Xenogears is one of my favorite Jrpgs of all time, its script is excellent and mindblowing at times and the scope of its world was insane at the time, having played it, i was not a fan of the modernized Xenoblade formula, i enjoyed Xenoblade 1 but i was very disappointed in Xenoblade 2 to the point where i was on the verge of giving up on any feature titles from this franchise, however after Xenoblade 3 successful release i decided to give the series another go and ultimately i didn't regret it, the game overall was worthwhile.

To go straight to my verdict on the game elements i will skip indepth details and write a summary-like quick thoughts.

Tech:
- From a technical point i had close to no issues on the game, it runs well and performance is good.
- Sound design and OST: excellent, there's a little issue here which was that certain tacks got repetitive like the combat and chain attack one, but otherwise the music was nice.
- Visuals: low on graphics power due to hardware limitation, gorgeous world and landscape design, good art-style, character design is a bit generic and bland.

The Writing:
a) Story: grand, epic, adventurous, a bit messy, doesnt know what it wants to be, pacing too slow, moments that contradict gameplay, bloated with filler content that goes nowhere, falls off hard from chapter 5 finale and towards the end due to inconsistencies in the plot and failure to keep up with the interesting themes after the mystery reveal.
b) Characters: mostly okay, few uninteresting faces, few underdeveloped ones but mostly good, the villains on the other hand are so bad. (Note: Time-travel stories with reset button more often than not damages character development heavily)
c) World-Building: okay for the most part, develops upon prior world knowledge and lore that tracks back the the older titles. I would've appreciated a more multilayered dive on its world themes rather than total reliance on previous established ones.
d) Dialogue: juvenile and very teenage focused, writing makes nonsense statements, like how ethel is strong when she doesnt deal damage - situations like this, dialogue tries hard to shove meaningful statements at points where it feels unnatural. Overall; not bad but full of padded text and could be cut by a significant margin.

// Story relies too much on cutscenes to convey its storytelling which is not a good sign, could use a bit of storytelling in form of a game //

One another side-point is that i heard so much praise for Chapter 5 and i was very excited to reach it, as supposedly it was the peak of the game. While its truly a wonderfully executed cutscene that did deliver on the emotional and presentation level, the writing felt cheesy, too many plotholes, the time reset, the lucky seven sudden reveal at the right time, the stakes that could only be described as fake tension, and the conclusion of the chapter all were disappointing and didn't live up to their hype. The peak of the game i would say is Chapter 3 to 5. After it reaches the finale of Chapter 5 the story goes downhill and never really recovers.
Chapter 5 also contains a lot of filler and boring quests where i was running doing prison tasks that felt incredibly padded and waste of time, which is another point why its not really as peak fiction lol as its reputation suggests.

The Gameplay:
a) Combat: meat of the game, enemies lack mechanical variety, limitation of different attacks patterns, they feel similar, mostly change color and level and sometimes shape, hp bloat, however interesting design concepts, a lot of enemies to defeat, chain attacks is the best part of the combat by the end i was dishing out insane amount of damage. overall, a decent battle system
b) Level/World Design: mostly alright, a bit bloated (mobs) and empty(content), a lot of handholding, but other than that gives meaningful tools to traverse, good backtracking and so-so rewarding system. Gives a good sense of scale with its vast
and varied landscape, chapter 5 sea region is a highlight.
c) RPG mechanics: most of the loot is not useful, crafting feels meaningless, too much collectable bloat, no use for money, few uses for the good loot you get, overall weak on the exploration side. Good amount of class customization but has one annoying aspect which is the skill mastery that you get, the customization of accessories and gems are alright, could use more depth but mostly is ok.
d) Quest Design: a mixed bag of great side quests and poor fetch quests, the ones with the tag Hero Quests are often very good and deserve your time, they offer a hero to use entire new class with good rewards and explore the world and the characters even more, the collectable and standard quests are just boring fetch quests that should be skipped and are more or less an excuse to just fight more monsters.
e) Interactive systems: outside of combat, barely anything to do, you just walk and talk, craft and collect, no other system than the battle system.

