I feel like I’d have enjoyed this game a lot more as a kid rather than now. The gunplay is fluid & fantastic and the gun variety is solid, almost every gun here feels well designed and balanced. The soundtrack is immaculate, lends heavily into its setting & the circumstances of the story & makes a lot of these explosive scenes and moments feel much grander than what they honestly really are. Speaking of the story, it’s… okay? I’ll be honest, I just wasn’t remotely invested in any of these characters or their stories, there was no hook here and the climax & ending made me feel nothing. This game was essentially a shooting gallery for me and as a shooting gallery… still not all that amazing either. While the gunplay is great, the level design wasn’t as well polished. So many levels are just frustratingly designed with annoying enemy spam, and when the late game hits with the brutes it becomes even worse. Maybe the co-op input lag made it feel a lot worse than it should, but it wasn’t very fun getting one or two-shot with a 1 second delay on firing. There are parts of this game that have aged well, and others that feel like a product of its time period. As great as the game looks and feels at times, its taken away by its bizarre and frustrating design. Yet even then, still liked it a lot more than my short time with Combat Evolved. Hope the series shows improvements from hereon, especially the story.

Video games that cannot be replicated in any other medium tend to be exemplary in their presentation & mode of storytelling, one that simply can't be formed through traditionally constructed stories. 13 Sentinels, alongside Outer Wilds, is the title I'd point to in saying "This is why video games are art."

13 Sentinels is such an accomplishment in video game storytelling and its status as being a severely underlooked game is quite a shame. I don't think I've seen a story with so many moving parts and elements that could so easily crumble, yet sustains the strongest parts of its plot and intertwines them with genuinely captivating and moving character arcs. Everything works together so seamlessly here: both the gameplay, the different routes and individual plotlines mesh in an ever-expansive web of terminology, events, timelines, characters & whatever the fuck in a way that all links together just perfectly. Somehow, a story of behemoth proportions in scale never loses touch of anything and in the end you're rewarded with a powerful, uplifitng message of humanity's continuous perseverance among other things that'd be spoilers you don't deserve to hear for such a phenomenal work.

To say 13 Sentinels isn't a sum of its sci-fi counterparts would be a lie, yet it doesn't even feel like any sci-fi story I've seen regardless. Pulling in tropes from all forms of sci-fi media from Evangelion, Godzilla, 2001: A Space Odyssey and more, this could've easily been a mess of tropes and a watered down version of much more iconic sci-fi tales. Yet, it is somehow just an even more impressive cumulation of all these tropes to deliver a completely mindbending story that tackles a plethora of ideas perfectly. Between all the time loops, parallel universes, robots, androids, mechas and GOD so much more, the core of the plot never loses itself and the continous back and forth mystery shifts and evolves without losing sight of anything. To have 13 individual protagonist routes combine together seamlessly with BARELY any loose plot threads (if not any) is genuinely insane. Everything works together perfectly, every reveal works, every character's arcs works and their respective dynamics and relationships unfold beautifully. It all feels naturally written and doesn't rely on bullshit to move the story logic along, instead allowing the player to connec the dots themselves and figure out this huge web and really understand just what this games about.

One common criticism you'd hear with the game is it's gameplay and I'd say...it's good! It's not very complex or difficult (though I stuck with normal all the way through), but it's still engaging and very, very satisfying. The strategic depth required to go through each level is as simple as countering what the main kaiju type is and going ham with your abilities. That being said, it all comes together really well and I was never irked by anything the game did with its systems. There are some parts I feel aren't really necessary, like the Sentinel stat upgrade system (which I kind of ignored in favour of skill upgrades) but I imagine on intense the gameplay becomes more thrilling.

Beyond that, this game is gorgeous. The artstyle, the character designs, the spritework... it's just so, so beautiful. It's not a unique artstyle per se, but its complemented heavily with visually distinct CG's and backgrounds, great character designs and some amazing lighting all in a 2.5D perspective. The soundtrack is really good, but I guess there aren't really any distinct soundtracks aside from 2? Even then, it fits the game perfectly in just about every way: from the combat themes, the slice of life friend hangouts to gripping plot revelations, the soundtrack never takes you away from the moment and puts you right into what the characters would be feeling.

