I have loved Dragon Ball basically my entire life, I’ve played tons of different games based off the series over the years and while I’ve adored tons of them this one has become my new favorite. Playing through the entire saga of DBZ from start to finish is amazing, and it really feels like you are living in the world as you fly through all the locations you recognize from the series.

I understand why people who love the “RPG” in the action-RPG genre but as someone much more into action games this was perfect for me. There are tons of RPG systems here you can use, but ultimately they are all additive and as long as you are spending a tiny amount of time leveling up your moves as you play through the sagas this game plays just like a fighting game. The combat is just deep enough where I never got sick of it, it has tons of flash to it and makes you feel like a total badass as you teleport behind enemies and unleash a powerful move to wipe them out. Despite being named Kakarot you do play as a good number of characters which was much appreciated. All of them are fun to play and have great unique move sets.

The open world is very basic, you can find the dragon balls and make wishes which is a great feature, but it mostly exists just to fly through and get from mission to mission (as well as pick up XP orbs like Crackdown). This was fine with me as it was very quick to navigate and filled with side quests that put the spotlight on lots of lesser used characters, especially tons with original Dragon Ball characters that were forgotten.

The last thing I want to shout out is the production value, the game does a great job adapting the entire story and while it does a good solid job most of the time there are moments they really go over the time. These moments are reserved for only the most special moments of the series, I won’t spoil them but they are done great justice here and are super memorable. This was just a great way to experience such a pivotal series in mine and many other’s lives so I’m very glad I played it.

This is easily one of my favorite Metroidvania games I’ve played, I was hopeful seeing the original trailers and it blew my expectations away. The movement in this game is amazing and just gets better as it goes, chaining together your usual double jumps, dashes, wall jumps with tons of other abilities you unlock as you go make the game feel incredibly fluid and allows for some great platforming sections. The collectibles are often in spots that require you to use all these skills so they feel super satisfying to get each time, as well as using a lot of them for leveling up weapons or buying perks/more potions/etc. The game does a great job balancing all these light RPG systems where you feel like you could beat the game without doing them all if you are skilled, but really making it feel rewarding if you take the time to find things in the map.

The combat is also quite fine despite not being overly complex, you have a few different combos you can do with your blades as well as a bow but really the skill comes from dodging or parrying at the right times. The boss battles all felt fair even some of the tougher ones later one and led to some really awesome moments. The way the map flows is also quite good, you pretty frequently find golden trees where you can restore your health and save, as well as finding fast travel points around the map which are super useful but also not game breaking. This allows you to jump around a bit but by limiting where you can initiate to only those spots it doesn’t take away the feeling of exploring. The areas themselves vary from pretty standard settings to a few that really stand out that I won’t spoil. The map also lets you place icons as well as a collectible you have that let’s you save screenshots on the map so you can easily remember a spot you want to return to later which is a great feature.

If you are a fan of the genre this is definitely a game I would recommend, it plays super well and the story, while not the most in depth hooking narrative ever, has a pretty neat concept that kept me entertained and led to cool gameplay moments.

Oh Suicide Squad. Where do I even begin with this fucking one.

Let's start at the top. I genuinely think this game got did dirty by gaming journalists, and just gamers in general. I think 99% of the hate from gamers come from people who have never, and have no intention of playing this game.

My background. I'm a primarily SP gamer, who does not like live service, does not play online, and really never been into loot score games. That being said, as a GIANT batman fan, and a rocksteady fan, I had to go into this one and give it a fair shot. And to be honest, most of what was here I dug.

The story is genuinely great. It's hilarious from start to finish, the suicide squad themselves are written great (Boomerang and King Shark are easily the highlights here). Getting to go around and fight each justice league member as the bad guy, as a young Addi's dream come true, and was so awesome to experience.

All the boss fights were really fun (and just the gameplay in general, it was really fast, responsive and felt slick to traverse.) I mained as Harley, and I love how you could have a totally different experience depending on who you played as.

Now some negatives:

First of all, I had to drop the game for a period because of a "loading metroplis" bug. Un acceptable, no reason this game should be always online. The side quests, are really bad. I love them introducing Penguin, and a really cool new version of Ivy, but then doing jack all with the character development. It was clear this game was tugged in SO many different directions, and really didn't know what it wanted to be at the end of the day.

