Way back a few years ago when I first played this game, I expressly did not enjoy it. I recall saying "if you've already played every RE post 4, every Dead Space, hell even Shadows of the Damned, maybe give this a shot", which I think is really illustrative of the issue with my mindset going into this. There's def a lot of Mikami action design philosophy and explosive spectacle at the end that gives that impression, but the bulk of this game is really much more in tune with a Silent Hill or Siren kind of horror. The environments in this game are so detailed and beautiful, and it's enhanced by the friction of this game simply not really working at all. The digital crust of all the aliasing, awkward post processing, and low framerate all make it this one of a kind sort of industrial game that shreds the senses in a way that you don't normally get from 60 dollar Bethesda titles. The combat is similarly kind of awkward and bad but in a way that makes it compelling and fucking triumphant when you finally master the oddities of the encounter design. You're truly never safe in any capacity and that makes this impeccably tense. It's a little long in the tooth and I do think the last leg of the journey is one of the most tedious from a gameplay and visual standpoint, but I've grown to think it's cool that Mikami closed out his career on something a bit more idiosyncratic and divisive, like a lot of his best work in the PS2 era

The writing in this feels almost insulting, which is probably not a good thing when the game is a book for 3/4 of its runtime. The script is so bloated and full of wasted space all in a story that never picks up until over halfway into the game and doesn't even manage to stick the landing with any of the endings I've seen. I don't think I found a single twist or tense moment well-executed; the writing was instead at its best when having lighter moments with the Digimon and not at all with the humans. Agumon alone carried the majority of the game on his back.

Most of the characters are incredibly stupid, boring, or both, and the game fails to meaningfully touch the "dark" territory with them I was told so much about outside of some really trite or unbelievable situations involving character deaths, or just gesturing meekly toward how the characters feel about their problems in life. Those feelings themselves are addressed and on some level the characters wind up feeling better, but only the emotional aftereffects of the problems are dealt with. These improvements are offset by the characters having to reset themselves to a degree in the main story, meaning they have to feel better only to a certain degree to make the non-optional writing more believable. Because of this there's very little sense of forward momentum with the characters (Digimon or human both); furthermore there's no sense of forward momentum in the game in general, as even when the main characters try forging their own path the plot just happens to them.

It feels like I have a lot more to say about this one but I can't really bring myself to go too far into depth and will just try to paint a general picture. I wasn't a fan of how few maps the game had and the tactics gameplay was sprinkled very inconsistently throughout it, being almost absent entirely from the first half while the second half sometimes had too much of it. The music also got really annoying fast, and I was bothered by how going through text with just the space bar always left a short pause no matter how quickly you press, meaning I had to sorta misuse the Skip button to actually get through text at a reasonable speed. Another small thing that bothered me was that I'm pretty positive nobody in the game actually uses the word "Digimon" to refer to Digimon, instead calling them "monsters" or "kemonogami". No idea why they never stopped to ask the Digimon what they called themselves.

I guess in terms of positives I can at least say the Digimon portraits and sprites look really good for the most part and are probably the best thing this game brought to the table. Otherwise... The tactics gameplay is just adequate but lacks depth, the Digimon roster is puny and hard to access, the presentation is meh, the localization is terrible, and the price tag is enormous for what it is. I'd say this was the worst $60 I've ever spent but it's probably not. It's definitely close, though.

a masterpiece thats the only thing i can say
a masterpiece for me at least
i dont make reviews like these normally because i dont have time for this shit or any real mental reward in writing down how much i like a game or hate a game or why claude fire emblem 3 houses isnt real and not in my bed rn but damn this game deserves it
shin megami tensei has been my fav jrpg series for some time now meaning that i am indeed mentally ill but also that like every other megaten fan i cried my eyes to sleep waiting for an info or a teaser or a trailer of this game for the past 4 years or whatever
thing is this game blew me away in every aspect (expect for the story at least but im merciful so i will ignore it)
the gameplay is peak shin megami tensei the battles have never been this addictive rewarding and thought-out the exploration is otherworldly to say the least full of loot secrets collectibles quests demons breathtaking overworld i loved the demons designs and the fact that theyre so sexy and detailed in unreal engine 3d now is outstanding the roster is smaller than the ones in the previous games but what the fuck do i care honestly did you look at the model of oni . hes hot and i dont care what people will say about my taste in men fuck you all
the soundtrack is . majestic incredibly claustrophobic thinly tied to the story and themes and atmosphere and presents you some of the best bangers in the whole smt music catalogue i think i had multiple orgasms 20 times listening to new battle themes
lets leave the story out because ,,,,,,, yeah couldve been a great story i personally liked the story ok i liked the themes and the characters somehow and mmmmmm ,,,,, aogami was hot as fuck the end play smt5 for the love of god
now after playing this game i can finally die in peace while listening to battle -destruction- and thinking about the incredible animation of shivas belly bloating when he breathes

Accomplishes what it sets out to do. OMORI handles its themes maturely, which was kind of a pleasant surprise.

There's certainly pacing issues in the second half, but I was moved by the end of the game.

A hearty recommend to anyone with any passing interest in this title.

There was a moment when this was in danger of being an all-timer. Despite some rather ropey chatting, the main speed running elements of the game are completely brilliant; shaving fractions of a moment off your best times to take down leaderboard rivals. Then; rather unfortunately; it all gets a little messy and unfocused towards the end. And as the throughline within the levels becomes less clear, it all gets a bit frustrating. The game does finish with some fantastic, palm-sweating, boss fights but those crappy penultimate levels and the tiresome narrative do stop this from reaching true greatness.

