I think my opinion of this game is a tiny bit inflated because I adore the media it is aping. Friends of mine who've played this but have never seen Twin Peaks found the tone too weird. But when you get the references a lot of the bizarre choices read more as jokes than clumsy writing. Alan's monologuing genuinely had me chuckling. A pitch-perfect self-obsessed writer who's been sniffing his own farts for too long.

Gameplay is admittedly a little annoying if you're not great at shooting and have bad eyes. I could have gotten away bumping up the brightness on my TV. Still, the ambience was at times legitimately scary, despite monsters essentially being dudes in flannel.

I can't wait to be able to play the sequel. Alan Wake was prescient in it's references to prestige TV, given the thru-lines in Twin Peaks The Return. Can't wait to see Remedy take it a step farther!

If someone ever says to you "video games are not art", have them play Silent Hill 2.

Silent Hill 2 is without a doubt the greatest game ever made, and I will die on that hill. It's horrifying, thought provoking, even poetic in a way. It may not be the best in terms of gameplay or graphics, but the game's story is one of the greatest ever told and it deserves so much more recognition. There were multiple times throughout my playthrough where I had to stop playing because I was genuinely so unnerved or I broke down crying.

I first played Silent Hill 2 in December of 2022. The game had already been spoiled for me, but I still enjoyed playing it. The sense of dread that crept over me in areas like the hotel and prison were simply phenomenal. Very few horror games genuinely scare me, but Silent Hill 2 was just so good at making me feel uneasy. The atmosphere is on point and has yet to be rivalled by any game outside of the Silent Hill franchise. On top of that, the soundtrack is incredible, and was composed by one of my favorite composers Akira Yamaoka, who is a master of horror game OSTs. The game's sound design in general is simply incredible.

The story is also easily one of the best video game stories ever told. You grow to really care about James and the other characters. I'm happy with the ending I got ("Leave") as it was one of the more happier endings.

This isn't a review of Red Dead Redemption 2, but a rant of a certain thing that I believe plagues this game and other Rockstar games.

WHY DO I HAVE TO MASH A BUTTON TO MOVE FASTER!?

All of the Rockstar games I have played, which albeit is not many, have a mechanic where you run faster when mashing 'X'. Why? Why do I have to develop carpal tunnel syndrome to move faster in a Rockstar game? In Grand Theft Auto, you only do this for running and riding a bicycle. In RDR 2 you do it for the same thing, but also when you want to gallop on your horse. And I ask the same question, why?

That's like if you want to drive above 30 mph in GTA, you have to mash 'X'. That's awful. Why do I have strain my thumb to make the boring ride of nothingness between missions shorter. The wild thing to me is that you don't have to do this on keyboard and mouse. I played RDR 2 originally on PS4 and abandoned it because my thumb kept aching because of the stupid mashing. WHY ARE THERE NO ACCESSIBILITY SETTINGS FOR THIS!? As of writing this I'm playing the PC version and not having thumb pain genuinely elevates the experience. Last time I ask this question, WHY DOES THIS EXIST?!

That's all from me, and thank you for reading through all of my rambling. Here's to hoping Rockstar finally develops the technology to allow sprinting without mashing a button on a controller.

Overall, a pleasant experience despite some pacing issues and underutilized mechanics. Jusant basically fits every trope of the Journey-like (a solo pilgrimage from point A to B to C, heavy focus on atmospheric exploration with some environmental puzzles, rediscovering an abandoned/forgotten civilization, etc), but what separates it from most typical copycats is that the main moment-to-moment gameplay is actually pretty engaging this time around! The obvious example here is how the game forces you to tightly grip your controller’s triggers to climb and hang onto ledges for dear life, but most actions in-between such as placing pinons/swinging back and forth with your grapple/jumping across and between ledges keep the interaction flowing smoothly. Interestingly, I would say Jusant’s problem is also opposite to that of most Journey-likes, because it handles its micro well enough, but falters a bit in its execution of the macro. If I were to compare the climbing to say, that of Shadow of the Colossus, then the difference in sense of scale becomes more readily apparent. Shadow of the Colossus takes places in mostly connected and open environments (with a few in vast caverns), but a good chunk of Jusant’s climbing takes place indoors in often cramped spaces that left me wishing there was an FOV slider to compensate for the often uncomfortably close camera getting stuck on walls. I do think it’s a bit of a missed opportunity that Jusant didn’t get any opportunities to showcase its world in its entirety and instead cut off each area into its own isolated level. A part of me was hoping that it would execute this as a sort of mirror to Journey; whereas Journey tries to keep the final shining summit in view at all times outside to remind the player of their final destination, I think Jusant could have combined all the outside areas and given the player the opportunity to look back from increasing heights to remind themselves of just how far they’ve come.