I love this game so much and I wish more people played it. There's just so much passion put into it from Vanillaware, its a love letter to all forms of sci-fi media yet has its own distinct identity, one that truly gripped me from start to finish. I fell in love with this game halfway through and by the end all I'm left with is a story so incredible, so grand and yet so small in what it's really about. I love this game so much, what a journey.

Borderlands 2 is an airtight experience that is best experienced with another person, and for the most part serves as a fun-as-fuck co-op game. While most looter shooters fail for being ridiculously repetitive, BL2 doesn’t fall under the same level of scrutiny because there is enough quest variety to keep it mostly refreshing. In fact, I’d say the side quests are some of the best I’ve seen in a title like this; on pure variety alone, I’d say bare minimum the objectives are refreshing even if you end up just killing people on the way there. Some of the quests have some interesting story & character implications and help flesh out the world just a bit.

On the topic of story, it’s…. ehhhhh. Handsome Jack was hyped up to be this amazing villain but at best he was incredibly charismatic and entertaining, beyond that he isn’t anything too special. The plot is serviceable and the stakes are hardly felt, there’s as much to get out of Borderlands 2 as there is a Resident Evil game… so like, nothing. The humour is absolutely early 2010s but I found it oddly charming even though it was cringeworthy at some points too. I didn’t hate the humour and I get it’s part of BL2’s quirks but it just led to a lotta eyeroll moments. Though, it does fit how I feel about the game holistically. The game is meant for shutting your brain off and shooting shit and in that regard it’s a solid game.

However, some gameplay quirks were a lil annoying. Endgame enemy damage scaling got ridiculous at points even when you’re at their respective level and honestly if you don’t get golden keys to get the special weapons in the cases, then you’re stuck with some really shitty and boring weapons.

It’s fun, but I don’t know how much I’d like it had I played it solo, and especially if I didn’t find out about the special crate weapons. But from what I’ve experienced, I liked it!

While I did this run as a modded playthrough under Reforged, Elden Ring at its core is still the best fundamental gaming experience I've had from this decade. Just such a monumental achievement in every facet of game design that can be imagined. Shit, even when I was frustrated (and it happened often), I still don't think I can ever get an experienced like this from any other developer. Packed to the brim with content in a world so dense & rich that it puts most fully-fleshed narrative titles to shame. On a re-run with a stronger understanding of the lore, the experience of walking through the endgame areas and understanding the circumstances of the world itself and your purpose made these grand, cinematic moments feel all the more moving. With Shadow of the Erdtree on the horizon, I already know that FromSoft will once again prove why they're the best developers in the business. Just real, real gaming.

If this game hadn’t taken itself so seriously it’d be a little more enjoyable but it’s still a hilarious game in all the wrong ways. Has the highest ratio of “why the fuck does this take so long” bosses ever and amidst all that on PC you have to deal with the clunky ass controls alongside some terribly aged mechanics & an unseriously serious story to boot. Had I not played this co-op, I wouldn’t be writing this review because I’d have dropped it within the first few levels. Still, if you have someone to play it with it’s an admittedly somewhat enjoyable co-op experience once you have someone to share your frustration with.

Pentiment is immensely impressive in its construction and detailed analysis of faith and art within the Middle Ages, all wrapped into a neat little murder mystery. It's distinct style captured me almost immediately, yet it's mechanics may be seen as anything but at first. But the point-and-click style narrative leans heavily in favour of the game's central murder mystery narrative as the detailed level of player choice given is wholly impressive. You really get to decide the fate of many and your choices really, truly, can affect the future whether you may realise it immediately or not.

While the murder mystery is what got me at first, I'd say that the game's overwhelming focus on faith (going as far to highlight any mention of God) is what kept me the most interested. Seeing the clash between the creation, sale and preservation of art from the Abbey under God vs the rejection of Tassing's people, who have no one else but God to turn to in face of hardship, was an incredibly compelling narrative that resulted in quite a strong climax.

