I could overlook it. However, Valhalla not only fixes my minor issue, but makes it the highlight of the DLC and gives us one of the coolest boss fights in the series. I was so impressed by the final boss fight on all fronts. From a story, gameplay, and cinematic perspective it was perfect.
Overall, Valhalla is a very rare and special kind of DLC that we probably won't see again for a very long time, so cherish it. I would be okay paying $30 for this so the fact that it's free still blows my mind.
Thank you Santa Monica Studio. You are incredible and I love you so so much.
I think I've put about 30-something hours into this game so far, but then one day I suddenly just lost interest and stopped playing, I'm not really sure why.
So far, the combat is pretty fun, and the special abilities are really cool. The boss fights are great as well, really cinematic.
However, the story and characters are sooo lame. I imagine the characters were much better in the original and I will agree they are iconic, but they're not very well adapted in this game. It's really hard to get emotionally invested in anyone's story, for the most part I was just trudging through it.
I do like the environments and the art direction though, this is a highly imaginative world and it's really fun to look around at all the different environments. However, the actual task of exploring the world itself can get a bit stale.
Also, you'll probably hate me for this, but I don't always vibe with the soundtrack. I will say there are some absolute bangers in this game, but sometimes when I'm exploring or just walking around some songs get annoying.
I will say that I like this game's approach to its levels. It drops you into this big area with lots to do and then you can spend as much time as you want doing sidequests or other exploring before moving on with the main story. It does help get you immersed in your surroundings, but then again a lot of the sidequests are kind of forgettable, so this can feel like a slog at times.
I will come back to this game one day, especially because I hear Rebirth is really good so I want to eventually play that one as well. But from what I've played so far, I feel kind of "meh" about it, but I enjoyed it enough that I want to come back and finish it at some point.
So far, the combat is pretty fun, and the special abilities are really cool. The boss fights are great as well, really cinematic.
However, the story and characters are sooo lame. I imagine the characters were much better in the original and I will agree they are iconic, but they're not very well adapted in this game. It's really hard to get emotionally invested in anyone's story, for the most part I was just trudging through it.
I do like the environments and the art direction though, this is a highly imaginative world and it's really fun to look around at all the different environments. However, the actual task of exploring the world itself can get a bit stale.
Also, you'll probably hate me for this, but I don't always vibe with the soundtrack. I will say there are some absolute bangers in this game, but sometimes when I'm exploring or just walking around some songs get annoying.
I will say that I like this game's approach to its levels. It drops you into this big area with lots to do and then you can spend as much time as you want doing sidequests or other exploring before moving on with the main story. It does help get you immersed in your surroundings, but then again a lot of the sidequests are kind of forgettable, so this can feel like a slog at times.
I will come back to this game one day, especially because I hear Rebirth is really good so I want to eventually play that one as well. But from what I've played so far, I feel kind of "meh" about it, but I enjoyed it enough that I want to come back and finish it at some point.
2016
Yakuza Kiwami, while not as memorable as Yakuza 0, is still a game worth playing and a strong entry into the series.
The gameplay is largely the same as it was in Yakuza 0 and Kiryu has all of the same moves he had in Y0, with maybe a couple new additions. You're still playing in Kamurocho and many of the activities are still there. Because of all the similarities, I recommend that you don't play this game directly after you play Y0, play one or two games in between.
Regarding the combat, I believe Kiryu's combat in this game is much better than it was in Y0. First of all, you're still able to switch between different styles, but this time, the dragon/legend style is accessible from the start. I really like what they did with the dragon style. When you first start out, it's practically useless, I would only use as a desperate last resort to try and get a couple extra hits in. However, as you progress through the game, you gradually unlock the full potential of the style and it becomes Kiryu's strongest style by the end (tiger drop is so broken and I love it). Also, I prefer how they set up the skill tree in this game as opposed to how they did it in Y0. In Y0, you used money to upgrade the skill tree, and even though it was really easy to get money in that game, I still found myself unable to max out the skill tree in the 90 something hours I put into the game. However, this game uses upgrade points that you get from defeating enemies. Because you're not able to use upgrade points for anything else, this system works much better in my opinion, and I was able to max out the skill tree after about 30-40 hours or so. Because of this, I enjoyed the combat in this game much more than I did in Y0 (at least for Kiryu).
The side activities in this game are also still just as fun as you'd expect from a Yakuza game. I will note however, that this game has more erotic activities than I remember the other games in the series having (although to be fair I haven't played most of the games so I'm only guessing). That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I thought I'd point it out.
Perhaps the highlight of this game is the Majima Everywhere system. Majima popping up all over Kamurocho was so funny and Kiryu's reaction every time was just golden. I never got tired of fighting Majima and I really liked how his encounters really felt random, like he was truly popping up out of nowhere.
Finally, Kamurocho has always been a really fun location to explore and it's still done justice in this game.
Okay, I'm going to tear into this game a bit, but I want you all to know that I still like this game and you should definitely play it if you like JRPGS or are into the Yakuza series.
Perhaps my biggest complaint with this game is its boss battles. They suck. There are twenty four boss battles in this game, and only like three of them are actually good. What's more is that two of them are against Majima, who by those points in the game you've already fought dozens of times. The rest of the bosses are honestly just pretty lame. Some bosses, like Hayashi and Lau Ka Long, have a decent move sets, but their large health pools and defense combined with the lack of QTE's make their fights feel repetitive and stagnant. The lack of memorable bosses was a real letdown, especially after playing Yakuza 0, which had a lot of incredible bosses.
Second of all, the story for this game is not as good as Y0's. Again, I haven't played past Kiwami 2, but so far Yakuza 0 has had the best story. That being said, I do think the story is pretty solid and is definitely better than Kiwami 2's. Nishiki's journey in particular was very compelling, it gave a lot of emotional weight to the story considering the relationship that Kiryu and Nishiki had in Yakuza 0. Haruka is a great character as well and adds a lot of depth to Kiryu's character. Also, I love Shinji, he's awesome. Overall, I would say the characters are good for the most part while the plot itself is a little shaky at times.
My last big issue with this game is its substories. For the most part, they feel very repetitive and aren't very creative or memorable. This is especially apparent when you compare it to the substories in Y0 or Kiwami 2, which feature some incredible and hilarious substories. There are a few standouts, but by and large they're not very interesting.
Overall, this is a great game and a solid entry into the Yakuza series, though it is lacking in areas that the series is known for.
The gameplay is largely the same as it was in Yakuza 0 and Kiryu has all of the same moves he had in Y0, with maybe a couple new additions. You're still playing in Kamurocho and many of the activities are still there. Because of all the similarities, I recommend that you don't play this game directly after you play Y0, play one or two games in between.
Regarding the combat, I believe Kiryu's combat in this game is much better than it was in Y0. First of all, you're still able to switch between different styles, but this time, the dragon/legend style is accessible from the start. I really like what they did with the dragon style. When you first start out, it's practically useless, I would only use as a desperate last resort to try and get a couple extra hits in. However, as you progress through the game, you gradually unlock the full potential of the style and it becomes Kiryu's strongest style by the end (tiger drop is so broken and I love it). Also, I prefer how they set up the skill tree in this game as opposed to how they did it in Y0. In Y0, you used money to upgrade the skill tree, and even though it was really easy to get money in that game, I still found myself unable to max out the skill tree in the 90 something hours I put into the game. However, this game uses upgrade points that you get from defeating enemies. Because you're not able to use upgrade points for anything else, this system works much better in my opinion, and I was able to max out the skill tree after about 30-40 hours or so. Because of this, I enjoyed the combat in this game much more than I did in Y0 (at least for Kiryu).
