Breath of the wild is a fun open world game that if it manages to charm you and engage you with its world I can see why you would absolutely adore this game. If you become invested in the game there is a lot of different content to keep you busy and occupied while you explore Hyrule.

However, this only applies if you become invested. If you are one of the seemingly few people not memorised by the game, the flaws start to show and unfortunately that's what happened to me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time with the game and I'm glad I gave it another chance, because now I understand a bit better why so many people love this game. Did I end up loving it? No but that's ok, I don't have to love it to understand why others do. There are merits to the game that just didn't click for me. I think a large part of it was the hype, when so many people and outlets praise this as almost the holy grail of modern gaming, that's a high bar to surpass and it's why I am fairly nitpicky in my gripe list as I expected a much more polished and refined game due to this unfair hype.
Gripes/QoL requests:
-Back flip dodge is bad with camera controls, a dodge roll would work better
-Exploration isn't as rewarding as it should be due to most rewards being a sword or a bow that will just break if you use it or collect dust if you don't.
-Not all shrines are created equal, I think rather than having health/stamina tied to shrine completion, you can cut back on shrines and have the upgrading orbs just littered around the map as rewards for exploring
-A lot of the side quests are woefully uninspired and just generic fetch quests
-Fuck the stealth segments and also the blue fire torch segments
-I understand you are supposed to feel weak starting off and progressively get stronger but it didn't feel as well done as I would have liked, maybe Elden Ring spoiled me with that
-Better instructions on some aspects of cooking would be nice as I'm still clueless as what some items were supposed to be used for
-Stop weapons from breaking. If you don't want people using the same stuff over and over then add stats and stat decay. Weapons not breaking also fixes part of the issue with lack of good exploration rewards.
-Test of strength shrines should have had different enemies rather than just the robots
-Going off the beaten path to get to an area rather than follow the "normal" path is punished at times because you miss out on how to get a required item or other info until you backtrack.
-Rain can fuck off
-I think some of the guardians are a bit too aggressive in terms of chasing you down, a bit fucking annoying for something that can one shot you if it hits
- I personally did not enjoy how the story/lore is told through the fragmented memories. It doesn't exactly flow well for me when they can be found in any order.
- I know it's a switch but come on fam, I didn't expect a launch title game to be lagging if I'm in a forest or using statis/magnet power in the rain. Definitely had more lag in areas than it should have and I have concerns for an ambitious sequel running on the same hardware
For me, a lot of that list is what stopped me from truly engaging with the world and the game as I do think it's a game you are meant to soak in for a while, rather than beating it to move onto something else like myself. If you can manage to get invested, I'm sure a majority of the list is something you'll overlook and that's fine also, just not me.

Pokemon Infinity is a roughly 8-10 hour playthrough. It's fun, simple, and enjoyable. The plot is nothing special but it's good enough for the short runtime and honestly not a bad premise.

I really liked a lot of the new Mons and forms, but I wish some of them weren't as obscure to get and also that it was better informed in the game what pokemon got new evolutions etc.

The game has various difficulty settings, I played on Normal, which I think is perfect for if you want to nuzlocke. If you don't like nuzlockes but still want a moderate challenge, I'd probably go up a difficulty level.

I think the only "big" downside I can point out for the game is the last 10 minutes. It decides to get weird with the plot and pulls out some questionable tropes and cliches, with the last one being the most questionable and definitely going to annoy a lot of players, but it wasn't a big deal to me, it's just a pokemon game lmao

Santa Monica studios had probably some of the biggest expectations on their shoulders for this game in recent video game history, and I am delighted to say they have absolutely matched and exceeded all my expectations.

This game is a step up in every sense from its 2018 predecessor. The combats improved and refined, enemy types and boss battles are varied, the story has bigger beats and more emotional moment, the graphics are pristine and it all runs with hardly a hiccup.