// The gameplay is decent for what it is but it also could use a lot of improvements, its a stronger highlight than its writing counterpart and its the best in the whole Xenoblade Chronicles series but is still far from its true potential. //


Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a decent back to form by Monolith, and is a game that offers as much interesting and great stuff as it also offers flawed and poorly executed stuff, in my opinion the series has yet to reach its true potential and is still a long way from reaching the peak of its original in terms of scope and script power.

6/10

First let me start this review by saying that while I thought God of War (2018) was a very good game and liked it a lot I was never of the opinion it was a masterpiece or one of the greatest games ever made like a lot of people claimed. However I truly believe God of War Ragnarok is a genre defining masterpiece that only comes around once in a generation and improved upon God of War (2018) in genuinely every way imaginable. Ragnarok is the kind of game that even when I wasn't playing it because of work and other things all I could do was think about how much I wanted to play it and I know it is an experience that will stay with me until the day I die.

Like all good sequels God of War Ragnarok only expands upon what its predecessor set-up making everything bigger and more grandiose and turning it up to 11. The action and set-pieces (Seriously some of this stuff is so over-the-top it could give DMC or MGR a run for its money), the cast of characters, the bosses, the references to Norse myth, the side quests and most importantly the scope and stakes of the narrative, there's just so much more of ALL of it.

Speaking of the narrative, it is just simply incredible and not an exaggeration to say this game has some of the best writing in all of video games. Picking up 3 years after the events of God of War 2018, we see Kratos and Atreus trying to survive through Fimbulwinter in Midgard when Thor and Odin give them a surprise visit asking for peace in hopes of staving off Ragnarok and from there on things spiral out of control into a massive adventure across the Nine Realms with a complex narrative about prophecy, fate and war tangled in a web of character threads that span multiple families and all their interpersonal drama which slowly unravels and at the heart of it all is a story of a father and son with a bond so strong they would do anything to protect one another even if it means pushing each other away in the process with the hope of defying prophecy and fate itself all the while inadvertently slowly causing that very same prophecy to come true with every action they take to so desperately avoid it. Honestly never thought I'd see the day that a God of War game would make me cry, but Ragnarok got me not 1, but 3 different times. One of the most emotionally charged narratives I've experienced in awhile.

However a great narrative is meaningless without equally great characters to support it, but thankfully Ragnarok has them in spades. From the protagonists and heroes to the antagonists and even the side characters, every single one is written fantastically with realistic personalities and relatable, human goals they strive towards. Also not a single character feels underused, every one has their own arcs that give them time to shine and the sheer amount of character development and growth everyone in the game goes through is just staggering.

You simply can't talk about Ragnarok without mentioning its stellar blockbuster acting performances that are every bit as impressive as any movie. This game without a doubt has some of the greatest voice acting performances I've ever heard and they're paired up perfectly with the hyper realistic character models and animations that show just as much raw emotion as the voice performances themselves. From Christopher Judge and Sunny Suljic as Kratos and Atreus to Danielle Bisutti as Freya, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Richard Schiff as Odin and Ryan Hurst as Thor among many others, every single performance is masterfully acted and genuinely any character on the screen at any given time has the ability to steal a scene and make it their own because they're just all that talented and captivating.

Now I could talk about how much I love the narrative themes, characters and acting performances all day long, but since I want to keep this review relatively spoiler free lets talk about the gameplay now and it is rare a big budget AAA game has gameplay as captivating and enjoyable as the story because they usually focus more on the story, but Ragnarok manages to have its cake and eat it too so to speak because the gameplay is just as amazing as everything else.

Combat feels vastly improved upon having access to two weapons that have expanded move sets and skills right from the start of the game and eventually getting a new 3rd weapon adds so much more diversity and depth to the combat system allowing for chaining together much more satisfying combos than in 2018 that during my entire 45 hour playthrough I found the combat consistently enjoyable and entertaining.