The side activities in this game are also still just as fun as you'd expect from a Yakuza game. I will note however, that this game has more erotic activities than I remember the other games in the series having (although to be fair I haven't played most of the games so I'm only guessing). That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I thought I'd point it out.
Perhaps the highlight of this game is the Majima Everywhere system. Majima popping up all over Kamurocho was so funny and Kiryu's reaction every time was just golden. I never got tired of fighting Majima and I really liked how his encounters really felt random, like he was truly popping up out of nowhere.
Finally, Kamurocho has always been a really fun location to explore and it's still done justice in this game.
Okay, I'm going to tear into this game a bit, but I want you all to know that I still like this game and you should definitely play it if you like JRPGS or are into the Yakuza series.
Perhaps my biggest complaint with this game is its boss battles. They suck. There are twenty four boss battles in this game, and only like three of them are actually good. What's more is that two of them are against Majima, who by those points in the game you've already fought dozens of times. The rest of the bosses are honestly just pretty lame. Some bosses, like Hayashi and Lau Ka Long, have a decent move sets, but their large health pools and defense combined with the lack of QTE's make their fights feel repetitive and stagnant. The lack of memorable bosses was a real letdown, especially after playing Yakuza 0, which had a lot of incredible bosses.
Second of all, the story for this game is not as good as Y0's. Again, I haven't played past Kiwami 2, but so far Yakuza 0 has had the best story. That being said, I do think the story is pretty solid and is definitely better than Kiwami 2's. Nishiki's journey in particular was very compelling, it gave a lot of emotional weight to the story considering the relationship that Kiryu and Nishiki had in Yakuza 0. Haruka is a great character as well and adds a lot of depth to Kiryu's character. Also, I love Shinji, he's awesome. Overall, I would say the characters are good for the most part while the plot itself is a little shaky at times.
My last big issue with this game is its substories. For the most part, they feel very repetitive and aren't very creative or memorable. This is especially apparent when you compare it to the substories in Y0 or Kiwami 2, which feature some incredible and hilarious substories. There are a few standouts, but by and large they're not very interesting.
Overall, this is a great game and a solid entry into the Yakuza series, though it is lacking in areas that the series is known for.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a criminally underrated title and if you are a comic book or superhero fan you should absolutely check it out. I'm hoping that this review can help bring a little more awareness to how awesome this game is.
I'll start off by saying that this game is really strong on nearly all fronts. No aspect was particularly weak, so overall this game feels pretty consistent, which is nice.
This is a fairly linear game, both in its story and level design. It's set up so that you're always working towards the main story, and the levels are designed so that you always know where you're supposed to go. However, I will say that there are a couple sections where you're allowed to roam free around a bigger area, which is nice. The other levels usually have a couple paths you can pursue in order to find collectibles and loot. I think that this design works great for the game and I didn't have a problem with it at all, if this game were open world or open zone (is that a thing), it wouldn't have worked out very well.
Now, let's get to the gameplay. The gameplay is pretty fun! Exploration and puzzle solving, while fairly easy, is still enjoyable due to how it incorporates both the player's abilities as well as the abilities of the other guardians. Each guardian has a unique "puzzle/exploration ability" that is utilized effectively. If there's a ledge you can't cross, Groot can grow a bridge. If there's vines you can't get through, Gamora can cut through them. If there's a small space you can't crawl into, Rocket can. If there's something heavy you need to lift, Drax is there for you. Often, you'll need to use multiple abilities in conjunction with each other (I think) to traverse an area.
The combat is fun as well. I disagree with the people who say that the game should have allowed you to play as all of the guardians, because it would have overly complicated things and honestly, Eidos-Montreal would have to create an entirely different kind of game. Solely playing as Star-Lord but being able to give orders to the other guardians both in exploration and in battle gives players the best of both worlds while not becoming overly complicated. Anyways, the combat is pretty fun. The gun play is nice, Star-Lord has a few gun forms that he can cycle through as well as his own set of abilities. The abilities for the guardians are also really fun, and comboing them with your own attacks or the attacks of other guardians is seamless. I appreciate the animations for the hand-to-hand combat as well. Not only does Star-Lord have a few unique melee combat animations, but he also has auto combo finishers with each guardian, and they're all cool to look at. While you're not actively using the abilities of the other guardians, they'll fight on their own, and there is a surprising amount of effort put into how they fight, even though the player won't always notice these details in a typical encounter. Additionally, you can also perform finishers on enemies when their stun bar is full and their health is low enough (to be honest I'm not sure of the exact criteria needed to perform a finisher, but it shows up pretty often). These finishers are really cool because each guardian will take turns attacking the enemy and the camera will temporarily go to slow-mo when the attack hits, it's just an awesome finisher. Finally, I want to mention the huddle up system because it is by far my favorite part of the combat. Star-Lord calls the guardians in and then the player has to choose between two dialogue options in order to give a successful motivational speech, and then a famous song from the 70s/80s will play while you're fighting, and that whole sequence feels very cinematic and really pumps you full of adrenaline. It's particularly effective when you're being overwhelmed and about to die, because it allows you to miraculously come back and win against all odds, it's just an awesome mechanic that is perfect for the Guardians of the Galaxy. If you play the game for extended periods of time, I can see how the combat may feel tiresome or repetitive, but I don't think it will happen for everyone. Overall, combat = fun.
Now, let's get into my favorite part of the game, its story and characters. I imagine that it was very tempting for the writers to just try to copy James Gunn's versions of these characters and just reskin the plots from one of the MCU movies. However, I was thoroughly surprised and impressed by how the story and the characters were handled. While the major characters are adapted from the Marvel comics, this is an entirely original story that feels like a distinct and fresh take on the Guardians of the Galaxy. Of course, their personalities are largely the same, but not in a way that feels like they're copying anything else. The guardians in this game will feel familiar to fans, but they also stand on their own as unique interpretations. I'm a big fan of James Gunn and adore the GOTG movies, but at times I liked this game's version more than the Gunn's, which is something I thought I'd never say. Their conversations feel genuine and are interesting to listen to, and the dialogue options for Peter are also creative. You really start to grow close to these characters as you play through the story and become invested in their bonds and the trials they go through.
This game is also pretty funny. Funny dialogue is one of the rarest occurrences in any video game, so this game deserves praise for sticking the landing on most of its humor. Not everything is a gut-buster, but it's good enough.
Besides the main guardians, the other characters are also well-written and fit well within the story. Most of the standouts don't show up until later into the story, so I won't spoil anything, but I think marvel fans will be pretty happy regarding which characters are included and how they're adapted. The new characters that they've added I thought were excellent as well. Lady Hellbender and Raker were two characters that I had never heard of before, but I very much enjoyed their presence within the story. I love that the game's villains were characters that most audiences have never heard of before, it made me more invested in the story because everything that was happening was something new.