There is so much more detail about this game that I could go into but I don't think its really needed. I think the only thing I want to touch on is the story, but I will remain spoiler free. This games story obviously has to be on a much larger scale than the original, in order to wrap up the duology story. I think that hurts this game just a smidge in the story department compared to 2018 as that had such a small but consistent and tight plot thread of spreading the ashes, that sometimes Ragnarok gets a bit lost in its grand epic realm spanning adventure. However, where Ragnaroks story shines over 2018 in my opinion, is its emotional beats and overall theme and message. I nearly cried twice during this game, one of them is a bit of a cheap cry but still, I can count on one hand the amount of games that made me tear up. And there are moments of complete shock that are not in the first game bar maybe the reveal of its ending. So while Ragnaroks plot might have slightly lower lows than 2018, I think its highs are much higher.

Is it a flawless game? No, but I don't think any games truly are, it still has far too many chests and random tidbit collectables laying around, its story does feel like it has some minor padding at times, and some of the combat challenges (which are optional) are repetitive and redundant to 100%. But in the grand scheme of things, these are very minor nitpicks of an otherwise masterpiece game and perfect bookend to the Norse story of Kratos and Atreus.

I really wanted this to be good but unfortunately I ended up getting a game that was clearly going to be a game as a service but pivoted once Marvels Avengers bombed.

Theres a lot wrong with the game, the level system, messy UI, crafting materials out the ass, lazy missions, repeated locations, boring story. I think the things that annoy me most are the levels, location, and story. The game is set up on a leveling system, complete missions to get xp to level up. Missions will generally give you a recommended rough estimate on what level to be to tackle that mission, which sounds useful so you don't end up fighting a damage sponge boss, but YOU DO. Boss fights are nearly always 1-3 levels higher than you, regardless of the recommended level for the mission. Then there are the locations in the game. A lot of the game is spent in Gothams map doing general side quests as they pop up but they just repeat the same locations each time. Idk how many times I went to the 8 bit bar or the dock up north. Then theres the plot and oml, I can't believe how dirty they did the Court of Owls. Without getting into specifics, the game has 8 main missions, most of which are split into 2 parts. The Court of Owls stuff mostly happens from mission 2 to mission 6. You could legitimately remove those missions and the overall plot does not change since only the first and last mission seem to actually matter. It wouldn't be so bad if that middle section with the Court was good but its just so generic and bland.

That all being said, the game isn't completely god awful. Its not very long, probably around 15 hours or so depending how much side content you do, and while not as pleasing as Gotham in the Arkham games, I grew to like this design of Gotham City more than I initially did. I don't think the game uses Batman's rouges gallery nearly enough as it should, but the few villains we did get I liked this games take on most of them. I also didn't hate the knights themselves, I only really played as 2 of them but they were fine. Combat itself overall isn't great, it does improve as you get more abilities but not having a counter mechanic really starts to hurt towards the end of the game as you just have to spam dodge roll against so many enemy types. Speaking of, it does also do a decent job of introducing different enemy types throughout the game.

Overall, unless you plan to play this co-op or something, I'd just advise you play one of the Arkham games, they are all better than this.

I played this ahead of the upcoming remake and honestly, I think this game has aged fine. The camera is a bit wonky but it doesn't take long to adapt to. I think the best way to describe re4 is just "cool". Its a cool game, Leon is a cool dude, doing cool shit like kneecapping zombies to them roundhouse kick them into someone else, or surplex them and burst open their head. The game also gives you plenty of tools from handguns to shotguns to smgs etc. It definitely leans more towards action than survival horror compared to its predecessors but it hasn't jumped the shark totally yet.

The plot is fairly simple, you could probably have ripped the plot and villains from a B tier 90s action movie but it works here. Also, anyone who complains about Ashley has to just be bad at the game. I expected an awful time with her due to the hate I had see online prior to playing, but its legitimately just a skill issue lmao

Hogwarts Legacy isn't too far off your generic Ubisoft style open world rpg but with the Harry Potter IP slapped across it. This wouldnt be worth much, if not for the care and detail and sense of nostalgia that comes with that IP and it boosts the enjoyment of the game immensely.

This game does not reinvent the wheel for rpgs or open worlds, but it does give us a version of one that many people have longed for and I think does it quite well. Hogwarts as a building is unbelievable and you'll easily spend the first 10 hours just roaming its halls for secrets and places you recognize. The outside area isn't bad but its nothing too special imo.

