Occasionally stirring but anyone that's played more than a couple of these games will spot the tired tropes seen across the board since Journey. Nothing wrong for those who simply want to bask in the visual and aural splendor of the experience but it's all so minutely orchestrated to be something profound that it ultimately feels phony by the end. It's a solid recommendation for those not entirely versed in the medium but otherwise will be repetitive with its erratic inclusion of last minute enemies and opaque narrative.

I took dozens of screenshots during my play through of this just out of momentary instinct. Afterwards, sifting through them, I realized that like its predecessor, these images meant nothing. They stood for no greater or fulfilling purpose outside of thin, superficial aesthetic. With all its black and white filters, sepia tones, ornate set dressing, and cruise ship surroundings, Bloober Team has the talent to create visually stimulating games, but beyond that surface level appeal it falls dead in the water in literally every other department from its half baked retread in Amnesia/PT-esque gameplay tropes to its banal exploration of "themes". Somehow this rings even more hollow than its predecessor despite its attempt at this surreal profundity, opting for a more slow burn build than the first. While I can take Layers of Fear's constant lame jump scares if only for how they livened the otherwise deadening pacing, the glacial unfolding of plot (and exceedingly overlong length) here only exacerbates Bloober Team's lack of talent in creating suspense and manifesting tension. For something that is otherwise this developer's most creatively ambitious title from what I've played, the lack of focus, tact and originality to back up the thinly striking images they present only continues to expose Bloober Team as a hack exhibitor of empty aesthetics. If something like this is the future of psychological horror gameplay, god help us.

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).

Dollhouse voyeurism. The DLCs aren't as polished and don't add much to the base game outside of extraneous surface level lore but what's here otherwise is an incredibly composed and crafted narrative experience with some of the best lighting I've seen in a game. Some of its puzzles and encounters can feel cheap and fall into classic "trial and error" gameplay cliches but the sequences that do work are as thrilling and virtuoso as they come. It's a horror game that emits a sinister atmosphere first and foremost and it succeeds at that without bloating itself.

For as lush and often striking as its imagery is, can’t help but feel this is as thematically empty and hollow in its horror as I remembered it being. Whatever’s not a lame and cynical jump scare cribs directly off of better and more nuanced horror games (PT for obvious reference). Starts off promisingly enough with its slow build and atmospheric mansion setting but falls apart as soon you realize that the thin gameplay loop consists of enter room-an object flies to wall-painting dissolves-loud noise. It is that tedious cycle rinse and repeat for three and half hours leading to its dreadfully paced finale and Bloober Team's lacking direction in creating tension in any tangible manner kills any sense of fear or anxiety the game is meant to produce. On top of that the "Inheritance" DLC grossly screws over any kind of thematic resonance this is meant to have as it doubles down on the base game's "tortured artists are people too despite being abusive, gaslighting, narcissistic assholes :)". It's an occasionally gorgeous mess of a game with nothing of value to say or add to the medium. Its merits are entirely fabricated and that fact unsettled me more than any of the grotesque visuals or cringe-worthy voice acting ever could.

An apex action spectacle. Misses out on the arduous challenge and provocative dynamism of the previous installment which made for an invigorating gaming experience but this makes up for it with how seamless the pacing and combat feels here. It's more superficially cinematic in every way from its sweeping soundtrack to how the grandiose bosses and level design are easier to grasp while remaining consistently bombastic and exciting to play. It definitely feels like a clean-cut blockbuster which takes away from the earnest scrappiness of the first however it hones in so well on the strengths of its predecessor that it doesn't make a difference. It's just as funny and transgressive if in different ways. Nothing feels shortchanged for those just looking for an electrifying dance between heaven, hell, and the broken sense of duality they share. The first was a bold exploration of this mythology and world but here it is a wide embrace of the chaos that encompasses it. To the uninitiated, it can be head spinning. For the rest of us, it's undeniably bliss.

Lingers. Could have gone for another hour or two without a hiccup but the beauty of something like this is that it ends without any concrete answers to the established character/narrative arcs. Such are waning memories. Only the moments of implied catharsis shine brightest. The smaller, possibly even more meaningful gestures, fade away with the mist of moonlit waves. Before you know it the vacation ends, the recollection simply that. A pocket in time that existed for a short while. There are no stakes but to simply observe playful interactions coated with minimalist nature designs. It's simple and cute and occasionally touching, and that's all it needed to be.

Has no business being as long as it is and a game like this doesn't quite need QTE events as constant as they are but the sheer chaotic energy present in almost every element of its design from beginning to end makes the entire journey worth it. It's beautiful, garish, and provocative in its world building, extrapolation of characters and unfolding of plot. There are times when I thought I was playing a masterpiece and other times I was dumbfounded by the difficulty and occasional jankiness. It's a heavenly plunge into nonsensical titillation and makes no excuses for its narrative but that's the only way something like this could function. I adore it with slight reservations.