Overall, the story is completely original and very compelling, and the characters are well-written and entertaining. Since the game is linear, the story and characters are always at the forefront of what's going on, so none of the impact or nuance is lost on the player.
I also could not accurately review this game if I did not acknowledge the absolutely incredible art direction on all fronts. The levels in this game are absolutely beautiful and are just brimming with creativity. Each area has a lot of vibrant colors on display that just make the game a joy to look at and explore. The art direction breathes a lot of life into the world and makes the game more memorable as a whole. I also am in love with the character design. Not only are their personalities unique, but they all have a new look to them Even though there are other outfits you can discover for each guardian, I want to acknowledge how full of personality Eidos-Montreal's original outfits for them are. The character design is just really good.
The soundtrack is also very memorable due to the several 70s/80s songs that they include.
I also want to say that this game has my absolute favorite version of the Milano (the guardian's ship). You're able to explore the interior of the ship several times throughout the game and I love the attention to detail and how lived in the ship feels. I love that they condition of the ship also reflects the state that the guardians are in. It's hilarious how they're locked out or unable to access a lot of the cooler functions of their ship because they're broke. I really like that you're able to explore each character's room as well.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Hey, you've only said good things about this game, why is it only four stars?" And that is a valid question. Well, I guess I would say that as much as I like the dialogue, it can be a bit much sometimes (the use of flark is a bit excessive and loses its luster early on in the game). I also wasn't the biggest fan of one of the later chapters where you're in a cave, that one dragged on way too long and the gimmick that the dialogue was based around got kind of old. There's also a couple characters that I wasn't a huge fan of, but they definitely had their moments at some point in the game. Also, there is a certain fan-favorite character in Gunn's movies that is absent from this game, though there is a good reason. My problem with this is that many fans will likely be unhappy with the reason for their absence, and I actually think that the reason is very interesting and has a lot of narrative potential, it's never expanded on and kind of left a bad taste in my mouth because it felt like a plot point that should have been resolved. Hopefully it does if this game gets a sequel. Regardless, these are more or less minor complaints. I'd like to rate this game higher but my I know in my heart that it's not higher than four stars, at least for me, but I still absolutely recommend this game and it deserves your attention.
Overall, this game is really fun and a blast to play, it's what Marvel's Avengers should have been. Even if you're not necessarily a Marvel fan, I'd still recommend you play this game because there is a lot to love.
I'll start off by saying that this game is really strong on nearly all fronts. No aspect was particularly weak, so overall this game feels pretty consistent, which is nice.
This is a fairly linear game, both in its story and level design. It's set up so that you're always working towards the main story, and the levels are designed so that you always know where you're supposed to go. However, I will say that there are a couple sections where you're allowed to roam free around a bigger area, which is nice. The other levels usually have a couple paths you can pursue in order to find collectibles and loot. I think that this design works great for the game and I didn't have a problem with it at all, if this game were open world or open zone (is that a thing), it wouldn't have worked out very well.
Now, let's get to the gameplay. The gameplay is pretty fun! Exploration and puzzle solving, while fairly easy, is still enjoyable due to how it incorporates both the player's abilities as well as the abilities of the other guardians. Each guardian has a unique "puzzle/exploration ability" that is utilized effectively. If there's a ledge you can't cross, Groot can grow a bridge. If there's vines you can't get through, Gamora can cut through them. If there's a small space you can't crawl into, Rocket can. If there's something heavy you need to lift, Drax is there for you. Often, you'll need to use multiple abilities in conjunction with each other (I think) to traverse an area.
The combat is fun as well. I disagree with the people who say that the game should have allowed you to play as all of the guardians, because it would have overly complicated things and honestly, Eidos-Montreal would have to create an entirely different kind of game. Solely playing as Star-Lord but being able to give orders to the other guardians both in exploration and in battle gives players the best of both worlds while not becoming overly complicated. Anyways, the combat is pretty fun. The gun play is nice, Star-Lord has a few gun forms that he can cycle through as well as his own set of abilities. The abilities for the guardians are also really fun, and comboing them with your own attacks or the attacks of other guardians is seamless. I appreciate the animations for the hand-to-hand combat as well. Not only does Star-Lord have a few unique melee combat animations, but he also has auto combo finishers with each guardian, and they're all cool to look at. While you're not actively using the abilities of the other guardians, they'll fight on their own, and there is a surprising amount of effort put into how they fight, even though the player won't always notice these details in a typical encounter. Additionally, you can also perform finishers on enemies when their stun bar is full and their health is low enough (to be honest I'm not sure of the exact criteria needed to perform a finisher, but it shows up pretty often). These finishers are really cool because each guardian will take turns attacking the enemy and the camera will temporarily go to slow-mo when the attack hits, it's just an awesome finisher. Finally, I want to mention the huddle up system because it is by far my favorite part of the combat. Star-Lord calls the guardians in and then the player has to choose between two dialogue options in order to give a successful motivational speech, and then a famous song from the 70s/80s will play while you're fighting, and that whole sequence feels very cinematic and really pumps you full of adrenaline. It's particularly effective when you're being overwhelmed and about to die, because it allows you to miraculously come back and win against all odds, it's just an awesome mechanic that is perfect for the Guardians of the Galaxy. If you play the game for extended periods of time, I can see how the combat may feel tiresome or repetitive, but I don't think it will happen for everyone. Overall, combat = fun.
Now, let's get into my favorite part of the game, its story and characters. I imagine that it was very tempting for the writers to just try to copy James Gunn's versions of these characters and just reskin the plots from one of the MCU movies. However, I was thoroughly surprised and impressed by how the story and the characters were handled. While the major characters are adapted from the Marvel comics, this is an entirely original story that feels like a distinct and fresh take on the Guardians of the Galaxy. Of course, their personalities are largely the same, but not in a way that feels like they're copying anything else. The guardians in this game will feel familiar to fans, but they also stand on their own as unique interpretations. I'm a big fan of James Gunn and adore the GOTG movies, but at times I liked this game's version more than the Gunn's, which is something I thought I'd never say. Their conversations feel genuine and are interesting to listen to, and the dialogue options for Peter are also creative. You really start to grow close to these characters as you play through the story and become invested in their bonds and the trials they go through.
This game is also pretty funny. Funny dialogue is one of the rarest occurrences in any video game, so this game deserves praise for sticking the landing on most of its humor. Not everything is a gut-buster, but it's good enough.
Besides the main guardians, the other characters are also well-written and fit well within the story. Most of the standouts don't show up until later into the story, so I won't spoil anything, but I think marvel fans will be pretty happy regarding which characters are included and how they're adapted. The new characters that they've added I thought were excellent as well. Lady Hellbender and Raker were two characters that I had never heard of before, but I very much enjoyed their presence within the story. I love that the game's villains were characters that most audiences have never heard of before, it made me more invested in the story because everything that was happening was something new.
Overall, the story is completely original and very compelling, and the characters are well-written and entertaining. Since the game is linear, the story and characters are always at the forefront of what's going on, so none of the impact or nuance is lost on the player.
