17 reviews liked by rasbolomon


So, what youre telling me, even after the unnaceptable crunch, we wont even be able to play this game at 60 fps until graphics cards from 5 years into the future?
You've changed, CD Project Red.

Easily one among the most gorgeous video games that I've ever played, but I feel like even that would be putting my experience of playing through Okami very lightly. The art design is remarkable, but everything about what Okami presents as a narrative makes for a highly rewarding experience from start to finish, for all of its references to Japanese folklore it never feels like it alienates outsiders but brings them into a new world with such ease.

As far as games that are clearly inspired by The Legend of Zelda have gone, this is easily one among the very best - ranking right alongside most of said series' best games too, but seeing how everything comes together from the beautiful world designs and the fun combat and side quests, there's always a reason to get lost throughout the world of Nippon through the eyes of Hideki Kamiya. While it may be easy enough to get the gist of how the combat with certain enemies work, you're always made to learn how to put every new technique into play when you're entering new battles - and this also results in some of the most rewarding boss fights that you could ever ask for.

An easy all-time favourite for me, I can't wait to play through it again and 100% it.

Everything great about Arkham Asylum dialed up within an open world setting. But the titular setting also feels like it is only building up to give you more reason to explore as the caped crusader, whilst being contained enough to remain as brisk as it is.

The variety to the enemies in Arkham City makes the combat all the more fun, as they feel like there's always something putting your own knowledge of button combos to the test the more the game goes on - leaving you perfectly prepared for the game's boss fights. On that note, the game's boss fights (especially the Mr. Freeze fight) feel like they're building off everything that one would know their respective supervillains are capable of, and as a result are just as fun to play out as one could hope from any good superhero video game.

Yet on the whole, it's also a perfectly paced narrative - one whose twists add more to the game's emotional payoff, never held back by the free roaming nature of the game or its many side quests. As far as superhero games can go, this might just be the perfect one.

took me 5 reinstalls to beat, not as hard as they say. Bottom line: fuck the valley of giants those skeletons can eat my ass

Took me long enough to actually finish this game, but after having done so, I can say with relative ease that The Last of Us is indeed worthy of all the praise that it receives. For as much as it tells a straightforward narrative, there's a great deal of work put into how the atmosphere has been created - thus making you feel like you're a part of this situation and able to connect with the characters the more time you spend with them.

But that's also what makes The Last of Us as enthralling as it is, because you're seeing a wonderful father-daughter dynamic of sorts build between the relationship of Joel and Ellie - compromised by their own worldviews as a result of everything that they've been through. It always leads to emotional farewells with side characters, but also puts you within that spot of wondering how everything could have been done differently even though the inevitable is bound to happen.

A good amount of this is fun, but other moments can get distressing, but that's also what it feels like to see the world through Joel and Ellie's eyes.

Quite shocked I never was able to get around to these games back when I was still undergoing my Batman phase as a child, but the best thing that Batman: Arkham Asylum did for me was remind me of how great it felt to have underwent that phase back then.

The great attention to detail put into the world of Arkham Asylum, turning it into a labyrinth makes the exploration of the enclosed setting feel like its own world, but it also creates a perfect atmosphere for the game too. It would be easy enough to take a character like Batman and make him the star of just about any other superhero video game, but instead what's been brought out here is a straight-up horror game - never afraid to go even more twisted as it goes on.

But above all, it's also very briskly paced, while feeling very free enough to that point it actually feels bigger than it actually is. Impressive stuff.

So I ended up getting Bloodborne as my very first PlayStation 4 game in 2019, and at that time, I nearly gave up on it after my first boss encounter. But after having come back to it just now, what I once thought would be wholly unrelenting became one of the most immersive and astonishing gaming experiences that I've ever had.

Everything about this game's difficulty has already been said, it may not always be very forgiving but there's a nice challenge that comes forth because Bloodborne gives you a chance to figure out a fighting style that works for you - and as you keep playing with that style, the once-challenging boss fights are more than manageable.

But one's also got to love how much effort has been put into establishing this lore too. Above everything else, it always gives you a reason to want to come back, even with the increasing difficulty.

Terrible sequel to the original open world collect-a-thon & terrible Grand Theft Auto clone, with a stupidly large map with no fast travel options, ugly & dull visuals, frustrating difficulty due to barely any checkpoints & crashing into police officers, and an edgy tone to cap off the adventure.

I feel like if there's any single game that best utilized what was possible with the Wii's motion controls (which were always very hit-or-miss, depending on the games), then Super Mario Galaxy would be that title. From all the 3D Mario games, this was also the one that I remember having sunken the most time into when I was a kid, but seeing how well it still holds up on the recent Switch port only reaffirms my belief that it it's also the best 3D Mario game in general.

It feels a little bit weird seeing this game again without the motion controls that made it feel so special from playing it on the Wii, but whenever I had the chance to play it just like I remembered it, there's something about seeing it in that way that just makes it feel special. But no matter the direction where Nintendo went with these Mario games, this also might be the most beautiful that any of them have ever been too - which made pointing at the screen at all the star bits feel so wondrous back in 2007.

As far as the 3D Mario games could ever go, this is arguably the most polished on every end - the controls run smoothly and the camera system (probably the biggest downside to both Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine) is the most reliable it's ever been in any Mario game too. Yet this also might just be every bit as gorgeous a Mario game has ever looked, given how Nintendo peaks in this department with the Zelda series, and it's also got what may be the best soundtrack that you'd find in any Mario game too.

I've played this game so many times since I first discovered it back in 2012.
It's near and dear to my heart and even though it's by no means a perfect game (it has many many flaws that hold it back from being 10/10 in my book) but despite that I find myself always coming back and enjoying every minute.