Another Mikami masterpiece. Like what he does with God Hand, The Evil Within and to a minor extent Resident Evil IV, Mikami blows up its respective genre, finding unique manners in which to pay earnest homage to overplayed tropes while subverting them with wacky self-aware humor, innovative cinematic flair, and challenging if at times indulgent gameplay. Vanquish works beautifully as a hilarious satire and mockery of Western third person shooters but stands just as well as a brilliant piece of pulp sci-fi with its nonsensical story, rousing set pieces, and electrifying visual spectacle. It's just gorgeous; zipping through its balletic warzone for six hours made for a surprisingly exciting experience. It feels like the prototype to what Titanfall II would eventually elaborate on with gooey sentimentality and a tighter structure but what Vanquish lacks with looser pacing it makes up for with its almost hypnotic pull. It's a trance-like dance of speeding bullets, pumping testosterone, ardent Russophobia, and endless rocket boosts. Front to back, it never lets up. Verhoeven would be proud.

Certainly not a complete waste of time but nonetheless a chore to get through. Can’t call this outright bad because the chief concept is novel enough and it’s executed with sufficient earnest panache that I found myself pleasantly amused by it at times. The art direction is pretty and the characters and “genies” charming enough to at least get through the story but the second I saw this relied on motion controls I switched that shit to manual and prayed the choppiness of the gameplay let up (which it didn’t lol). This might just be a case of me not being the intended player base however for this being a free PS+ title, I can’t complain too much.

I mean what can I say? It's everything. A work of art that attempts to quantify existence and the triviality of "things" and "beings" and the relationship between them and the player and yada yada yada. The possibilities and interpretations are endless and the developers play into that idea to its fullest potential. Balancing humor and poignancy, the game is self-serious in its aspirations to the point of parody but understanding the limitations of the medium, is aware of that. I see myself, like when I first played upon release back in 2017, returning to this every so often to collect more "things" and listen to more Alan Watts excerpts because it remains an immensely hypnotic and relaxing comfort. Something to escape to for bits at a time and with that I imagine my appreciation of this will only grow.

Forgot to review this back in August when I played and thinking back it's easy to see why. It's a perfectly realized and tuned experience that knows exactly what it wants to be and what it's going for. A goofy exercise in cruel irony and societal disruption that doesn't stray beyond surface level theatrics and childish power moves. However for that its existence feels petty and without lasting value. At least for me. Outside of some moments of genuine amusement that I recall I fail to see why its cacophony of noise deserves any retrospective thought beyond the cute meme that it was upon release.

As clumsily executed as it is transgressively playful. Nonetheless remains an intensely harrowing experience headlined by breathtaking sound work and a deliciously grimy visual framework. It's a striking showcase in visceral, hard hitting scares even if it doesn't really have any impact beyond the moment. There are stretches of masterful horror craft here (the mines, the river, blood rain, and the school) but there are more than enough traces of disappointing design choices (wonky level layout, tedious notes/lore bits, useless microphone option, janky controls) that only elicit frustration as the game progresses. For something built and reliant on thrilling chases and an encompassing dread filled atmosphere, issues like those can be detrimental. While it thankfully doesn't think itself to be a deeply profound statement on the innate hypocrisy of religious institution, there is something amusing about a game like this treading into those waters with such earnest pulpy flair. It's certainly a special game; one I could see myself calling great at some point.

Better than how I remember in some ways but still intermittently tedious and loses momentum because of its monotonous encounters. The moment the player dies the first time, any brewing tension is sucked away and what's left is studying the level design and finding "crafty" ways to escape your enemies (mostly ridiculously running around in large circles until the AI forgets you exist). There is something taut about this gameplay loop but it doesn't feel nearly as fleshed out as it should and for something so short to feel as long as it is makes for a disappointing experience. The game is a cheap haunted house attraction and for the moments it works it delivers some startlingly effective jolts. Playing half of this with a headset highlighted how effectively the developers set up particular scares. It's just one of those objects of pleasure where if one approaches it with the mindset of it being complete surface level excitement you'll come away somewhat satisfied (the whiplash of that third act is still a mess though) but the closer they look they'll see a cynical machine operated by cogs that don't quite fit the grander scheme it yearns for.

Idyllic, eerie bliss. It has a steady learning curve in understanding the rhythm but it's captivating to witness unfold for that reason. A game that hints at your objective but never outright gives you the answer. Voice talents are somewhat lacking and a late game section (if you've played it you know) felt out of place but the radiant visuals and soundtrack do more than enough to compensate for any stiffness in execution. There's plenty boldness to be found here and the game knows for the most part when to curb back and allow the player's imagination to take hold.

For better or worse a playable Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu film with touches of Tarkovsky’s dreamy mysticism. A patiently floating camera probing abstracted memories, properly elemental sound work and an ethereal score; it all acts the part of what it’s trying to accomplish but feels scattered and doesn’t add up to much by the end. With laggy performance issues, frequently broken frame rate, and constant loading screens that cut any sort of atmosphere or tension, the game is ultimately let down by its own technical shortcomings which is a shame because in theory much of this is exactly what I look for from an experimental title.

A fascinating curio of an experience. Obviously borrowing from the Resident Evil and Clock Tower formula of exploring a vast decrepit mansion uncovering a dark conspiracy but transplanted into today's contemporary horror game scene this somehow feels refreshing. There is a legible artistic vision here, albeit most of it visual homage to an array of horror film/game influences from Silence of the Lambs to Don't Look Now amongst others; which is fine because tonally, structurally, and narratively this is as close to a clumsy ass giallo as a game can get, however intentional it is at its reach for that. It makes for a wonky time with its sparse opportunities to save, haphazard button prompts, and stalker AI that just doesn't quit. Its attempt at an oppressively intense atmosphere is surface level at best with its effectively musty aesthetic and screeching soundtrack but at worst, irritatingly obfuscated with its objectives. It adds up to something that feels special in moments but is obscured by its ambition. It achieves the most during the first two acts but promptly falls apart once all its stalkers are introduced and it remembers its trying to tell a story (the ending itself is atrocious even by giallo standards lol).

Bargain bin film of the week level stuff. Kinda cynical in that way but it’ll be interesting to see where these games go as they continue to refine and find ways to broaden its interactive horror gameplay. What we have here is not nearly as exciting to play as Until Dawn but the promise of more innovative features is there despite shoddy pacing and stuttering tech performance. The cast isn’t as dynamic but I still found my heart pumping in some of the chase sequences and relentless QTEs. There’s something about what this brand of games offer that fascinate me and keep me coming back. Was hoping for more diversity in how your choices and actions (or lack thereof) based on curiosity and artificial recklessness would impact the character growth and overall consequences. There should definitely be more fluidity but that would require a lot more development time. Its predecessor served as a base model for this but is somehow more complex and challenging. I’ll continue to support this franchise of horror gaming because overall its a medium that has so much potential to churn out strong, psychologically taut material. What‘s here though is infrequently effective jump scares and C-grade storytelling laced with half baked mechanics.