I also could not accurately review this game if I did not acknowledge the absolutely incredible art direction on all fronts. The levels in this game are absolutely beautiful and are just brimming with creativity. Each area has a lot of vibrant colors on display that just make the game a joy to look at and explore. The art direction breathes a lot of life into the world and makes the game more memorable as a whole. I also am in love with the character design. Not only are their personalities unique, but they all have a new look to them Even though there are other outfits you can discover for each guardian, I want to acknowledge how full of personality Eidos-Montreal's original outfits for them are. The character design is just really good.
The soundtrack is also very memorable due to the several 70s/80s songs that they include.
I also want to say that this game has my absolute favorite version of the Milano (the guardian's ship). You're able to explore the interior of the ship several times throughout the game and I love the attention to detail and how lived in the ship feels. I love that they condition of the ship also reflects the state that the guardians are in. It's hilarious how they're locked out or unable to access a lot of the cooler functions of their ship because they're broke. I really like that you're able to explore each character's room as well.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Hey, you've only said good things about this game, why is it only four stars?" And that is a valid question. Well, I guess I would say that as much as I like the dialogue, it can be a bit much sometimes (the use of flark is a bit excessive and loses its luster early on in the game). I also wasn't the biggest fan of one of the later chapters where you're in a cave, that one dragged on way too long and the gimmick that the dialogue was based around got kind of old. There's also a couple characters that I wasn't a huge fan of, but they definitely had their moments at some point in the game. Also, there is a certain fan-favorite character in Gunn's movies that is absent from this game, though there is a good reason. My problem with this is that many fans will likely be unhappy with the reason for their absence, and I actually think that the reason is very interesting and has a lot of narrative potential, it's never expanded on and kind of left a bad taste in my mouth because it felt like a plot point that should have been resolved. Hopefully it does if this game gets a sequel. Regardless, these are more or less minor complaints. I'd like to rate this game higher but my I know in my heart that it's not higher than four stars, at least for me, but I still absolutely recommend this game and it deserves your attention.
Overall, this game is really fun and a blast to play, it's what Marvel's Avengers should have been. Even if you're not necessarily a Marvel fan, I'd still recommend you play this game because there is a lot to love.
2024
You know that scene in the original 2003-2005 Clone Wars TV Show where that clone trooper dramatically holds the line against a ton of super battle droids and he's using every gun he has, desperately fighting against the onslaught of battle droids? That's what it feels like to play Helldivers 2. At its best, it is an adrenaline rush that will get your blood pumping like you're really on the battlefield. It helps that the gunplay is really solid. Every gun has a lot of impact and the haptics on the PS5 are incredible.
This game is a great example of how to use the SAM (Single Audience Member) philosophy in video games. The principle of SAM is that when you're creating a game, you don't try to create a game that will please everyone. You want to create a game that is centered around a single type of person. The more you can define that person, the better and more detailed your game will be. Making a game specifically for that single audience member is what will make your game feel new, fresh, and fun. Players will be able to feel the passion that you've put into your project. So, this game is great because of that.
I've always loved sci-fi stuff, but particularly galactic warfare, and Helldivers 2 does a good job at immersing you into this concept. I love that the game has you fighting a galactic war against robots and bugs and you're jumping from planet to planet, it's just really fun. Admittedly, the worldbuilding isn't very strong, but what's here is good enough. What I will say though, is that the planets are excellently designed, and I love how distinct they are from each other.
The coolest part about this game is the stratagems. There are tons of orbital strikes, bombing runs, turrets, and other weapons you can call in and they're just really fun to use. I've seen a lot of games where they maybe have like 1/3 of these abilities and it was still fun then, so I want to congratulate this game for including all of these cool abilities and really playing into the fantasy of a galactic soldier.
This is the only live-service game in recent memory that is actually worth paying for and putting your time into. This should be the ideal model for live-service games going forward.
The real fun of this game comes from when you play it with other people. Playing with friends is the ideal way to play this game and it's the main reason of what makes it so fun. Playing on your own is somewhat enjoyable, but it's definitely not ideal.
I'm still getting into the meat of this game (I think I'm only like level 8), but I really like it and I'm looking forward to playing it more.
This game is a great example of how to use the SAM (Single Audience Member) philosophy in video games. The principle of SAM is that when you're creating a game, you don't try to create a game that will please everyone. You want to create a game that is centered around a single type of person. The more you can define that person, the better and more detailed your game will be. Making a game specifically for that single audience member is what will make your game feel new, fresh, and fun. Players will be able to feel the passion that you've put into your project. So, this game is great because of that.
I've always loved sci-fi stuff, but particularly galactic warfare, and Helldivers 2 does a good job at immersing you into this concept. I love that the game has you fighting a galactic war against robots and bugs and you're jumping from planet to planet, it's just really fun. Admittedly, the worldbuilding isn't very strong, but what's here is good enough. What I will say though, is that the planets are excellently designed, and I love how distinct they are from each other.
The coolest part about this game is the stratagems. There are tons of orbital strikes, bombing runs, turrets, and other weapons you can call in and they're just really fun to use. I've seen a lot of games where they maybe have like 1/3 of these abilities and it was still fun then, so I want to congratulate this game for including all of these cool abilities and really playing into the fantasy of a galactic soldier.
This is the only live-service game in recent memory that is actually worth paying for and putting your time into. This should be the ideal model for live-service games going forward.
The real fun of this game comes from when you play it with other people. Playing with friends is the ideal way to play this game and it's the main reason of what makes it so fun. Playing on your own is somewhat enjoyable, but it's definitely not ideal.
I'm still getting into the meat of this game (I think I'm only like level 8), but I really like it and I'm looking forward to playing it more.
In the first level of this game you:
Fight a giant robot (metal gear) with nothing but a samurai sword
Block the giant robot's giant sword with your (much smaller) sword
(This whole time an insane metal song is blasting through your speakers)
Straight up lift the giant robot off the ground and throw it into the air
Leap onto the robot mid air and cut his arm off.
Then chase a crazy cyborg warmonger who fights with giant scissors through an African city
Turns out the giant robot survived so you fight him again.
This time he shoots a hundred missiles at you so you jump onto and across the missiles in mid-air like Gru in Despicable Me
Finally reach him and cut his other arm off.
He's still going so he bites you and throws you onto the side of a clock tower.
Then he starts blowing up the clock tower with missiles and laser beams so you run down the side of the tower as it's falling apart
Finally reach him and cut him in half.
Chase the scissor guy again and jump onto a train
Watch him kill this guy.
Then you fight the Brazilian samurai guy and he kicks your ass
Then you're saved by your Russian friend.
Granted, the levels aren't always this jam-packed with action set pieces but it definitely sets the tone. This game is one of the best action games of all time. So many memorable bosses, a fun and addicting combat system, interesting dismemberment mechanics on enemies, fun weapons to choose from, ICONIC characters and dialogue, unbelievably cool character design, cinematic cutscenes and a banger soundtrack. They don't make games like this anymore.
Fight a giant robot (metal gear) with nothing but a samurai sword
Block the giant robot's giant sword with your (much smaller) sword
(This whole time an insane metal song is blasting through your speakers)
Straight up lift the giant robot off the ground and throw it into the air
Leap onto the robot mid air and cut his arm off.