Getting back to macro vs micro, I have a few quibbles and suggestions in regards to improving the overall pacing, as there were some elements that felt like occasional stumbling blocks. The environments are sometimes difficult to read (especially in indoor settings) because climbable rocks/edges often look similarly shaded to their non-interactable surroundings, which resulted in me getting lost a few times. The in-game guide (“Listen” via pressing right on the d-pad) could be improved in this aspect, since it gives you a general direction to move towards but doesn’t solve the issue of figuring out what background object is required to ascend. Speaking of background objects, the environments are often littered with so many differently-colored materials, which contributes to the above problem of figuring out the way forward and also makes the task of searching for collectibles more annoying unless you’re just focusing on the context-sensitive prompts. I sadly also have to agree with others here that the lore dumps via the letters/diary entries didn’t do much for me (resulting in a narrative that I mostly ignored), and I would have preferred emptying the surroundings somewhat to better establish a feeling of presence with a heavier emphasis on environmental storytelling. In addition, removing these excess objects would reduce the amount of 3D polygonal jank present in the game: I often found myself suddenly stagnating and getting stuck on the floor from bumpy geometry, and the same rung true while climbing because I once had to restart from the last checkpoint after getting trapped by some nearby vines.

I’m going to nitpick the climbing as well and concur regarding the lack of tension, as the game never forced me to fully leverage my capabilities: again, this is a key detail that separates this game’s climbing from the heights reached by Shadow of the Colossus. The game could have leaned more into tight timing segments that forced the player to quickly scale ledges before they crumbled; this is briefly explored in Chapter 3 with the sunlight burning off plant roots, but then gets replaced with more calculated climbing for the rest of the game. Similarly, the pinons feel underutilized: I can’t recall any instance where I felt obligated to place down more than one pinon at a time while climbing, and that was often due to needing the ability to swing back and forth rather than using it as a safety net. A possible solution here is reworking the resting mechanic so that it could only be used at a pinon: this would also solve the pacing issue of having to constantly pause to regain stamina, and force the player to more carefully place pinons to make the most out of the stamina gauge's capacity. Finally, I was surprised that I couldn’t alter the amount of slack/tension in the rope while climbing and hanging onto ledges. This ability would allow the player additional control over jumps and climbing capacity without needing to expend a pinon (since I rarely ever reached the full rope length as is), which in turn would give the player more freedom to create shortcuts by letting them go for riskier maneuvers that the restrictive mechanics would prohibit otherwise.

There’s a lot of room for improvement, but I nevertheless appreciate that Jusant doesn’t overstay its welcome. Despite being a bit rough around the edges, the core gameplay is a nice change of pace from its peers, and it further distinguishes itself from its competition with its restrained ending. Instead of going for a bombastic “victory-lap” finale, Jusant has the modesty to bring itself back to earth with a no frills back-to-basics climbing segment devoid of the previous level gimmicks and clutter. That's the game in a nutshell: it might not push the envelope of the medium, but it accomplishes its premise in the time given with solid peaks despite some shaky consistency. In a genre full of misguided and uncompelling carbon copies, I’ll gladly take it.

despite what you may have heard, the similarities to twin peaks are superficial; alan wake's vibe is paperback supernatural thriller mixed with survival horror. the latter is done very effectively, with excellent lighting and sound design, especially for a game from 2010.