The combat was my greatest fear going in to this but it was honestly a lot better than I expected. Its sort of hard to describe but its fun if thats worth anything. The main story is decent, some parts of it are boring and forgettable, mainly the two villains and their whole plot, but the stuff about the Keepers and the trials are memorable, and the side character relationship quests actually end on quite good notes, the game doesn't pull its punches at times.

Gripes include the repetitive nature of some of the open world elements, the lack of variety with some dialogue lines around fast travel and Hogsmeade, I think they could have cut some of the more generic side quests to focus on the main story, specifically some characters that I think would have benefited the final act if we had spent more time with them.

tldr if you like harry potter you will like this, if you dont like harry potter, there really isnt anything new for you here.

This was a lot of fun. When it was first revealed, I thought it looked cool but I wasn't gonna play cause I'm not a big fan of rhythm games and I didn't think I would enjoy being punished for having bad rhythm. Then people played the game and said how you don't actually need good rhythm at all really and how easy it is to keep on rhythm, and they were right!

In the best way possible, this feels like a Saturday morning cartoon mixed with the xbox 360 era of action platformers, and the combat even gives me some kingdom hearts vibes at times. The art style is great, levels are vibrant and a good mixup of fights and platforming with plenty of collectibles to find. I played on normal so I didn't have to overly dive into the combat but there is definitely depth there around the various combos and specials for people on harder difficulties.

I also really liked the characters and writing, I did genuinely laugh out loud at multiple points and I really liked both the final boss fight, and how the various characters tie into that fight and ending. My only real gripe is that sometimes the levels can be a small bit repetitive, like the tower climbing one, but overall its not a big deal.

Same score as what I gave the original re4, I think its hard to call one better than the other, when they both have different strengths and weaknesses. Obviously the remake is modernized and adds a bit more depth to Leons combat arsenal, but I feel like certain actions, like shotgun blasts and roundhouse kicks don't have the same oomph as they did in the remake. The knife changes are actually better than I expected. I think it does a good job of showing off memorable locations from the original with modern graphics and lighting, vastly improves most areas but I think some actually lose a bit of magic.

I don't think the remake manages to capture that feeling of "cool" that I had in my original play-through but it does flesh out more of the characters and story, and I think towards the back half is does a better job embracing the cheesyness of the original, when Leon has someone to talk to he hits more one liners and has some banter.

Overall I liked it and any fan of the original will also, some are much more die hard than myself so their mileage may vary but I don't think you can come away disliking RE4 Remake.

PS, they are absolutely setting up an RE5 Remake in this :O

Not much I can say about this excellent game that countless others haven't said so I'll try not to repeat too much, but I'm honestly just blown away with how much more I liked this game compared to BOTW. I think it fixed almost every gripe I had on list against the original game and a large reason for that is just the open ended-ness of how to approach any given objective.

Shrines and side quests are a large example of this, shrines in particular in this game are lightyears better than botw shrines, and side quests, while still fairly basic at their core, feel more fun to do because of the wider sandbox approach of how to complete them.

I also much preferred the story here compared to botw. It still largely takes place in the past like the memories of botw, but it does feel a bit more immediate/impactful, because its sort of two stories playing out at once and you don't immediately know the outcome of the past storyline like you did in botw where you know they lose. The story does repeat itself a small bit however, all the temple cutscenes are basically the same. I also still don't love how memories can be unlocked out of order, I think its very easy to spoil yourself on big plot points early by mistake, I'd hate to have been spoiled on the conclusion to where is zelda and the location of the master sword.

In terms of gameplay, this one is a bit more of a mixed bag and part of what holds it back from a 5/5. I think exploration is vastly improved here, I do feel more rewarded for exploring because even basic resources are more usable now compared to botw, but I think the sky islands concept feels slightly underused and I don't think weapon fusing is the solution to weapon durability as it may initially seem, it just becomes another essential required process to keep up with the damage scale of enemies. I also wish the combat had been fleshed out more, its basically the exact same as botw and something just a bit deeper would have gone a long way.