Then chase a crazy cyborg warmonger who fights with giant scissors through an African city
Turns out the giant robot survived so you fight him again.
This time he shoots a hundred missiles at you so you jump onto and across the missiles in mid-air like Gru in Despicable Me
Finally reach him and cut his other arm off.
He's still going so he bites you and throws you onto the side of a clock tower.
Then he starts blowing up the clock tower with missiles and laser beams so you run down the side of the tower as it's falling apart
Finally reach him and cut him in half.
Chase the scissor guy again and jump onto a train
Watch him kill this guy.
Then you fight the Brazilian samurai guy and he kicks your ass
Then you're saved by your Russian friend.
Granted, the levels aren't always this jam-packed with action set pieces but it definitely sets the tone. This game is one of the best action games of all time. So many memorable bosses, a fun and addicting combat system, interesting dismemberment mechanics on enemies, fun weapons to choose from, ICONIC characters and dialogue, unbelievably cool character design, cinematic cutscenes and a banger soundtrack. They don't make games like this anymore.
2023
Hi-Fi Rush is like the video game equivalent of a McDonald's Sprite. This game is overwhelmingly refreshing, energizing, and it just makes me really happy.
The standout part of the game is the sound design, which is instrumental (no pun intended) to pretty much every single aspect of the game. The combat, movement, animations, puzzles, parkour, all of it is synced to the music playing around you, something that to my knowledge, no game has ever done before, so Hi-Fi Rush deserves major props not only for fully realizing this concept, but also making it fun. Also, the soundtrack is amazing, Hi-Fi rush is a game where there always has to be music playing for the game to function, but the soundtrack never gets boring, stale, or repetitive. The developers knew when the music needed to blend into the background and when it needed to be at the forefront of the scene.
You know how sometimes you'll see videos on YouTube of where the music in a videogame's level or boss fight will happen to sync up in time with an attack or something and it'll be super cool, like it's out of a movie? So that's like, every single battle in this game. It is so satisfying to smash robots to pieces in time with the music, and the boss fights in particular stand out because you're dodging these over-the-top combo chains to the beat of whatever crazy song is going on in the background! This game gets your adrenaline pumping like nothing else.
Now, the combat itself is kind of similar to games like Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, and it works really well. It's not like Tekken where there's a million combos to learn, there's like maybe twenty or thirty, I don't know for sure. My point is, there's not so much that it feels overwhelming but not so little that you feel limited. All of the combos look really cool and perfectly timing that beat hit (the circle thing) is always super satisfying. There's also a handful of special attacks and partner attacks which are equally cool. Team attacks are like one of my favorite mechanics ever in video games, and the team attacks in this game SLAP, so nice job designers. Also, Chai fights with a guitar and a lot of his attacks are named after guitar/music terms, and I play guitar so I got a lot of enjoyment out of that. As mentioned earlier, the boss fights are all really fun too.
Now, as for the story and characters, I'm going to be a little lenient with the developers here. It's obvious that they weren't going for anything crazy when they were writing this story or the characters. You have seen this plot and the character archetypes several times before, but in my opinion, it's a tried-and-true formula. I enjoyed the story and characters, and I thought the writing was pretty solid. I think the writing team is definitely talented, they just played it safe with the general plot, which isn't a bad thing. One thing the characters never failed to do was make me smile. It's a very lighthearted and upbeat story where you play as a carefree little goofball as he assembles his wacky little team of rebels to take down equally wacky villains. Even though the story is relatively short, I still found myself caring about all the characters and I will say that the "twist" that they have in the game is pretty good, though I imagine many people probably saw it coming.
If I haven't mentioned it already, I do like the social commentary and critique on corporations. Each of Vandelay's department heads (except for one ofc, iykyk) is a hilariously overexaggerated satire on different aspects of corporations.
I also think it's hilarious that Vandelay exclusively uses robot employees, yet the robots are always stressed out about their jobs, trying to slack off whenever possible, or complaining about how terrible their bosses are. You know something's wrong with your company if your robot employees are complaining.
I also have to talk about the art style for this game. I am in love with the visual style of this game. The character designs are so creative and expressive and really fit with the character's respective personalities. This goes for the robot enemies as well. I'm not an artist at all, but I think that shape language was used very effectively here. The art direction is so vibrant and expressive as well, the colors are very bright and loud and add so much life to the world. There are times in the game where it'll do a freeze frame and the game will drop the hardest shot you've ever seen, it's awesome.
Also, the animations in this game are very fluid, smooth, and expressive. I am not exaggerating when I say that this game has one of the greatest boss intros that I have ever seen in a video game. I'm not going to give major spoilers, but all I'll say is that it's synced to a certain classical symphony and it is the coolest thing ever.
Overall, great game, and I'm really glad that it's coming to consoles soon.
The standout part of the game is the sound design, which is instrumental (no pun intended) to pretty much every single aspect of the game. The combat, movement, animations, puzzles, parkour, all of it is synced to the music playing around you, something that to my knowledge, no game has ever done before, so Hi-Fi Rush deserves major props not only for fully realizing this concept, but also making it fun. Also, the soundtrack is amazing, Hi-Fi rush is a game where there always has to be music playing for the game to function, but the soundtrack never gets boring, stale, or repetitive. The developers knew when the music needed to blend into the background and when it needed to be at the forefront of the scene.
You know how sometimes you'll see videos on YouTube of where the music in a videogame's level or boss fight will happen to sync up in time with an attack or something and it'll be super cool, like it's out of a movie? So that's like, every single battle in this game. It is so satisfying to smash robots to pieces in time with the music, and the boss fights in particular stand out because you're dodging these over-the-top combo chains to the beat of whatever crazy song is going on in the background! This game gets your adrenaline pumping like nothing else.
Now, the combat itself is kind of similar to games like Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, and it works really well. It's not like Tekken where there's a million combos to learn, there's like maybe twenty or thirty, I don't know for sure. My point is, there's not so much that it feels overwhelming but not so little that you feel limited. All of the combos look really cool and perfectly timing that beat hit (the circle thing) is always super satisfying. There's also a handful of special attacks and partner attacks which are equally cool. Team attacks are like one of my favorite mechanics ever in video games, and the team attacks in this game SLAP, so nice job designers. Also, Chai fights with a guitar and a lot of his attacks are named after guitar/music terms, and I play guitar so I got a lot of enjoyment out of that. As mentioned earlier, the boss fights are all really fun too.
Now, as for the story and characters, I'm going to be a little lenient with the developers here. It's obvious that they weren't going for anything crazy when they were writing this story or the characters. You have seen this plot and the character archetypes several times before, but in my opinion, it's a tried-and-true formula. I enjoyed the story and characters, and I thought the writing was pretty solid. I think the writing team is definitely talented, they just played it safe with the general plot, which isn't a bad thing. One thing the characters never failed to do was make me smile. It's a very lighthearted and upbeat story where you play as a carefree little goofball as he assembles his wacky little team of rebels to take down equally wacky villains. Even though the story is relatively short, I still found myself caring about all the characters and I will say that the "twist" that they have in the game is pretty good, though I imagine many people probably saw it coming.
If I haven't mentioned it already, I do like the social commentary and critique on corporations. Each of Vandelay's department heads (except for one ofc, iykyk) is a hilariously overexaggerated satire on different aspects of corporations.