Honestly I was at a very solid 7/10 for this, but I had to drop half a point for the ending. Just totally anti climactic, and clearly content was cut for future live service stuff, which I have no interest in taking a part in.

This game is a giant mixed bag, and it's such a shame because there's stuff here I genuinely love, but stuff that also frustrates me that could have been easily avoided. Overall though, I still enjoyed my time with it, and it's no where NEAR as bad as people are making out it to be.

Give it a chance yourself sometime, I certainly, won't root for Rocksteady to fail, the sauce is still here, they just need to be more focused, and commit to more of a sp vision next time.

This is a weird one, at its core the gameplay is very good. The combat feels as good as ever, the weapon selection is quite good, I like the classic enemies with some additions, the vehicles are all here and are fun to use, the AMAZING addition of the grapple hook, and minus some glitches the co-op worked well. I just can’t be too high on the game though because a lot of the stuff surrounding it is just so meh to me.

The open world I actually didn’t mind, it’s full of enemies to fight and it’s not obnoxiously big like most games tend to be aiming for these days. However the purpose of the open world is nebulous… there are different things to do like taking bases or fighting mini bosses but to what end? You unlock the ability to spawn guns but almost all the missions are long drawn out corridors so you are swapping guns around anyways. There are no real side missions either, it just feels like padding which is a shame cause I like the idea in theory, it just needs some actual reasons to want to do activities. The campaign missions are fine but really nothing memorable about them, you wander hallways and get stopped for cutscenes constantly, where the story is okay but nothing I really was enamored by personally (granted I’ve been out of the story post Bungie so I’m not going to pretend I was fully prepared with all the context needed).

This review came out pretty negative, I was pretty disappointed with a lot of the game, but they truly did really nail to combat and grapple hook so well that I had to give the game a boost for that. I could see myself jumping in to clear a bit more of the map some time just to get that combat loop, but ultimately pretty forgettable campaign to me.

The original Alan Wake is one of my favorite games of all time, so after seeing all the hype for the sequel I was dying to play it. While I am not as high on it as the average seems to be I did find it to be a really great sequel in many ways. It definitely leans more into the horror than the original, the graphics and sound design are absolutely insane... I am not easily scared but there were a few times I jumped (not counting the really annoying unearned jump scares that happen constantly, those are my only complaint with the horror in the game)

The addition of Saga was questionable to me from the trailers, but she really stole the show for me. Her sections play exactly like I would expect a modern Alan Wake to be, the combat is improved and has a nice weight to it, and her loadout is super fun to use (shout out to the bow). Her story has a lot of similarities to the first game but I love the additions she brings being a detective, the mind place board is a really neat way to follow along and figure out the mystery of the plot.

The Alan sections are a bit more mixed for me, there are some really amazing scenes here that I won't spoil and the really high production value is even more prevalent in these areas. The gameplay though is just lacking to me, swapping the scene to progress constantly is a neat idea but I just didn't ever get into it. The story of Alan resolves really nicely in the end, and I appreciate the really unique meta way of telling it, but it's just not ultimately my favorite delivery method. It is very modern Remedy which fans will enjoy, but I am definitely less of a Remedy fan and more of an Alan Wake 1 fan specifically.

This game was not what I expected in a lot of ways but I appreciate how unique it was, and the survival horror elements are still very good when they are given the time to shine. I recommend for sure.

I have tried 2 other Souls games in the past and each time they never stuck with me. This time I lost a bet and this was the game that I was chosen to try. I was skeptical I would like it but I was more open to it since it's open world and if I get stuck I can go level up somewhere and come back.

What I didn't expect was one of the most beautiful open world games I've have ever seen in my life. Plus you have a horse that is a joy to ride, which means traveling around is a dream. Breathtaking vistas and just grotesque enemies and bosses that you can't help but want to see.