the game tells most of its story through pages of a manuscript strewn throughout the environment. it's a familiar mode, but it's more convincingly diegetic here than in other games where you might be reading emails or listening to audio recordings.

the core gameplay is decent once you get the hang of it, but it suffers from the fact that it doesn't develop much over the course of the game. there are just a handful of enemy types and just as many weapons, and the monotony of this becomes apparent long before the final chapter. weapon accuracy isn't rewarded for some reason (headshots seem to deal no more damage than anywhere else), and most of the challenge is based around crowd control and staggering enemies with your flashlight.

frustratingly, the windows version of the game has no option to disable motion blur nor mouse acceleration. i could see the former being a creative choice, but i really hate its inclusion in any game.

Alan Wake presents a fairly novel mechanic in its light system and uses it to great effect as well. Keeping your flashlight trained on the enemies to chip away at their shroud of darkness presents a unique challenge, as you need to manage your space and resources (batteries) effectively before you can even get a shot in. It almost reminds me of the Fatal Frame series' Shutter Chance mechanic, and anything that reminds me of Fatal Frame can't be a bad thing.

Speaking of things that can't be bad (segue machine broke), I was particularly wowed by the car sections (with the smart inclusion of weaponizing car headlights) and the game's own turret sections that use floodlights instead of turrets - now that's an inspired inclusion right there.

The story is also a highlight, bolstered by its presentation and setting. It can be a little heavy on the walk n' talk side of things, but given how engrossing the narrative is, and how likable and intriguing the characters are, I can give it a pass. Also, Barry is the MVP.

Where the game falls flat is in its poorly thought-out encounter design. Offscreen attacks are all too common - getting ganked by three offscreen Taken is never a good time. I'd rather play Dark Souls II if I wanted to be ganked so badly. Minor annoyances, like the game needing to present newly spawned enemies with a slow-mo zoom out every. single. time. can also pile up and get really old really fast, especially if you're on a particularly challenging encounter that needs several retries.

Niggles aside, this game has enough going for it to warrant a recommendation. I can definitely see why it achieved cult classic status.

Alan Wake is a game that its story is so strong, it carries the whole game by itself. I'm not an expert on narrative or its design, let alone this genre of stories, but the game always kept me interested and made me play the game more, even with its obviously flawed gameplay. The game also strengthens its already strong storytelling by using transmedia storytelling techniques, perfectly blending it into the game’s world. I cannot tell you anything else about the story, just have my unproven word that it's very good.

Gameplay, oh man. The game has unique and fun ideas, but the execution is far from perfect. Even though it is very flawed, it somehow works just enough to not be a thorn in your side. Gunplay can be fun, but the omission of a crosshair is really weird. Dodge mechanic is fun, but it's very clunky and works only half of the time. In some segments, the game starts throwing you objects so big that it's nearly impossible to dodge. The flashlight mechanic is a fun idea, but sometimes it takes too long for an enemy to be vulnerable. You can run out of stamina if you run for too long, but it adds too little while sacrificing so much by being outright annoying. Every mechanic you can think of has some obvious flaw that can sour your gameplay experience. Also, some mechanics just don’t suit the game in my opinion, such as driving. Even with all its flaws, it wouldn't be fair to say that I did not have any fun. Alan Wake has this good base for gameplay, and with a sequel that fixes all of these problems, it can be a really good game.

Not a lot else to say, the visuals are really strong and the atmosphere is really immersive. I do not have any memory of music or songs in the game, and I finished this game like 5 hours ago so I guess it's forgettable. If your main motivation in games is story, you should play this game, if it's the opposite do not waste your time. I’m giving it a 7/10, like I said the story is good, but gameplay is the not. Alan Wake II seems to be everything I have wanted this game to be, and I have been thinking about skipping American Nightmare and playing that instead. We’ll see.

Remedy has always been like that little cousin that's done weird artsy shit for years and you just know at some point it's gonna pay off. It's Christmas and you're sat at the kid's table, and they're like: So basically, I'm making this meta-ass Twin Peaks-inspired story about a writer whose book comes to life and there's shadow demons and a magical light switch that dispels evil, and you're like, okay buddy. A few years later, you're a Grandpa's Summer BBQ and they're like: man, I'm thinking, what if we got that dude that played Ice Man and we like, made a TV show that was also a video game, you know? And you're like, to be honest, no, but whatever floats your boat.