One of my biggest complaints about God of War 2018 was the unnecessary pseudo RPG elements and I figured they'd be worse in Ragnarok, but somehow they are much better thanks to being expanded upon (Including a better and more in-depth crafting system) and right from the beginning of the game you have more choices available to you since you have both your weapons from God of War 2018 immediately at the start alongside a decent size skill tree for each weapon, 3 different types of armor and a shield and new mechanics and skills that are slowly unlocked and added on top of all that. One minor nitpick for me is that your level is still determined by your gear instead of actual battle experience and stat allocation so it's still not a true RPG, but it is very close to it in every other way.

Another minor complaint about 2018 I had was the lack of enemy variety and re-skin troll mini bosses, but Ragnarok also improves on that adding so many new enemy types, various creatures from Norse myth and fun mini-bosses and of course the main bosses which are without a doubt some of the coolest spectacles I've ever seen in a game.

Finally my biggest major complaint about God of War 2018 was the boring open world segments and despite having much heavier emphasis on exploration and more open world segments in Ragnarok they were consistently more enjoyable thanks to the beautiful and stunning art direction and incredible graphical fidelity that breathes so much diverse life into all of the Nine Realms and actually incentivizes you to explore them more. Also the fact the exploration is much more linear at first and slowly opens up as you progress further through the story unlocking various things reminded me of a Metroidvania style design and encourages you to backtrack to previous areas to find new secrets and thanks to heavier emphasis on platforming via grapple points and Uncharted-like climbing and there being legitimate dungeons to explore in the overworld with valuable loot to find exploration is both fun and always feels worthwhile. I also can not express how much I love that all your weapons are utilized as tools for puzzle solving and platforming as well enough because it makes for some super creative design choices which also helps to always keep exploration fresh.

I have to mention the side quests as well because they are much better compared to 2018 since they actually add to the world-building or provide extra detail and depth to characters. Honestly some of the side quests in this game are better written than most games main story, that's just how great the writing is in Ragnarok. Even side quests that you think are probably pointless busywork usually end up revealing some small detail about the world, a character's backstory or even just give you a meaningful interaction between Kratos and Atreus or other various characters so it is always worth doing aside from the quest rewards (like new gear or crafting materials) you get which are quite valuable in their own way.

Bear McCreary's score deserves to be mentioned as well because it is simply masterfully composed and from triumphant to melancholic it and just about everything in between it adds so much more emotional weight to every single scene that I just can not imagine the game without it.

God of War Ragnarok is the big budget Sony Blockbuster formula at its best. A true masterclass in both storytelling and game design that everyone deserves to experience. Ragnarok is one of those rare games where every single thing about it is just as perfect as possible, from the narrative and characters to the acting performances, gameplay, art, visuals and score there is simply nothing about this game I would change and when it all comes together it creates something truly special that will stand the test of time for decades to come and be remembered as not only one of the best games of 2022, but one of the best games of all time as well.

Signalis is a classic survival-scifi horror game like Silent Hill or Resident Evil from the PS1-era with anime like aesthetic with enough ideas to stand on it's own feets. It's full of mysteries and the story is great and feels like a fever dream. So it wasn't easy to understand. You play the Replika Elster, who is trying to fulfill her promise. The gameplay consists of solving puzzles and fighting nightmarish creatures. Most of the puzzles are great, here and there I had my problems because the game explains almost nothing. Also the 6 equipment slots felt a little bit restrictive and this was the biggest reason why I had to backtrack a lot because I had to put my stuff into a storage to have enough space for numerous puzzle pieces. This might be a little bit nitpicky but the door prompts sometimes didn't appear which resulted in me getting my ass kicked from the monsters I tried to run away from. I liked the story even though it's hard to follow and I wasn't really sure what was happening. The anime graphic style is great and fits really well, the level design is also great and the boss-fights are surprisingly fun and the good soundtrack helps to build a strong atmosphere. Signalis is one of my favorite Indie games of this year. This game probably also has the best fakeout in video game history. I don't wanna say more, just play it yourself.