I'd say the third act is what somewhat lets this game down for me. While the concept of the mural and the preservation and artful retelling of history ties right into the game's themes, I think the slower pacing of Act 3 and how it somewhat veers away from the strong points of the first two acts is a little disappointing. I'd say the ending and the reveal of the murderer was pretty great, but ultimately it feels like more could've been done on the whole art vs religion aspect of the game.

Overall though, this is a truly unique game amongst a sea of games that advertise player choice yet cannot emulate the same feeling that Pentiment does when you can unknowingly change the lives of one or many for years on end through either your own inaction or hubris. A stronger final act could've cemented this higher up as a true pantheon amongst story-rich games, but Pentiment more than makes up with it with a compelling narrative that heavily emphasises unity within faith and the importance of art and history, amongst many, many other things that I can't seem to put to words straight away. A great game worth checking out.

An impressively constructeed remake that contains all the delights the Source engine brings, yet with its new additions still leaves parts to be desired. The puzzles stand out as some of the most engaging I've experienced in a title like this and the game honestly looks superb for a Source engine game. Soundtrack also goes crazy, seriously makes a lot of otherwise "whatever" moments feel more impactful.

I'd say the first half of the game within Black Mesa is the strongest part of the game, as well as the intro of Xen, but as the game goes deeper in it begins to crack with monotony lining each of the levels, especially in the new Xen. While the puzzles are still quality, they become repetitive in structure and goal and by the end it feels kind of mindless.

It's a cool game but doesn't have all the extra oomph that Half Life 2 has with its story and gameplay, even as the remake aims to push a similar envelope in what the Source engine can do. It's still a decent game but not one that maximised its potential in creating Xen a much more unique world that separates itself from the somewhat mundane reality of Earth and its technologies.

Super fun game in all the right ways, it's been a while since I've last played a Mario game and this is easily the most fun I've had with the series. Love how the game controls and how it encourages player exploration in just about every turn, and it felt so rewarding to just use my head for a second and think of imaginative ways to reach power moons or kingdom-specific coins. There are so many little details in the game's design and so many elements that work together so well, it's a complete treat to play through every kingdom. Hell, even the simplistic ass boss fights were still enjoyable even when they're repeated. This game kicks ass in so many ways and I can't even really think of a complaint relating to its fundamentals apart from its story which...yeah, duh. Doesn't matter anyway, this games fun as fuck, play it!

Very satisfying combat loop that rewards an understanding of the games mechanics, and uses death as an interesting mechanic to encourage further re-runs. Just "beat" the game's story but I definitely will be doing replays to truly master the game since I ended up struggling through it initially.

Though it's not the most satisfying combat loop ever and I did end up feeling like the story was just bad, but that's whatever, it's not a game I played for the story.

Pretty fun game, great visual design, (mostly) fun bosses and a unique experience wrapped into a pretty short package.

Ever since I beat P3FES, and after I beat P5R, I was so certain that this felt like the third game was the weakest in the new-gen trilogy, and a lot of it came down to how much of the game felt like a testing ground for the later, superior titles. However, one thing that never changed across these two titles was its story and characters, which is why I was so incredibly fond of FES even when the gameplay felt like an utter slog to batter through for almost 50 hours.

So when this remake comes along and bulldozes my biggest complaint about the game, and instead improves upon it in such a refined manner gameplay wise WHILE adding to the games best aspects, I completely fell in love with Persona 3 once more.

While it maintains some of the same issues from the original such as the weak social links and Tartarus still being inferior to Palaces...it didn't even remotely bother me. Getting to re-experience this story and its world once more with a fresh mind gave me a newfound love and appreciation for everything that it stood for. Originally I thought it had the weakest cast in the series compared to 4 & 5's. Now, it's my favorite friend group (though 5R still has the best overall characters). The growth they experience individually and together from a ragtag group of shadow fighters to people who genuinely care for one another through the hardships and loss they face...man, playing through P3R has made it more apparent to me than ever that I had held a bias to 4 & 5 that needed to be unclouded.