Alan Wake 2 is that game where all the years of toying with weird ideas, inventing a compelling and unique sense of personality and focusing on saucy-ass presentation came together to make something undeniable. This is Remedy's magnum opus; a realisation of everything they've been working towards and a culmination of their best ideas. For so long, Remedy has been on the verge of making something phenomenal, and this weaves its live-action obsession, its knack for obtuse but gripping mysteries and its ability to mess with your perception of what a game should be into one of the coolest and most inventive experiences I've played this generation.

I absolutely love this game. I can't stop thinking about it. And I think what baffles me most, is that the moment-to-moment gameplay actually did very little for me. The shooting is clunky and unsatisfying, the boss fights are annoying and barely ever work as intended, and enemies move at super speed so frequently that fighting them becomes a chore. Oh, and don't even get me started on the annoying-ass jumpscares. You walk into like any room in the second half of the game and a distorted face will appear on screen followed by screeching blaring through your headphones; at least Freddy Fazbear has the fucking decency to turn the lights off and set the scene a little bit first.

But here's the thing, this shit could have no combat. Hell, it could play like that new King Kong game. I'd wanna push through it for what Remedy was cooking here. Shifting to horror was such a perfect playground for Remedy, from the darker, True Detective meets Twin Peaks meets Resident Evil premise to the nightmarish set dressing of Alan's campaign. But the best thing about horror is that gives the team so much more leeway to do their favourite thing: mess with the pre-established rules of video games and tell a story that couldn't be told anywhere else. Light switches can change the physical space in a blink of an eye, the game will often just cut to live-action set-pieces that interweave with gameplay and writing something as Alan can upend an entire section of a level. Whenever you think Remedy's topped themselves with how creative they can be with this idea, they dig deep and find something even wilder.

And that extends from big choices to small ones. So many parts of Alan Wake 2 just floored me with the sheer imagination on show. Alan's campaign focusing its combat on shadows whispering in the dark, forcing you to discern what's real and what's fake. Saga's mind palace being a physical space that you traverse in real time. The way you traverse between live-action and gameplay so seamlessly, and how it finally doesn't feel like a gimmick.

So much of that stuff I actively don't want to spoil, especially the Initiation 4 mission, which is godlike. But what I'll say is that this is arguably the best horror game I've played this year, which says a lot when we're experiencing maybe the best year for horror... well, ever. Remedy are some of the best storytellers in the industry right now, and that's because you can tell they're passionate about video games as a medium. As much as these dudes love a lil live-action sauce sprinkled over their gaming, it's all in service of creating something that couldn't exist in any other creative space. Giving them a horror premise is the equivalent of giving Matt Reeves the keys to Batman; you know from the offset that you're about to experience something special, and by god, Sam Lake, you beautiful bastard, you didn't disappoint.

This game had a hell of a lot more to it than I thought it would, and I really enjoyed it.

In terms of story, I found it painfully slow for roughly the first 2 hours or so, but after this it really starts picking up and it got me hooked for the rest of the game. In particular I noticed the cutscenes were super well made and they never felt unnecessary or annoying like in some games. Without spoiling it, I really loved the ending too, it surprised me when it happened but it really left an impression on me. Though as there's a sequel its impact is probably significantly dampened.

I thought the TV show presentation, with the whole "previously on Alan Wake" thing was weird but I appreciated the idea, and the points where an episode would end made complete sense and were helped by some excellent use of licensed music.

The visuals still hold up quite well, I'm not sure what the relatively recent remaster does to the game, but I'd almost say a remaster isn't needed. Textures and character models in particular look dated today, but the visual effects, lighting and general environments look genuinely fantastic for an Xbox 360 game, my descriptions could never do it justice.