I did a samurai build which was a lot of fun bleeding the bosses and just seeing chunks of health disappear. The last boss almost broke me but you have so many options at your disposal that you can always find a different way to succeed. I would be mistaken to not talk about the mvp of the games which is the ashes you can use to summon help, and specifically mimic tear who is the mvp of the game.

The story really isn't something that will invest you similar to SMT V, but the world itself is a story to explore. The side characters are great when you can figure out what to do and where to find them. Also I love bosses and this game is full of boss fights.

Highly recommend this game and even as someone who isn't good at Souls games I had a blast!

An immensely unique game that somehow makes checking paperwork fun and addicting, which really is an incredible feat alone. I just got totally in the zone playing this, going through the rhythm of checking all the paperwork against the constantly changing rules was both rewarding and stressful because I was really worried about getting in trouble and not having money to pay for the family to survive. There is great storytelling here too, all within the constraints of only newspapers and checkpoint visits the game is able to tell a full branching narrative with tons of side stories, it is really impressive. Will you help take down the corrupt government or just mind your own business, it is all up to you! Shout out guard Sergiu and the constant annoyance Jorji, it is cool how much you grow to care about them in so little screen time.

Similar to the first game this is a hard one for me to review. The positive is this game is a huge step forward from the first. On balance it controls a lot better, the game structure is more open and free with the interconnecting levels, and you aren't being hounded by police every two seconds. Things are shaken up pretty often, you are spraying graffiti, racing, tag racing, fighting, and more. The game also has a wonderful charming style that holds up today, great art, cool designs for the different playable characters and rival gangs, and of course an awesome soundtrack (Aisle 10 was my favorite).

However this game really needs a modern remake (I am glad we are getting a reboot!) to fix some issues. The jumps are so floaty yet they have so many areas where you need to be super precise that it just leads to frustration, honestly without save states I am not sure I would have pressed onward in certain sections. The map also might be the worst one I have ever seen, it is almost indecipherable in some sections where the text is just on top of the map entirely and you have no idea what you are looking at. There are other issues but they are pretty of the time, such as a rough checkpointing system and a lack of clarity at times on what you should be doing, but I can accept a lot of that since this is a 2002 game.

Ultimately I think the back half of the game will make me think of this game a lot more fondly than I was working through the horrible sewer level earlier on, and that helps me look past a lot of the issues. Great style and I look forward to a modern take on this, I think it could be special

After listening to the Soundtrack for months without playing it, this ended up being a nice surprise. We all made fun of the hanging rails out of nowhere and the "Breath of the Wild" style focus but it ended up working pretty nicely for the Sonic gameplay loop, making the game totally addictive as the best open world games are able to do.

On the negative side, the pop in is ridiculous in all islands, the cyberspace levels end before you can even enjoy them and, as usual, sometimes Sonic controls in 3d like ass. Overall, this was a very enjoyable game!

I was always interested in this game simply because I was disappointed by Fallout 4. It in facts succeeds at being better then that with choices that matter and a shorter game approach. I really enjoyed the companions and what they added to the story and gameplay. They also have unique perks that help you out with dialog.

The story itself is well done and you can change the outcome of what you want the different planets to deal with, which I really like. I wish everything was a little more fleshed out though.

That is also how I feel about the combat. It was far too easy and lacked a lot of depth. I did enjoy it for what it was but this is something I'm really looking forward to them improving in the next game.

Overall I really liked it and recommend you check it out if you are at all interested in a short wrpg that is similar to a Bethesda game.

Spider-Man 2 is an absolute triumph and masterpiece for me in the world of gaming. It's a masterful amalgamation of various Spider-Man narratives, expertly woven together to create what I genuinely believe to be the quintessential Spider-Man story. This game is a finely tuned masterpiece, crafted with an abundance of love and soul. Even a week after completing it, I'm still captivated by its brilliance. Insomniac has gifted us a heartfelt love letter, and they've earned every ounce of our admiration. Spider-Man 1 was already a top-tier game for me, defying all expectations when I had lost hope in Spider-Man games. Spider-Man 2 takes that foundation and elevates it to unparalleled heights.

