greedfall wears its action RPG inspirations on its sleeve. however its interesting game world is only deceptively lively. the narrative execution felt flat and more often than not fail to make an emotive point.

the dark, brooding atmosphere of dystopian Mars is what makes technomancer very incredibly engrossing, though its quest flow and almost fragmented writing endgame hurts it a little bit,

the rich set of companions and compelling narrative vastly overshadows my otherwise lukewarm initial reception of hong kong.

the raised stakes of dragonfall's excellently paced epic plot is not totally unwelcome, for the shadowrunner nor the player.

though incredibly brief and linear, shadowrun returns is an excellent and grounded cRPG experience.

understanding that emergent gameplay in TTRPGs is visibly lacking in modern cRPGs, larian shows that divinity: original sin II is their magnum opus. while filled to the brim with whimsical moments, the game never forgets the darkness of its high fantasy setting.

divinity: original sin shines with its environmental mechanics and vivid world, but the writing and plot fails to meaningfully grip my attention

it does feel like the roleplaying aspect of this game is held back by its MMO system. drew karpyshyn's writing really shines all throughout.

rich dialogue and an exciting plot, the outer worlds is colorful both in artistic design and writing. the realism of its characters and the absurdity of its hypercapitalist setting really sells its dark humor tone.

the environment is pretty, the gameplay is satisfying, but that does not save it from feeling like a post-apocalyptic theme park.

every corner of post-apocalyptic washington d.c. was atmospherically impressive and had interesting stories to tell, but i felt that it wasn't cohesive enough to be compelling.

i adored how the worldbuilding in fallout 2 progressed and expanded from the first game. it felt like the wasteland had more "life", not that the first game was lifeless in any way. however, it does overstay its welcome.

the world of fallout is bleak and uncaring; it makes the experience all the more memorable for the humble protagonist. the pacing is actually pretty superb. the gameplay and combat is simple but it is complete, full of depth, and it "makes sense" in every sense of the phrase.

an expansive and compelling RPG, shadows of amn is an incredible step up compared to the first game. the quests are plenty and full of depth, while the dungeons are seemingly endless. it does, however, ever so slightly nudges the player into the main quest. Irenicus is also one of the best video game villains I've ever encountered.

I actually really enjoyed Siege of Dragonspear. It had interesting combat encounters & very lively locales. the narrative overall was enjoyable and compelling from start to finish.