Surprised how much I enjoyed this. It just has a particular vibe that I really clicked with and I'm not sure how to describe it. While the plot can be a bit convoluted at times and there are some gameplay sections I didn't like, such as any segments with possessed objects flying at me, outside of that I really clicked with the core gameplay of killing/avoiding enemies, it might annoy some but I found it kind of satisfying to blast them after shining the flashlight at them.

I am glad I'm playing it now compared to when it first released though, because I think the ending couldn't sit as well if I didn't have the dlc, a sequel, and the Remedyverse to know the story would continue elsewhere.

I really hope no parents were tricked into buying this game for their kid, because unless you play on a difficulty lower than normal, this game can be fucking tough lol.

Lets start with the obvious, the games art style and graphics are beautiful. Its overused to say but its true, it really does feel like playing a Pixar movie at times. Its at its best when you are going through a shimmering forest or through the village, unfortunately the last act takes place in a darker area and while it still looks nice, I don't think it looks as good as it does in the brighter areas.

Peel back the "pixar botw-lite" layer of this game and you'll find babies first Souls game lmao. The boss fights and even some of the regular encounters in this game are deceptively hard, some to the point where its an annoyance more than a skill issue. A few times I debated lowering the difficulty but didn't need to in the end but a bit like Tunic, I don't think I'd fault anyone who did lower it as I think it can ruin some peoples fun with it.

Not much to say plot or character wise, probably one of the weaker points of the game. Kena doesn't really have much of a personality and the game is basically three mostly separate mini stories that somewhat tie in at the end with the main big bad, but its loose at best.

Overall its fun but I think its short length helps as I dont think it would have a lot of staying power if it was a longer game, but a great first effort from the people who are known for a majoras mask video. Definitely some design flaws in the game but I think experience will fix that for whatever they make next.

I know a lot of this will seem like I did not like the game but thats not the case, its just easier to talk about the gripes a bit more but overall I did really enjoy Hollow Knight and it still gets a 4/5 as a game in a genre I don't really have any interest in. But I do have gripes that stop it from being any higher for me personally and they are as follows:
- I'm not a fan of this style of narrative/lore, like ik there's a lot of lore to this game, but from my perspective there was basically none cause of how it's told if that makes sense. It's kinda like botws plot where you aren't experiencing it as much as others are telling you that it already happened
- I think most of the fights I fought were fair and could be done in probably 5 or less attempts, which I think is a good sign of balance, but some are just a fucking headache and would make me want to self rope like the guardians and Traitor Lord
- I think part of this is just getting more used to metroidvanias but I think some of the games progression is a bit more abstract than I would have liked, I think maybe marking more points of interest on the map, specifically points where say you come across a door you can't open yet, so that when you get the key or ability required, you remember where to go, rather than the generic markers you can drop yourself

That seems like a lot, but in the grand scheme they aren't much, I still overall had fun playing, it's got great visual and style, good music, combat feels rewarding when you get into a flow, powerups and abilities feel useful and keep things fresh

I gave the first game a 5/5 so I had to do it here also since this is just an improvement in almost every way. The only area I think one could argue its not as strong is the plot, which don't get me wrong its a good plot, its just that both are good so its moreso about which is better. I'll need more time with this before making that decision myself.

Gameplay refined, side quests more personal, much bigger and more frequent set pieces and boss fights, some fantastic suits for both characters, I just loved this experience so much in so many ways, had an amazing time this past week playing through it that while I can't think of any real gripes I have, any I could possible think of would be so minor in the grand scheme of things. Is it absolutely flawless and trans-formative of the open world formula? No but for me it didn't need to be, it was what I wanted and more. I am curious will Insomniac play a follow game less safe, time will tell.

Glad I replayed this before Ragnorok to get the plot fresh in my mind as I have not played since release and I could only play it once a week back then, so this was a much better experience.

Honestly not much to say here that hasn't already been said by others, its a really good fucking game with engaging combat, interesting characters that grow and evolve as the story progresses, and it still looks visually stunning 5 years later. I only refrain from giving it a 5/5 because I think it lacked diversity in its boss fights, it meanders around in the plot at small periods, and I think the content outside of the main plot is a bit weak and almost filler, might have served better as a more focused narrative experience.

So with that being said, I hope Ragnorok can just improve on those few pieces and so long as its not held back by being cross platform, it'll be a fantastic experience.

