mnemos
2020
Essentially a very cleverly disguised visual novel, though I worry that description isn't giving it enough credit. Imagine Subnautica played entirely on a topographical map, with a heavy dose of climate anxiety and Jeff VanderMeer/China Mieville-esque sci-fi. If the perspective sounds restrictive, don't worry; any doubts have will melt away as soon as you lose yourself in the writing and visuals. The sound design is excellent as well. I could nitpick but it's not worth it in the face of something so unique.
A near masterclass in modern Metroidvania design, slightly let down by reach that sometimes exceeds its grasp. In trying to flesh out its world it loses some of the simplicity of the first game, and the sheer number of abilities can be overwhelming. The story, while still touching, hits so many of the same notes as Blind Forest that they can't help but fall flat this time around. Still, it's a beautiful game, the level design is fantastic, and it has my favorite traversal in any game of this type, including Hollow Knight. Oh, and the music is literally perfect.
It isn't Control at its finest, but Control on autopilot is still nothing to sneeze at. There are at least two great sequences, one of them musical, and plenty of lore to sift through. It feels less like an epilogue and more like connective tissue for whatever comes next. If the new powers were more significant and the environments more varied it would be essential.
2020
A bland action game wearing RE2's clothes. It's clear the team behind this understood almost nothing about what made RE2 work. The tension from that game is completely absent, the level design is unremarkable, and worst of all, Nemesis barely even registers as a threat outside of scripted sequences. This is not the remake you were hoping for.
I haven't finished this. I don't even know what it means to finish an Animal Crossing game, unless you're like my old roommate who collected every single item in New Leaf. I probably won't do that, but I have played for over 100 hours now so hopefully that counts for something.
I don't think this is the ideal version of Animal Crossing. It's leaner than New Leaf in some ways, the crafting system is frequently obnoxious, and Pocket Camp's influence is stronger than I'd like. Still, in the face of everything I like about it, none of that matters; the feeling I get from seeing my favorite villager reading on a bench I placed, surrounded by flowers I planted, can't be matched. It's still the game I fell in love with 20 years ago, lovingly updated.
I don't think this is the ideal version of Animal Crossing. It's leaner than New Leaf in some ways, the crafting system is frequently obnoxious, and Pocket Camp's influence is stronger than I'd like. Still, in the face of everything I like about it, none of that matters; the feeling I get from seeing my favorite villager reading on a bench I placed, surrounded by flowers I planted, can't be matched. It's still the game I fell in love with 20 years ago, lovingly updated.