Audio design is even better, the ambience as you traverse dark open areas subtly intensifying when enemies are going to show up soon, only to calm back down after you've dealt with them is remarkably smooth. Additionally, the combination of sounds from using your light, burning an enemy and then hitting them with a hail of bullets is unbelievably satisfying and masks the repetition very well.

The horror elements are very light, and that's okay. The atmosphere does most of the heavy lifting, and does it well, but I don't think you'll ever truly be scared. Except when they randomly interrupt the gameplay with a jumpscare cutscene. Very mean. This game would actually be a pretty good pick for someone who doesn't want to play a horror game but would like to try something a bit darker.

Continuing to discuss the aspects of this game in a strange order, the core gameplay is not only original but very fun. Sadly, it is the game's most noticeable weak point, but I'm not saying it's bad by any means. You really feel a lack of enemy variety for a lot of the game, there's only 4 real types but 3 of those 4 types look basically the same unless you get really up close. The difficulty is quite well balanced, but there was definitely some annoying spikes, but nothing rage inducing playing through on Normal. If I had to point out the game's biggest annoyance it would be the dodge/sprint button. You press the sprint button along with a direction, and if you time it right, you dodge the enemy's attack while the game slows down. It's very cool when it works, but it feels like a pure dice roll whether it will work or not, and more often than not, in a critical moment, it doesn't. This combined with the occasional difficulty spikes makes the Hard mode sound like a very bad time indeed.

In conclusion, it's well worth playing, but it's definitely not a game for everyone. I only hope I enjoy the sequel when I eventually get to it.

A perfect example of a game that knows exactly what it is and is all the better for it. It dishes out a really beautiful pixel art style, lays out the basics and then is just like, off you go buddy. Go play a big slimy-ass giga-chad monster that eats a shit load of people. It knows the main reason you're here is to roleplay that one scene in Jurassic Park by tearing a man's head clean off his shoulders while he's taking a dump, so it completely respects your time by being fast-paced as hell and ending within a sexy ol' four-hour runtime.

The mechanics themselves aren't exactly the greatest in the world. Moving around is clumsy, especially when your monster turns into an absolute unit by the end and just decides he's going where he wants half the time, and the Metroidvania elements are infuriating, as there's no map and half of the routes back to your objective are through a dinky-ass pipe in one area that you haven't been in like 7 years. I actually played around 80% of this game back when it came out, but I took a break for like three days and came back to realise I had no idea what the fuck I was doing and where I was supposed to go next.

But I think this is such a fun little bite-size experience that the elements that don't work never really tire you out. By the time you're getting frustrated and the gimmick of being a giant man-eating flesh hive has worn off, the credits roll, so it's hard to really care. If you've ever thought: "Wouldn't it be sick to be The Thing from the hit movie The Thing," then one, that's kinda weird, but two, they made a game just for you lil' buddy.

Lil Gator Game is like a bigger version of A Short Hike, or something like that.

It's an extremely casual game of exploration and interaction with NPCs.

It features mechanics heavily inspired by Zelda games, and the story revolves around the main character's relationship with their older sister. You don't have lives, can't lose, or anything like that. Just walk around, talk to everyone, and help them with their problems. Build a base on the island playground and be happy!

The game has well-implemented mechanics, great sound effects and music, charming characters, a good pace that kept me engaged, customization items, and usable items to get around or find other items.

Overall, it's an amazing game. It addresses all the shortcomings I saw in A Short Hike, and the ending is satisfying. Collecting items is also enjoyable. Simply an incredible game.

Jusant makes a strong first impression, but by the middle of its short runtime, I felt like I was fighting against the controls. I was missing jumps I thought I could make and not grabbing ledges that seemed to be within reach. Your character cannot be harmed, but you can fall from sections and have to reattempt them, adding a bit of frustration to what is self-described as a meditative game.

Visually, the game looks gorgeous and the setting is memorable. Collectibles slow down progression and are rarely rewarding, often sending the player off the main path just to discover a note with paragraphs of exposition on the lore, which is somewhat abstract. I found the ending to be the weakest part of the game.

This is a fine Game Pass game, but it had the potential to be really special with a few changes.