I also think it's hilarious that Vandelay exclusively uses robot employees, yet the robots are always stressed out about their jobs, trying to slack off whenever possible, or complaining about how terrible their bosses are. You know something's wrong with your company if your robot employees are complaining.
I also have to talk about the art style for this game. I am in love with the visual style of this game. The character designs are so creative and expressive and really fit with the character's respective personalities. This goes for the robot enemies as well. I'm not an artist at all, but I think that shape language was used very effectively here. The art direction is so vibrant and expressive as well, the colors are very bright and loud and add so much life to the world. There are times in the game where it'll do a freeze frame and the game will drop the hardest shot you've ever seen, it's awesome.
Also, the animations in this game are very fluid, smooth, and expressive. I am not exaggerating when I say that this game has one of the greatest boss intros that I have ever seen in a video game. I'm not going to give major spoilers, but all I'll say is that it's synced to a certain classical symphony and it is the coolest thing ever.
Overall, great game, and I'm really glad that it's coming to consoles soon.
2016
Inside is one of those games that I feel like everyone should play at least once in their life. It is a perfect game that fits so much content into just 3-4 hours.
The most impressive part of this game to me was its atmosphere and mastery of environmental storytelling. Not a single word is spoken throughout the entire game, yet the story is so cleverly told through the world around you. Inside's story will stick with you. More games need to utilize environmental storytelling because I find it so fun because I get to piece together what's going on around me and look at the pretty backgrounds.
I want to talk a little bit about the movement and physics for this game, because I found them to be incredibly smooth and satisfying. The animations on the MC are so satisfying and feel so fluid. He'll do little rolls when you jump far distances, his arms will flail as you jump towards a ledge, he stumbles forward when he jumps forward while running, sometimes he takes a little tumble, all of his movements look so cool and feel so satisfying.
I know I mentioned this earlier, but the environment in this game is absolutely amazing. I love this take on a dystopian society, every level has so much love put into it and all of the backgrounds are just so cool! I want to give all the artists who worked on this a cookie.
The level design and puzzles are also very good. I admit I did get stumped a couple times and had to look up the answer for a couple puzzles, but that's on me, all of the puzzles are well-made and well-integrated into the story.
This kind of fits into the environment, but the tone for this game is so well refined it fully immerses you into this world right from the start of the game. It masterfully transitions between dread, relaxation, stealthy (but like a relaxed stealthy, if that makes sense), fear, and even joy, if you can find it.
I also appreciate the level of brutality here. Now, I'm not saying that "oooh a game isn't mature unless it has a bunch of gore," but for this game, brutality goes a long way to showcase how inhuman the people who are hunting you really are. Ironically, it's the people who are meant to be lifeless husks that end up making a stronger emotional connection with the player than the real humans, who are just as ruthless and devoid of emotion as those spotlight robots. Your character can get shot, strangled, ripped apart by dogs, drowned, cut in half, etc. However, by showcasing the level of brutality this world shows to a child, it helps drive home to player just how inhuman this world has become.
Also, the sound design and soundtrack for this game, while not super memorable, fits the game's atmosphere perfectly. PLEASE play this game with headphones, it will add so much more to the experience.
Also, the ending for this game is absolutely incredible. Just wow.
Everyone go play this game so you can absolutely own anyone who tells you games can't be social commentary.
The most impressive part of this game to me was its atmosphere and mastery of environmental storytelling. Not a single word is spoken throughout the entire game, yet the story is so cleverly told through the world around you. Inside's story will stick with you. More games need to utilize environmental storytelling because I find it so fun because I get to piece together what's going on around me and look at the pretty backgrounds.
I want to talk a little bit about the movement and physics for this game, because I found them to be incredibly smooth and satisfying. The animations on the MC are so satisfying and feel so fluid. He'll do little rolls when you jump far distances, his arms will flail as you jump towards a ledge, he stumbles forward when he jumps forward while running, sometimes he takes a little tumble, all of his movements look so cool and feel so satisfying.
I know I mentioned this earlier, but the environment in this game is absolutely amazing. I love this take on a dystopian society, every level has so much love put into it and all of the backgrounds are just so cool! I want to give all the artists who worked on this a cookie.
The level design and puzzles are also very good. I admit I did get stumped a couple times and had to look up the answer for a couple puzzles, but that's on me, all of the puzzles are well-made and well-integrated into the story.
This kind of fits into the environment, but the tone for this game is so well refined it fully immerses you into this world right from the start of the game. It masterfully transitions between dread, relaxation, stealthy (but like a relaxed stealthy, if that makes sense), fear, and even joy, if you can find it.
I also appreciate the level of brutality here. Now, I'm not saying that "oooh a game isn't mature unless it has a bunch of gore," but for this game, brutality goes a long way to showcase how inhuman the people who are hunting you really are. Ironically, it's the people who are meant to be lifeless husks that end up making a stronger emotional connection with the player than the real humans, who are just as ruthless and devoid of emotion as those spotlight robots. Your character can get shot, strangled, ripped apart by dogs, drowned, cut in half, etc. However, by showcasing the level of brutality this world shows to a child, it helps drive home to player just how inhuman this world has become.
Also, the sound design and soundtrack for this game, while not super memorable, fits the game's atmosphere perfectly. PLEASE play this game with headphones, it will add so much more to the experience.
Also, the ending for this game is absolutely incredible. Just wow.
Everyone go play this game so you can absolutely own anyone who tells you games can't be social commentary.
2015
As of now, my favorite of the Yakuza series (I've played 0, 1, and 2 as of writing this). Incredible story, characters, side activities, combat, this game has everything. Also has my favorite substories of the Yakuza series (so far). They are among the most hilarious, goofy, and ridiculous things you've ever seen, but also really heartwarming at the same time (The Arakure substory made me tear up). You can have a chicken (whose name is Nugget) and Michael Jackson be a manager at your real estate company. I am not kidding.
The first fight at the dojima headquarters is one of my all-time favorite video levels.
Also pocket circuit racing is really fun.
If you're thinking about getting into the Yakuza series, play this game (or if you just want to play a great game).
The first fight at the dojima headquarters is one of my all-time favorite video levels.
Also pocket circuit racing is really fun.
If you're thinking about getting into the Yakuza series, play this game (or if you just want to play a great game).
2019
This review contains spoilers
Control is one of those games that trigger a particular neuron in my brain that causes me to hyperactively obsess over it for an extensive period of time. However, it is not perfect.
This is the only game I have played where I read, listened to, and/or watched every single collectible piece of lore within the game. The lore and worldbuilding in this game is so well-crafted and interesting that I would get excited every time I found a new document to read, audio file to listen to, or video to watch. By far my favorite collectible were the Dr. Darling presentations. Matthew Porretta is an absolute gem and it was so fun watching him explain the main concepts within the game (which serve as instructional videos both in-game and to the players, which is a genius move on the developer's part). I cannot stress enough how great the worldbuilding is in this game. It is so detailed and convincing that it makes you believe a place like the FBC really could exist. I love the concept of everyday items possessing paranormal abilities, it's so fun.