This game showcases my favorite portrayals of Peter and Miles. While the Spider-verse films deserve credit, these two characters shine brighter, move faster, and hit harder than any other medium. The abilities you acquire in this game are absolutely amazing. You can feel the impact of every punch and kick not only in your DualSense controller but coursing through your veins. Pinning enemies against walls and shattering their ribs with a flurry of kicks, hurling chains of lightning, or employing symbiote tendrils to lift a dozen foes into the air before slamming them down – it's addicting and seriously badass. The gameplay remains endlessly engaging, even when facing challenging foes. Not once did frustration overtake me despite dying more times than I can count. With each boss, I embraced the learning curve, meticulously dissecting their attacks and ultimately reveling in their defeat while hardly upgrading my health and damage.

Yet it's not just the gameplay that astounds; it's the story. In just under 20 hours, Spider-Man 2 delivers a rich, detailed narrative laden with lengthy, cinematic cutscenes. Each cutscene draws you in, akin to watching the perfect Spider-Man movie, evoking nostalgia and wonder. I never wanted this story to end. Without delving into spoilers, rest assured, the story caters to Spider-Man enthusiasts. If the first game left you less invested in the narrative, Spider-Man 2 won't drastically change that, as Insomniac tailored it to a specific audience. Peter, Miles, MJ, Harry, and other characters are faithfully and expertly written, making them arguably the best adaptations. Even a character like MJ, who was "okay" in the previous game, shines as a favorite adaptation in this installment. The overall narrative is exceptionally well-crafted, raising the bar for the MCU's portrayal of Spider-Man.

I also briefly need to discuss Venom without spoilers. I had high expectations, and this iteration did not disappoint. He is a formidable presence on screen, with a scale that dwarfs the Spider-Men, impressively bringing justice to the character. This version of Venom stands in stark contrast to the Tom Hardy version I've been familiarized with, making it difficult to appreciate the latter. The distinction in design, personality, and sheer raw power is remarkable. And with Venom in the picture, I absolutely must mention the symbiote in general. Avoiding spoilers, this game excels in portraying Peter Parker's gradual descent into aggression, jealousy, and hatred, outshining Maguire's version in Spider-Man 3 without any close contest. Yuri Lowenthal's performance as Peter's darker side is nothing short of exceptional, further solidifying him as my favorite voice actor.

Spider-Man 2 doesn't stop at fantastic gameplay and storytelling. It boasts an electrifying soundtrack, particularly the main theme, jaw-dropping setpieces, and an exceptional traversal system that outshines all previous Spider-Man games. The web wings in particular pleasantly surprised me, as I initially had low expectations for this mechanic and expected something half-baked. I found myself frequently using it while swinging through New York, more-so than I'd like to admit, and it definitely added a huge new layer of fun to the experience.

Insomniac Games has created what might be my favorite gameplay in any video game with Spider-Man 2's combat and web swinging. Playing Ultimate Spider-Man after this will be a tough act to follow, but my gaming appetite will have to adapt. Earth-1048 represents the quintessential Spider-Man experience, and I'm immensely grateful for this top-tier celebration of my favorite superhero. Thank you, Insomniac Games, for delivering one of the finest games I've ever played.

Jedi: Survivor is an outstanding ode to the Star Wars universe, seamlessly intertwining a captivating narrative, immersive atmosphere, and top-notch lightsaber combat to deliver a truly unforgettable gaming experience.

One of the most striking elements of Survivor is the depth and development of its returning characters. In contrast to its predecessor, Fallen Order, this game goes above and beyond to flesh out these beloved individuals. A prime example is Cere, a character I previously dismissed as forgettable. However, in Survivor, she transforms into a formidable and compelling presence on screen, leaving a lasting impression that caught me off guard. Cal Kestis, the already compelling protagonist, also experiences significant growth, further cementing his status as one of my favorite Star Wars leads. His constant internal struggle is masterfully portrayed by Cameron Monaghan's powerful voice acting and delivery. Every emotion he conveys resonates with the player, making his character even more relatable. In fact, there's not a single character in the game that I didn't thoroughly enjoy seeing in action.