Distracting yourself from the unease of "normal" life and its creeping potential to break down your barriers of comfort. Easygoing without being overtly cutesy to the point of condescension and defined by subdued visual splendor and a gorgeously dreamy soundtrack, A Short Hike immediately felt like one of my favorite open worlds and front to back remained a care-free joy to play through the two hours it took. Total freedom without feeling overwhelming and efficient design that caters to the depressed and impatient explorer inside us. Reader, I was moved.

The little (big) engine that could. It's been said but it bears repeating; this game eats the Call of Duty formula, chews its up, and spits out what that entire franchise could only dream of being. What Respawn does here is insane because it is aware of the surface level comparisons that would inevitably be made and actively subverts every one of the typical tropes found in those games- the corny camaraderie and cringe-worthy banter, the swelling booms and sweeping heroism of the soundtrack, the banal linearity of the level design and bacon crisp gunplay. It's all here sure, but Respawn injects gorgeous attention to detail into the visual atmosphere, boundless creativity in each and every level of its five-six hour campaign, propulsive pacing that pushes this roller-coaster narrative, brutally diverse mech combat, and most importantly, a warm earnestness that permeates every facet of its creation. The game balances a serene and almost ethereal natural landscape with a heavily industrial aesthetic that wouldn't be far off from a James Cameron film. And such as the likes of Aliens and Judgement Day, Titanfall II is as much a story about surfacing imperialist forces weaponizing extraterrestrial technology for further bloodshed as it is a tale of ardent brotherhood; no matter how artificial the links between them are. The first half introduces a couple outlandish gameplay mechanics and gimmicks that keeps things consistently fresh as the relationship between BT and Cooper builds but it's the barreling second half where the weight of cosmic stakes take both literal and metaphorical flight. Cumulatively, it never skips a beat and is just constantly satisfying. It remains silly enough to have fun and not take it too seriously but I won't lie when I say some parts gave me flutters in my heart from the utter immensity of the spectacle (shit looks amazing for 2016 and runs like a dream) and the handling of the dynamic between the two protagonists. For something that was so prone to failure at launch, I was pleasantly surprised by how much returning to this bolstered my previous playthrough and will probably continue to stand the test of time from here on out. Simply put, the apex of blockbuster gaming.

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.

Fuck knows but I don't think I have seen a game so effectively elicit the nightmarish rhythms of a David Lynch film and the aesthetic murkiness of Tarkovsky's Stalker (with an explicit homage to Solaris to boot) as well as this game does; and all within an excellently succinct hour. First thing I wanted to do upon finishing was to do it all over again and take in its visceral horrors and surrealist images once more. It is a startling game that doesn't beg to be interpreted, only felt and it goes all in with marrying its obvious external influences with a medium that requires direct engagement from the consumer. Perhaps this is what the game is aiming to communicate; the potentially toxic relationship that exists between player and art, and the creator that exploits that link. You can't look away, and the game knows it.

Dreams, their curators, and the dreamers that perceive them. Takes on a bit much from Portal in its opening half with the humorous quips and jabs at the player but settles into something exponentially touching as it closes. It may be obvious to say this evokes Kaufman like vibes but the influence is there and it feels deserved. Whatever the game lacks in conceptual ambition it makes up for in sheer brevity. It does enough to make the simple two-three hour experience fly by and for a game that moved me to tears that is all I could ask for.

Innovative but also toothless as it relies on smug meta-commentary to get across its theme of the malleability of bodies in the video game medium. Something that is bound to date itself real quick as this angle is one of the most overplayed ideas in games. Its central gimmick becomes tired by game's end BUT makes for some really effective moments of genuinely badass excitement. Cannot deny its a very well crafted experience with an eye for acute visual detail and sound design. The best kind of minimalism, as it strips down FPS tropes down to its minute essence. Can't say I loved it but I admire what it does and I see great things for the studio with whatever they have coming next.

Interested in what Naughty Dog could accomplish with better structured and more nuanced shorter works that take on this sort of efficiency. Three hour experiences that function not dissimilar to films or miniseries. With Left Behind the larger ideas of the base game are truncated and served in bite sized chunks, which punctuates the emotional brevity but also removes a sense of tension and buildup, making it all feel sort of serial, not unlike a television drama. There is a charm to that but it also makes it quite forgettable at the end of the day. I kinda just wish there were no enemies to fight; only these fleeting memories of interacting with the person Ellie once loved through button prompts and trivial "combat" sections.