The writing is also top-notch, but a bit inconsistent. Again, the best writing is within the collectible lore documents you can find. There are so many different writing styles present within the game and it's masterful in how many tones the writing can assume. There's formal, informal, technical, bureaucratic, humorous, dramatic, insane, it's really got everything. Much of this writing occurs within the lore documents, audio logs, and videos, which is the main reason why they're so entertaining.
However, as mentioned above, it is a bit inconsistent at times, although I'm not sure if it's on purpose. Some of Jesse's lines seem a bit iffy, but I can't tell if that's a design choice or not.
In contrast to the highly-detailed and complex setting and lore, the main story itself is rather simple in comparison, which I think was a smart decision. The campaign is fairly accessible to any player while the more confusing aspects of the lore are confined to optional collectibles (though they do add a lot of meat to the overall story). The only thing that can make it a bit hard to follow are all the terms and concepts that characters will casually throw around (AWE's, thresholds, objects of power, astral plane, the Board, altered items, parautilitarians, Oldest House, house shifts, the Hiss, etc).
I guess the only downside to the extensive lore is that it will leave you with soooooo many questions, but I don't really see that as a bad thing. It gives you a lot to chew on after you finish the game.
Surprisingly, the characters didn't hit as much as the lore did. They're not bad by any means, and I definitely warmed up to them the longer I played, but they're not nearly as interesting as what's going on around them. The only exceptions I feel like are Dr. Darling, Trench, and Dylan Faden.
Dr. Darling was my favorite character and he was so entertaining and fun to watch and his instructional videos were my favorite part of the game.
Trench is also very intriguing and well-performed, but he's dead for most of the game and you only see him through the hotline and some lore documents (and that one flashback sequence).
Dylan Faden is one of the most criminally underutilized characters in gaming. He is the most conceptually and narratively interesting character in the game by A MILE, but he plays a very small role within the story. There's so much buildup to finding him, yet when he actually shows up, there's barely anything for him to do. You can talk to him a few times (which I will admit are very interesting conversations and even foreshadow Alan Wake II which I thought was cool) and then that's it until the end of the game where he shows up in the final mission where he DOESN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING. He just floats in the distance until you reach him and then the game ends. He could have had an incredible boss battle (a department the game is severely lacking in) and honestly that's what I was expecting throughout the game because it seemed like the logical thing to do, so I am truly disappointed that it didn't happen. Dylan represents all the wasted potential of this game. Hopefully he plays a larger role in the sequel.
Also, it'd be wrong not to address Jesse, the protagonist. She feels more like a vehicle for the plot than an actual character sometimes. Her motivations are decent but her personality is honestly pretty drab compared to everyone else. I also really didn't like how they handled her relationship with Dylan. She hadn't seen him for years and has spent much of her life searching for him, and there is barely any emotional payoff when they finally reunite. I know he's corrupted but there was still so much emotional potential. Happiness and relief upon finally seeing your brother again, heartbreak upon seeing him be corrupted by the force you've been fighting, desperation to find any trace of the person he once was, like come on! So much raw emotion in one scene, it really would have been beautiful. She just acts annoyed with him up until like the very end, but at that point it was too little too late. You don't really get the impression that they're brother and sister, which sucks because that was the character dynamic that this game needed.
On a more positive note, the art direction and environments in this game are outstanding. I was taking screenshots every time I entered a new area because this game is BEAUTIFUL. The Oldest House is such a unique and well-designed area with a perfect blend of government architecture and wacky supernatural influence. Also, I love the little explosion of color that you get every time an enemy explodes.
That's not to say the graphics are top-notch, there are noticeable frame drops and freezing from time to time, and the movement can be a little clunky at times, but it's nothing major.
Moving on, the combat is cool and pretty fun. Telekinesis is always fun in games and I liked all the different modes on the service weapon, that was a really fun mechanic. However, I feel like the enemies become way too spongy and do a disproportionate amount of damage as the game goes on. All of your abilities and weapons become a lot weaker even if you have good mods on them, which makes it harder to enjoy the combat. In some cases, it makes certain gun modes virtually useless (namely Spin). The powers should make you feel like a superhero, but that feeling wears off the farther you get into the game. However, the combat is still pretty fun.
However, the boss fights in this game are pretty lame, as mentioned earlier. The only good one is the mirror Jesse fight, but it's because she has all the same moves as you. All of the other bosses are just reskins of regular enemies with more health, which is pretty lame. I would have liked to see a more cinematic approach in terms of presentation as well as a unique move set.
On another note, the performances, while good, are bogged down by the facial animations. The mouth movements on all the characters (except Dylan, strangely) are so unnatural and really take the immersion out of the whatever conversation is going on. I can tell that the actors are trying to be expressive but whatever technology they're using for facial animation does not capture it very well. It reminds me of how the characters in the Horizon games talk.
I also want to add that I really like the sound design in the game, this game, while not a horror game, is very unsettling. Pretty much every area is going to have a dozen floating possessed people that are all mumbling ritualistic nonsense that overlap with each other, which serves as a very unique kind of white noise. There's also always random thuds, creaking, screeching and other scary sounds that play in the distance just in case you were getting too comfortable exploring an area.
Overall, great game, but there's a few problems that just really irk me because I KNOW Remedy can do a lot better.
This is the only game I have played where I read, listened to, and/or watched every single collectible piece of lore within the game. The lore and worldbuilding in this game is so well-crafted and interesting that I would get excited every time I found a new document to read, audio file to listen to, or video to watch. By far my favorite collectible were the Dr. Darling presentations. Matthew Porretta is an absolute gem and it was so fun watching him explain the main concepts within the game (which serve as instructional videos both in-game and to the players, which is a genius move on the developer's part). I cannot stress enough how great the worldbuilding is in this game. It is so detailed and convincing that it makes you believe a place like the FBC really could exist. I love the concept of everyday items possessing paranormal abilities, it's so fun.
The writing is also top-notch, but a bit inconsistent. Again, the best writing is within the collectible lore documents you can find. There are so many different writing styles present within the game and it's masterful in how many tones the writing can assume. There's formal, informal, technical, bureaucratic, humorous, dramatic, insane, it's really got everything. Much of this writing occurs within the lore documents, audio logs, and videos, which is the main reason why they're so entertaining.
However, as mentioned above, it is a bit inconsistent at times, although I'm not sure if it's on purpose. Some of Jesse's lines seem a bit iffy, but I can't tell if that's a design choice or not.
In contrast to the highly-detailed and complex setting and lore, the main story itself is rather simple in comparison, which I think was a smart decision. The campaign is fairly accessible to any player while the more confusing aspects of the lore are confined to optional collectibles (though they do add a lot of meat to the overall story). The only thing that can make it a bit hard to follow are all the terms and concepts that characters will casually throw around (AWE's, thresholds, objects of power, astral plane, the Board, altered items, parautilitarians, Oldest House, house shifts, the Hiss, etc).
I guess the only downside to the extensive lore is that it will leave you with soooooo many questions, but I don't really see that as a bad thing. It gives you a lot to chew on after you finish the game.
Surprisingly, the characters didn't hit as much as the lore did. They're not bad by any means, and I definitely warmed up to them the longer I played, but they're not nearly as interesting as what's going on around them. The only exceptions I feel like are Dr. Darling, Trench, and Dylan Faden.