I'm happy that an indie developer from my home country gets some attention. Great game, can't wait to see more from rose-engine

The amount of details and people in the City is insane. You pass a pillory which is empty and the second time you pass it, a person is standing there. The city is filled with life, everywhere are people doing different stuff like for example the marketplace, it just feels so alive. Everywhere people are selling/buying stuff, having conversations or just enjoying their day. It's those little details that separate a good game from a great game. It really feels like a real "Next Gen" Game. Technically it's a bit rough around the edges, I had a few framedrops here and there. Sometimes one of the NPCs got stuck or straight up disappeared so I was forced to reload. The narrative is a masterpiece, the story is so well written, the characters are amazing and the chemestry Hugo and Amicia is really something special and very rare. You don't see that very often in the video game industry. The only examples I can think of are Joel and Ellie from TLOU and the characters from Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy from last year. A Plague Tale Requiem is one of my favorite games of this year and cements Asobo Studio's position as one of the new leads in narrative game development. Halfway through the game I knew how it will probably end but I was denial and still hoped that it will end another way which perfectly mirrored Amicia arc in this game.

This the third game of the franchise that I played, yes I played 4 then 2 and now 1. Don't judge me. The core of story is rather simple, you play a character named Harry who is driving his daughter Cheryl to Silent Hill. On the winding mountain roads, he sees something that looks like girl on the road and swerves to avoid hitting her. After he wakes up, his daughter is gone. So you're goal is to find your daughter Cheryl. This is the easy to understand part of the story, the rest of it is a lot of interpretation and speculation which I liked. The game focuses more on the characters, storyline and building a tense atmosphere than action. The sound design and soundtrack are great and help to immerse yourself into world of Silent Hill. Graphics and facial expressions aren't that great and the biggest problem in my opinion is the combat, the tank controls can be really tiring but the fact that I had 190 Pistol bullets left at the end of the game (which might be the result of me just running away like the coward that I am from most of the enemies) made it a little bit easier. All the "cons" can be easily overlooked because they are just relics from the time when the game was released. Overall I really enjoyed Silent Hill and this might be my second favorite game of the franchise after Silent Hill 2 because the game teases the players imagination with grotesque images and genuinely creepy effects and slowly builds up tension and suspense that way.
The story is wonderfully crafted and the strong atmosphere are the biggest strength of this game. huge recommendation.

I just can't. After ten hours I don't feel enough of a drive to keep playing. For me the Xenoblade games are bad examples of maximalist design at this point. Creating quality not by elegant subtraction but by addition of more and more systems and dimensions of complexity to the point of legitimately feeling like parody of itself to me.

I could stand Xenoblade 3 for longer than the first one due to an interesting story hook and early development, but my god the sheer spam of new systems, menues, and mechanics truly made my head hurt, killing any drive to play further - hearing how much more is to come, hailed as a positive aspect. This made me realize that the series is definitively not for me, despite my best efforts which greatly disappoints me because of the excitement seemingly everyone else has for the franchise and my absolute adoration of Xenogears and the hope of some DNA of that transfering over.

The baseline combat is so clunky and uninteresting to me that I can't stomach pushing through that for 90 more hours, not even starting on the incredibly annoying line repetitions and dull environments fully covered in ever respawning loot and enemies. I read that that this makes the game feel alive and dynamic while it did the complete opposite for me feeling like a wasteland entirely populated by procedurally generated content. As a level designer the terrain navigation truly shocked me with how clunky and unpolished it is. You constantly run into slopes you are expected to awkwardly jump your way up while other ledges are not accessible to you while being only slightly above your jump height, adding to the feeling of procedural generation, lacking the affordances and clean communication of intentional level design.

This is all pretty much rambling about how this game just isn't for me in the end, recognizing that it's obviously not a bad game, it's just rare that a game in a genre I usually really enjoy so completely goes against anything I value in games and I am envious of everyone able to fall in love with the games in this series, I wish I was one of them.