Another noteworthy aspect of Survivor is its gameplay, which features significant improvements to the skill tree system and the introduction of new lightsaber stances. I found myself constantly switching between stances, unable to choose a clear favorite, as each one offers unique and highly useful abilities that make combat both challenging and addictive. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be the dual-wielding stance, which evokes the exhilarating combat of Force Unleashed. The attention to detail and thought put into these stances ensures that there's something for every type of player.

Without delving into spoilers, the game's main antagonist is exceptionally well-written, leaving me awestruck by the level of storytelling on display. Star Wars has struggled to create compelling villains in recent years, especially with the somewhat disappointing arc of Kylo Ren. However, Respawn has clearly taken the time to understand the rich Star Wars lore and incorporate it into their villain's character, while also recapturing the essence of classic Star Wars storytelling.

The music in Survivor also deserves special mention. Many Disney-era Star Wars adaptations have had a mixed record when it comes to their musical score, with some pieces being exceptional and others feeling generic or mediocre. However, the music in Survivor consistently shines. Boss fights, in particular, feature mind-blowing tracks, especially during the later game encounters. The soundtrack's consistency and quality contribute significantly to the game's immersive experience.

Technically, Jedi: Survivor impresses, even with a few minor bugs. Running on my PS5 in fidelity mode, the game excels in maximizing resolution and displaying vibrant colors that pop on the screen. The visual quality and smooth performance make for a visually stunning and satisfying gaming experience.

Overall, Jedi: Survivor is an exceptional game that exceeds expectations, despite its minor flaws. It sets the bar high for future entries in the series, and I eagerly await what Respawn has in store for the next installment in this captivating Star Wars saga.

Ghostrunner took a concept I'd wanted for a while and made it real. Like Hotline Miami, it's a series of touch-of-death, speedrunning, kill puzzles but now in full 3D as a parkouring cyber-ninja. It didn't perfect its own twist on the formula, but it was more than good enough to start and I'm glad we're seeing more, soon.

When you play well, it's smooth and satisfying in a way few other first person games are. When you play bad, at least the respawn is instantaneous and the checkpoints are fair.

When it janks up… it can be a bit aggravating, I won't lie, but thanks to that instant retry it was hard to stay mad. And sometimes the things you do to try and recover are their own entertainment.

I was honestly shocked when I first played the game in a Demo shortly before release that the game controls as smoothly as it does. It's designed from an almost exclusively flow-centric philosophy. Almost nothing is animation based. Input is almost never ceded from the player even when the player control is pushed by something. It's easy to catch a high, responsive framerate.

(Well, maybe that last part was less true in mid 2020 for most people)

It can sometimes backfire a bit: feel a bit slippery and cause some funny physics mishaps for the player. But to me, that's the ideal trade off if you can't yet reach perfection with this concept.

The game's bigger missteps are probably with its attempts to "shake up" the gameplay with the puzzlier sections and the boss fights, and both because they suddenly force the player to go at their speed, not the other way around (with some exceptions).

In my mind, the whole game is a puzzle of efficiency, so having explicit puzzle sections is no issue. It's in fact a great idea to give the player a few low reflex requirement activities to do between the high points. Unfortunately, they have a tendency to involve elements that require waiting for an animation or forcing a fixed move speed while navigating a simple space giving the stuck-at-40mph-on-a-70mph-highway, "Traffic" effect.

Not all of them are like this, and I actually enjoyed a few, but it's a shame the last boss in particular gets the Traffic effect the hardest of them all with its simon-says-esque routine.

It's interesting to compare this now to Hi-Fi Rush (in hindsight) where one of the highlight bosses was even more so a simon-says, but because of the expectations set with the game putting EVERYTHING on a fixed beat from the start, it works amazingly there. So really, Ghostrunner's fault is just in that it occasionally fumbled its player-directed pacing after establishing it so prominently in the core game loop.

The overwhelming majority of the game does not have this problem, however and if you catch with the core game loop, the primary memories you'll get out of this game will be the fun you had there.

…

Mmm. I do feel like I need to state that I love first person platforming games, though. I saw at least one friend on my Steam list with 120 deaths on the last platforming segment compared to my 12. I know the appeal of that kind of gameplay is… niche.

But maybe this is the game that gets you into it? 😅