Dr. Darling was my favorite character and he was so entertaining and fun to watch and his instructional videos were my favorite part of the game.
Trench is also very intriguing and well-performed, but he's dead for most of the game and you only see him through the hotline and some lore documents (and that one flashback sequence).
Dylan Faden is one of the most criminally underutilized characters in gaming. He is the most conceptually and narratively interesting character in the game by A MILE, but he plays a very small role within the story. There's so much buildup to finding him, yet when he actually shows up, there's barely anything for him to do. You can talk to him a few times (which I will admit are very interesting conversations and even foreshadow Alan Wake II which I thought was cool) and then that's it until the end of the game where he shows up in the final mission where he DOESN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING. He just floats in the distance until you reach him and then the game ends. He could have had an incredible boss battle (a department the game is severely lacking in) and honestly that's what I was expecting throughout the game because it seemed like the logical thing to do, so I am truly disappointed that it didn't happen. Dylan represents all the wasted potential of this game. Hopefully he plays a larger role in the sequel.
Also, it'd be wrong not to address Jesse, the protagonist. She feels more like a vehicle for the plot than an actual character sometimes. Her motivations are decent but her personality is honestly pretty drab compared to everyone else. I also really didn't like how they handled her relationship with Dylan. She hadn't seen him for years and has spent much of her life searching for him, and there is barely any emotional payoff when they finally reunite. I know he's corrupted but there was still so much emotional potential. Happiness and relief upon finally seeing your brother again, heartbreak upon seeing him be corrupted by the force you've been fighting, desperation to find any trace of the person he once was, like come on! So much raw emotion in one scene, it really would have been beautiful. She just acts annoyed with him up until like the very end, but at that point it was too little too late. You don't really get the impression that they're brother and sister, which sucks because that was the character dynamic that this game needed.
On a more positive note, the art direction and environments in this game are outstanding. I was taking screenshots every time I entered a new area because this game is BEAUTIFUL. The Oldest House is such a unique and well-designed area with a perfect blend of government architecture and wacky supernatural influence. Also, I love the little explosion of color that you get every time an enemy explodes.
That's not to say the graphics are top-notch, there are noticeable frame drops and freezing from time to time, and the movement can be a little clunky at times, but it's nothing major.
Moving on, the combat is cool and pretty fun. Telekinesis is always fun in games and I liked all the different modes on the service weapon, that was a really fun mechanic. However, I feel like the enemies become way too spongy and do a disproportionate amount of damage as the game goes on. All of your abilities and weapons become a lot weaker even if you have good mods on them, which makes it harder to enjoy the combat. In some cases, it makes certain gun modes virtually useless (namely Spin). The powers should make you feel like a superhero, but that feeling wears off the farther you get into the game. However, the combat is still pretty fun.
However, the boss fights in this game are pretty lame, as mentioned earlier. The only good one is the mirror Jesse fight, but it's because she has all the same moves as you. All of the other bosses are just reskins of regular enemies with more health, which is pretty lame. I would have liked to see a more cinematic approach in terms of presentation as well as a unique move set.
On another note, the performances, while good, are bogged down by the facial animations. The mouth movements on all the characters (except Dylan, strangely) are so unnatural and really take the immersion out of the whatever conversation is going on. I can tell that the actors are trying to be expressive but whatever technology they're using for facial animation does not capture it very well. It reminds me of how the characters in the Horizon games talk.
I also want to add that I really like the sound design in the game, this game, while not a horror game, is very unsettling. Pretty much every area is going to have a dozen floating possessed people that are all mumbling ritualistic nonsense that overlap with each other, which serves as a very unique kind of white noise. There's also always random thuds, creaking, screeching and other scary sounds that play in the distance just in case you were getting too comfortable exploring an area.
Overall, great game, but there's a few problems that just really irk me because I KNOW Remedy can do a lot better.
2022
I thought it'd be impossible to improve on God of War (2018) but boy was I wrong.
The story, while more sprawling, is every bit as engaging as ever. The writing and dialogue is just as good and even better than in the first games at times. This game has some of the best writing and storytelling you will see in video games, period. Also, the performances from the actors are still top-notch.
All of the new characters they introduce are interesting and multi-faceted, and returning characters are fleshed out even more and all have extremely compelling character arcs. The character arcs in this game are insane. I was talking about this game's story and characters for weeks after I finished the game.
The combat hasn't dramatically changed from the first game but that's not a bad thing at all. They make great improvements to it and add enough new stuff to make it even more enjoyable than the last game.
The boss battles in this game are insane and the enemy variety issue I had with the last game is not at all present here. The enemy variety is top-notch and every boss fight feels fresh.
The worldbuilding is still incredible and the lore is so interesting. Definitely my favorite adaptation of Norse mythology.
The environments are even more beautiful than the first game (something I didn't think would be possible), the graphics and art design are absolutely breathtaking. It makes exploring all the realms so much fun.
Honestly, this game is perfect to me. Santa Monica Studio ON TOP.
The story, while more sprawling, is every bit as engaging as ever. The writing and dialogue is just as good and even better than in the first games at times. This game has some of the best writing and storytelling you will see in video games, period. Also, the performances from the actors are still top-notch.
All of the new characters they introduce are interesting and multi-faceted, and returning characters are fleshed out even more and all have extremely compelling character arcs. The character arcs in this game are insane. I was talking about this game's story and characters for weeks after I finished the game.
The combat hasn't dramatically changed from the first game but that's not a bad thing at all. They make great improvements to it and add enough new stuff to make it even more enjoyable than the last game.
The boss battles in this game are insane and the enemy variety issue I had with the last game is not at all present here. The enemy variety is top-notch and every boss fight feels fresh.
The worldbuilding is still incredible and the lore is so interesting. Definitely my favorite adaptation of Norse mythology.
The environments are even more beautiful than the first game (something I didn't think would be possible), the graphics and art design are absolutely breathtaking. It makes exploring all the realms so much fun.
Honestly, this game is perfect to me. Santa Monica Studio ON TOP.
2018
Absolutely incredible on nearly every front.
The story is very high quality and engaging and the performances are incredible.
The combat is really fun and it never gets old, honestly it's one of my favorite combat systems in video games.
The worldbuilding is top-notch and is probably my favorite adaptation of Norse mythology. Really interesting lore and stories.
The environments, graphics, everything in this game looks absolutely beautiful.
The cutscenes are so well made and cinematic, and the action sequences are incredible.
The RPG mechanics are deep enough to warrant getting into it while also not being overly complicated, it was fun creating different builds.
My only complaint is the enemy variety. Much of the mini bosses are reskinned several times in different areas.
The story is very high quality and engaging and the performances are incredible.
The combat is really fun and it never gets old, honestly it's one of my favorite combat systems in video games.
The worldbuilding is top-notch and is probably my favorite adaptation of Norse mythology. Really interesting lore and stories.
The environments, graphics, everything in this game looks absolutely beautiful.
The cutscenes are so well made and cinematic, and the action sequences are incredible.
The RPG mechanics are deep enough to warrant getting into it while also not being overly complicated, it was fun creating different builds.
My only complaint is the enemy variety. Much of the mini bosses are reskinned several times in different areas.