With new additions to Tartarus and the inclusion of Theurgies, the Great Clock, fortunes, the baton pass and even more, this game is far more enjoyable than before and I didn't even really feel like it was a struggle. It's also an easy game, but I'm completely fine with that. The new hangouts are an awesome idea that not only fleshed out members of the cast without links, but also just made me love the ragtag dorm crew even more than before. It just gives them the extra spark that they needed to not feel hollow.

The game is good looking and although it is easy to criticise the modernisation of the game taking away from the same charm FES had...frankly I don't care. The game looks amazing, the lighting is somewhat off, but turning down the brightness meant it never bothered me. It's slick, stylish and complete eye-candy from the new animated cutscenes, the general visuals and honestly, even the 3D animated scenes had their charm.

I just completely and utterly fell in love with P3 again and up until the end all I could think was...why was I downplaying it, even though it's been a 10 for me? Somehow, I don't think I did this beautiful game enough justice in the first place, but with all these new additions it's harder to criticise what it currently is and looking back at FES, I don't think I'd even remotely recommend FES over Reload.

P3 is the strongest story thematically of all the Persona titles (yes, including 1 & 2), and in conjunction with the game's exploration of its ideas of mortality and coming to terms on it on our own, it's also the most potent story in the franchise. It's the one that speaks to me the most and it's a story that I hold even closer than before.

All rambling aside, all I can say is as much as I love P5R, even playing through P3R has made me reflect upon P5R and made me realise where its shortcomings were and as a result...I have to say it.

Persona 3 Reload is my new favourite game of all time, and in turn, my new favourite work of all time.

Infinite Wealth is the culmination of over 9 games of build up of one of gaming's most legendary protagonists, Kazuma Kiryu, and RGG handles that legacy with utmost care and thanks to it, leads to this being one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had with any title. It has it's expected RGG flaws and missteps in its story and the cohesion of it, and there are still questions definitely left unanswered, but the heart of Infinite Wealth is in telling Kiryu's story.

A massive stepup in terms of gameplay compared to 7 in just about every way, in fact, it's just a step up in every single way imaginable aside from the actual plot. The side content is the best in the series and the actual flow of combat is excellent and engaging. Not having to grind every step of the way in this game made it infinitely more enjoyable over 7's, and with the new combat systems it's hard not to get sucked in.

New and old, Infinite Wealth shapes up well. The new villains are the only real drawbacks (aside from two who are excellent). But the new party members and the development and expansion of the party members of 7 are all solid, their dynamics as strong as ever and if not better, thanks to the walk & talk features as well as the expansion of drink links and bond bingo to get to understand this amazing cast even better than before. Special shotout to Yamai, one of RGG's best characters ever who has a conclusion that I wouldn't expect RGG of all developers to go with and with such a great extent.

To keep this review spoiler free, the ending, while leaving certain questions unanswered, still holds strong to what the game is about between Ichiban and Kiryu's stories. In doing so, they completely deliver upon what both characters are about through and through. Kiryu is easily my favorite character...ever, this game amplified him in so many ways possible. Kiryu excels so much thanks to him just having a party alongside him, and finally accepting the help of others, amongst other things in this game that help him grow, learn, become better and to finally understand.

This game does have a few issues as mentioned. Weaker antagonists overall, some very confusing plot elements that are poorly introduced and implemented and some unanswered questions. Despite all that, this game reminded me just how much this entire series means to me...and it means so, so much to me. RGG pulled off a herculean feat in creating almost 9 entire games in an interconnected story and still managing to create something that satisfyingly concludes and lays the foundations for a new leader to the story.

Quite close to my favorite thing ever made, but without a doubt, Infinite Wealth is a testament to the sheer power of long running narratives and the beautiful feeling of watching almost 4 years of keeping up with a series payoff. Hats off to RGG, I can't think of any other series pulling off something like this.