The first few hours of this are really fun, especially if you grew up on the Arkham games or even more recently, Marvels Spider-man, since the combat is an evolution and deeper form of that. But after a certain point, Sifu starts demanding almost nothing less than perfection from its players, and for some people that challenge is welcome and engaging, but for others, like myself, it becomes very grating, especially on a specific mid game boss fight where I shit you not, the boss has three combos, one of them you can't interact with, one you can, and one where you legit have to run away from her and trick the AI into finishing the combo because it can run forever if it thinks it can hit you, and thats all just for phase 1. Thankfully the rest of the game does feel more fair in comparison but that one boss fight in particular at the midpoint of the game really stopped a lot of positive momentum I had for Sifu.

Outside of that, the game is fairly simple plot wise, its just a revenge story. I do like its art design, especially in the museum level, and how the different bosses have a sense of theme around the elements.

Overall, you play this game for the combat, which is very solid and rewarding once it clicks, but its boss fights just are a bit too unforgiving as they require perfection, and even just surviving a boss fight can harm you for the next one.

Actually enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. It's basically Firered/Leafgreen with some minor changes to the game plot and layout, nothing too crazy but enough to make it feel somewhat fresher. Obviously the real draw here is the fusions, it really does add a new spin to a game I've played a dozen times, and once you get more mons and come across more of the custom art fusions, that's when it really becomes fun and legitimately difficult at times to pick a team lol. I accidentally played on normal mode not realising that modern mode gives you a larger pool of Mons so if I ever want to replay it, I have that option available to me.

Starfield is a weird one. Started off really enjoying it but the more I played the more the flaws started to show and wear on me. That being said, my final play time is almost 100 hours so it definitely did enough right to get me to keep playing.

To make a long review short, basically any of the procedural stuff like the random point of interests on planets and the mission board quests get very repetitive very early, and the menu travel really becomes a bore after 50 hours lol. Going from quest to quest is fine for the most part but there is some charm lost by missing out on that sense of exploration you'd get in fallout or skyrim. The companions are fine individually but the game really suffers from them all basically being the same morally good people, theres no variety in them in terms of how they react to your decisions.

As for the positives, the hand crafted side quests are quality bethesda so you'll enjoy those. The gunplay is also surprisingly good and the world is very detailed with its items and weapons and I like how the skills are setup. When you stumble across a planet with a colony of cloned people or a spaceship filled with people from earth who were in cryo sleep, thats when you get that bethesda feeling. As for the main quest, hard to say much without spoilers but it was decently interesting up until the very end for me personally.

Is it weird that playing this has made me want to prioritize finally playing New Vegas? lol

Disco Elysium is a political satire murder mystery visual novel with strong writing, excellent voice acting, rpg elements, and some minor flaws.

I'll start with the positives. As mentioned, the game is very well written, which is great because there is a lot of text in this game lol. Characters are given distinct personalities through their dialogue and their voice acting, even those that are cliches are still implemented well and feel at home in this games fictional war torn city. If I had any critique of the writing it would be that at times, it felt a bit prone to over explaining various historical events and the various fictional races and locations of this games world. This may be due to my build skewing towards an intellectual so my encyclopedia stat was quite high.

While on the topic of stats, the game differs itself from other visual novel experiences by having an rpg element, where as you level up through completing task for the locals and for your overall case, you can invest points into various elements such as Intellect, Psyche, Physique and Motorics, and each of those has six different skills you can increase. These skills will impact your ability to pass various rng checks to help discover more about the world and the case at hand. At first this system can seem overwhelming and you will worry about your build but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't change the end result, just the journey of how you got there, which I like as it doesn't punish you for a "bad" build.

Finally, my only other main gripe that prevents this from getting a higher score would be the reveal of the killer. Without going into any specifics or spoilers, it personally did not satisfy me and thats a let down in a murder solving game. Also I hate that they implemented fast travel but made it so awkward to use in a game that can involve a lot of back and forth walking for various side quests grrr

A fun 10 hour ish game jam project where you play as the child of a famous samurai warrior who goes on a quest to rescue your missing father along with stopping an evil clan from turning all pokemon into wild shadow pokemon.

Yes thats right, shadow pokemon are back. Thats the main gimmick of this fan game along with its story and aesthetic being all about ninjas and samurais so if you like any of those things, you'll like this. My only issue with the shadow pokemon is that basically none of the ones you get an opportunity to catch during the majority of the game actually fit well into my team as I was playing and I didn't like any of the options enough to substitute anyone out but that will vary person to person.

Not a whole lot else to say, it has some cool custom music at times, region design is simple but effective since there are only like 3 or 4 "gyms" but you will still finish the game around the high 60s so you do get a full experience.