Overall, an excellent game that proves that once you can see past graphical fidelity as the end goal, fun and interesting gameplay mechanics will always triumph over photo realism generic shite.

For a game that seems to be splitting long time Final Fantasy fans and newcomers to the series between loving it or hating it, I managed to fall somewhere in the middle, leaning more towards like than dislike because while I have a decent list of gripes and issues with the game, it does still have a lot of excellent qualities and I think if it was willing to commit to those more and cut the fat, this would easily have been a top tier game for me.

For the cons, I've mentioned it a few times but I just did not care for the semi open world approach, the side quests were largely weak and unrewarding, and the RPG elements felt tacked on. I think the pacing isn't great at points either but maybe thats a side effect from doing most of the quests for the first 2/3rds of the game and not enjoying them.

For the pros:
- I mostly enjoyed the main plot. I don't really get the complaints about any sort of kingdom hearts-esque plot twist(s), it all seemed fairly tame if we are comparing it to that series. Maybe people were just upset it wasn't the GoT style plot they maybe expected but I was happy with the revenge plot and what it eventually became, though I do think it loses a bit of steam towards the end but thats just a JRPG trope I'm not a huge fan of anyways.
-I didn't dislike the characters but I can't say I loved any of them, didn't feel a sense of connection with them compared to similar games.
- I enjoyed the combat decently enough, I'm not fully sure why but it just never fully clicked for me, it was always serviceable but never much more. I think a lack of enemy variety that would encourage various playstyles and builds could have been a cause.

Overall, theres a decent mix of pros and cons for me. I think if it leaned more into the linear action adventure and could dive deeper into what worked and cut what didn't, this would be a top tier game for me as I mentioned earlier. Probably wouldn't have gotten this at full PS5 price if I could go back in time but at least it both motivated me to finish it and also this was probably the best window to play it due to the next few hectic months of releases.

I'm glad Alan Wake 2 and the Remedyverse of games got me to finally try this as I enjoyed it quite a bit. I think its gameplay is stronger than alan wake 1 and it might have the best gameplay of psychic powers I can think of in a game. However it does have some weakpoints, I think its plot is not as strong as alan wake as it tells a lot of its plot through documents found around the building and its not as immediately coherent, I feel like I need to watch a recap video to fully understand what happened. I don't think the setting is very strong either, at times its phenomenal like the ash tray maze, but for large portions its just a grey building that blurs together floor by floor. Thankfully the gameplay is strong enough to push past a lot of that and while the story is hard to fully comprehend, its fine for moment to moment segments.

Is it too early to put this down as potentially one of the best Ubisoft games? Its definitely one of the best modern Ubisoft games thats for sure. I really hope this becomes a trend of bigger studios taking on smaller genres and games, its much more digestible and feasible than massive AAA graphic fidelity chasing games.

So what happens when a well funded team from an experienced studio takes on a genre mostly populated by smaller dev games? You get The Lost Crown, a very well polished and thought out game that dives deep into the genre and while it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it does show the best the genre has to offer and even adds some elements of its own that could potentially becomes staples down the line. By that I mean the snapshot feature lol.

I mentioned in my Hollow Knight review from last year that "I think some of the progression is a bit more abstract than I would have liked, I think maybe marking more points of interest, specifically points where 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" and here we are with guided mode in the lost crown just straight up adding that feature exactly lmao. On top of that, I think The Lost Crown is a slightly more accessible metroidvania than something like Hollow Knight, its got more difficulty options and it doesn't have a soulslike feel to the combat like Hollow Knight.

Getting a bit longwinded here so I'll just rapid fire some more thoughts. The story is kinda whatever, it starts off quite boring but eventually picks up but never really becomes a motivating factor to play. The general gameplay, boss fights, and platforming all feel really good, even if some platforming sections near the end are a bit too much for my liking but those are fully optionable and I didn't feel like I was missing out on the rewards hindering my capabilities in boss fights etc.

Overall, really enjoyed this, zoomed through it in 5 days which is always a good sign, glad it ended up being really good after the unfair initial negative backlash its reveal got.