Yakuza 2, outside of it's iconic villain in the blonde haired dragon of Kansai, Ryuji Goda, and the important role in bestows upon the character of Daigo Dojima going forward, has always been one of the more forgettable entries in the Yakuza canon. But this i by no means a bad thing as even at it's blandest Yakuza as a series can still offer incredible highs in both it's exciting action and gritty crime drama (in-between sub stories and karaoke of course).

The kiwami remake of Yakuza 2 serves as a great update to the original to make it more palatable to todays modern audience. Unlike the first kiwami game, this one takes full advantage of the more recent dragon engine from Yakuza 6, meaning it's a massive step up in both presentation of it's graphics and the flow of it's combat.

There is also a new tower defense mini game that is incredibly shallow and repetitive and overstays it's welcome if you ask me, however it is mostly optional so no harm there.

There are also numerous new story beats that tie the game in with Yakuza 0 and make the series as a whole a tighter package.

The only downside that sadly prevent's this from being the definitive version of Yakuza 2, is the removal of the third city of Sinseicho.

Still if emulation isnt an option and you can't track down an original copy (it's somewhat expensive these days), then this is a perfectly serviceable way to experience this chapter in the Yakuza saga.

Beaten: Oct 16 2021
Time: 13 Hours
Platform: Xbox Series X

I could probably have a whole life to think about this game and still not know exactly how I feel about it, but that's the nature of a SWERY game. That's right, this is the newest game from the only man who rivals SUDA51 for amount of cult classics created. SWERY's games are always a bit unpolished, but make up for it by leaning into that feeling of unpolishedness. If you've seen the first season of Twin Peaks, the lack of polish in SWERY games stands in the same place as the stilted, awkward dialogue stands for Lynch. It gets you in a mindset for weird shit to start happening.

Twin Peaks seems to be a huge touchstone for SWERY actually. All of his games (or at least the ones I've played) seem to have it in their DNA somewhere, the peak of which HAS to be Deadly Premonition, which is literally just outsider art Twin Peaks for people who like jank as fuck Xbox 360 games. The Good Life is much less of an homage to Twin Peaks, but it's just as obsessed with small, rural towns, and their secrets.

The town of note this time is Rainy Woods, a small town in rural England. All the buildings are made of stone or brick, and farmland surrounds the buildings, each plot bricked off with small stone walls. The town's got a lot of history to it, and as you're a New York reporter looking to pay off her debt, you're trying to find out all this town's secrets. Surprisingly, almost no attention is spent on the culture shock of an American living in rural England. Instead, the focus is on rural vs city life, particularly from a rather class-conscious point of view.

I mean, Naomi (the DOPE main character) is 30k USD in debt to her employer. That's why she had to take on a job in a small town in another country, right? And that debt traps you in almost every way that you deal with others from the city, but in the setting of this rural town? It's completely abstract, might as well not even matter. You're put up (in a kinda dingy little shack) for free by the town, and everyone is genuinely warm and welcoming to you. The secrets flow like water, and there's really only one dark secret in town.

That's the most unique part of this iteration of SWERY's Twin Peaks-isms: the dark underbelly of the town, that everyone assumes is there from the start, turns out to really just be old history. Secrets are better left alone. It's a much more uplifting take on this theme, and though I suspect it's less true to life, it's pretty heartwarming all the same.

ANYWAYS

IN THIS GAME YOU CAN TURN INTO A CAT AND A DOG AND YOUR MAIN MODE OF TRANSPORTATION IS RIDING SHEEP. THERE'S A RIVAL REPORTER FROM BOSTON WHO SHOWS UP AFTER EVER STORY BEAT AND SAYS "LOBSTAAAAAH"???? ONE OF THE MAIN MECHANICS IS "MARKING YOUR TERRITORY" AS A DOG??????????? AND I'M NOT EVEN GONNA MENTION THE STUFF ON THE MOUNTAIN BECAUSE SPOILERS BUT HOLY HELL WHAT THE FUCK SWERY

like I said i could talk about this game forever, which is funny because it's basically a dreamcast game that came out in 2021. the graphics are very "wow this would look better in 480p", but the game's massively strong (but also pretty baffling) art design and aesthetic sensibility in general just pulls it along.

It's like, a weirdly charismatic game for what it is. There's mechanics spilling out left and right (there's FIVE different bars you have to refill daily by sleeping, eating, and showering basiclally) and the game almost entirely consists of fetch quests, but it's so charming and so relaxing that I didn't even care. Walking out to the lake at 11pm, listening to the genuinely gorgeous (Nintendo DS Pokemon-esque?) night music, and snapping pictures of any wild animals I saw on the way was the best part of the game for me. It was relaxing in a way I wasn't expecting, but absolutely a way I needed right now.

Idk play it if you like weird shit

such an odd first impression for the new protag but i see the vision. ichiban and his friends are definitely an amazing and charming bunch, I loved every single interaction with them. the villains in this game are weird as well, but the build-up to that ending was 100% worth it.
but oh my god we gotta talk about the gameplay
the fucking gameplay
it's not bad for a first switch in genres but man, every enemy in this game ranges from "one-shot easy wins" to "lvl 60 damage sponge" which just causes an unnecessary and annoying amount of grinding. they really did not know how to balance this game at all, and it's glaringly obvious with the last few bosses in the game. the new yokohama city is absolutely gorgeous. it's very fun to explore but i'd say it's a little TOO big, making for some tedious traversal. sure, there are taxis, but it's not like they can go everywhere.
overall this game was such a treat, specially for the new protag.
i think it'd be the best yakuza if the story took itself more seriously from the start and the issues with the gameplay were ironed out.