sairam71
๐ฎ Platform: PS5
โ Time played - 8.5h
๐Trophy completion - 80% - just what i got playing. The game was not that great that i would want a 2nd play through to get a 100%. So I will live with this.
๐ Full Review:
This game is bearable and passable. I can't think of anything that was fun about this game nor overly bad. If it weren't for the completionist in me i would have given up long time ago. I basically shut off my brain and went through the motions. Sorry to everyone giving it 4s and 5s. Its a highly overrated game.
Pros:
Very few. I liked some of the characters like Cosmo, Groot.
Cons:
Repetitive and not so fun gameplay. Basically spam team commands, hold down fire button, the entire game. Once in a while fire some elemental weapons. The game also halts strongly after every fight, where you need to solve some environmental puzzles. They aren't hard and are relatively boring to break walls, cut wires to make paths.
Constant chatter. You tune it off after a while but this is the most talkative game i ever played. I can't think what so ever due to all the chatter!
The characters are all annoying and dumb. Sure thats the guardians MO but keep in mind you have to be with them for 8+ hours. Its like hanging out with a bunch of Bros that you you are over after 30 minutes of meeting them, but have to be stuck in a room for 8h. Sure I could have quit the game to avoid this.
Buggy - i had to restart the game multiple times. doors that should open after fights and clearing mobs never did for example.
Characters and their powers and limitations were hard to understand and very hand wavy. maybe this is because i don't know the background of these characters. I guess if you know alot about them from comic books they would make more sense.
โ Time played - 8.5h
๐Trophy completion - 80% - just what i got playing. The game was not that great that i would want a 2nd play through to get a 100%. So I will live with this.
๐ Full Review:
This game is bearable and passable. I can't think of anything that was fun about this game nor overly bad. If it weren't for the completionist in me i would have given up long time ago. I basically shut off my brain and went through the motions. Sorry to everyone giving it 4s and 5s. Its a highly overrated game.
Pros:
Very few. I liked some of the characters like Cosmo, Groot.
Cons:
Repetitive and not so fun gameplay. Basically spam team commands, hold down fire button, the entire game. Once in a while fire some elemental weapons. The game also halts strongly after every fight, where you need to solve some environmental puzzles. They aren't hard and are relatively boring to break walls, cut wires to make paths.
Constant chatter. You tune it off after a while but this is the most talkative game i ever played. I can't think what so ever due to all the chatter!
The characters are all annoying and dumb. Sure thats the guardians MO but keep in mind you have to be with them for 8+ hours. Its like hanging out with a bunch of Bros that you you are over after 30 minutes of meeting them, but have to be stuck in a room for 8h. Sure I could have quit the game to avoid this.
Buggy - i had to restart the game multiple times. doors that should open after fights and clearing mobs never did for example.
Characters and their powers and limitations were hard to understand and very hand wavy. maybe this is because i don't know the background of these characters. I guess if you know alot about them from comic books they would make more sense.
๐ฎ Platform: PS5
โ Time played - 43h
๐Trophy completion - 100% - (no new game + but platinum. This game respects your time and if you enjoy the game do it. The only grind was getting to lvl 50. it never forced you with hard stuff, or go full crazy mode on a hard mechanic in game. It wants you try a little bit of everything and gives you a reward for it. I wish EVERY game was approaching plats this way.)
๐ Full Review:
Overall this game is better in every way from the 1st game. This game is absolutely one of the most gorgeous games i have ever played. The attention to detail is so immense here that its mind boggling and it elevates everything you do in this game. For example, when you walk in wet sand vs dry sand, the dust of the sand reacts differently WTF!!!! If this game told me to walk 10 minutes to go collect a pile of dung from one of the machines I would do it without hesitation. The game is that beautiful and atmospheric. It has every weather type, terrain type. The landscape, and the world building is mind blowing.
What I appreciated horizon for and nails it here is a sense of culture and "aliveness" in the world. Everything you come across though fiction seems COMPLETELY plausible. Every major city is a different architecture and culture filled with architecture wonders. The citizens adapted to the circumstances just like real world. amazing.
The combat is easier and all the gripes i had about the last game were fixed here. The dodge actually works. The monsters still knock you off balance but they aren't CONSTANTLY doing it. I couldnt even aim properly in the old game vs large beasts since everything was always shaking!! I personally think combat in horizong zero dawn is broken. Here its good. Few gripes still, that I can never seem to pick up a large machine because any small hit from a monster you drop it and then take 10 minutes to pick it up and ramp up the gun. Though I tinkered with other guns, nothing beats the bow. Too bad. I felt in the old game all guns had some use. In old game because it was harder i felt i needed to combo more with elemental (ice + dps). here i just used regular arrows mostly. Maybe my experience in Hoirzon1 made it really easy for me.
Pros:
GOREGOUS GAME and world + culture building
Cool main story, goes places. Though ending doesn't make any sense, i didn't care.
New machines are fun
Pleasant to platinum
Cons:
combat is still not 100% polished. apart from bow and occasional stealth, nothing else seems to be useful.
though free roaming is better than horizon1 its just not really there so its almost useless and you just go back to taking the road. ex: cant actually climb cliffs all the way up like in BOTW.
aloy constant whispering under loud music. Guess they didnโt learn from the first one.
one dimensional characters. Was fine for me though. I came here for action and graphics.
โ Time played - 43h
๐Trophy completion - 100% - (no new game + but platinum. This game respects your time and if you enjoy the game do it. The only grind was getting to lvl 50. it never forced you with hard stuff, or go full crazy mode on a hard mechanic in game. It wants you try a little bit of everything and gives you a reward for it. I wish EVERY game was approaching plats this way.)
๐ Full Review:
Overall this game is better in every way from the 1st game. This game is absolutely one of the most gorgeous games i have ever played. The attention to detail is so immense here that its mind boggling and it elevates everything you do in this game. For example, when you walk in wet sand vs dry sand, the dust of the sand reacts differently WTF!!!! If this game told me to walk 10 minutes to go collect a pile of dung from one of the machines I would do it without hesitation. The game is that beautiful and atmospheric. It has every weather type, terrain type. The landscape, and the world building is mind blowing.
What I appreciated horizon for and nails it here is a sense of culture and "aliveness" in the world. Everything you come across though fiction seems COMPLETELY plausible. Every major city is a different architecture and culture filled with architecture wonders. The citizens adapted to the circumstances just like real world. amazing.
The combat is easier and all the gripes i had about the last game were fixed here. The dodge actually works. The monsters still knock you off balance but they aren't CONSTANTLY doing it. I couldnt even aim properly in the old game vs large beasts since everything was always shaking!! I personally think combat in horizong zero dawn is broken. Here its good. Few gripes still, that I can never seem to pick up a large machine because any small hit from a monster you drop it and then take 10 minutes to pick it up and ramp up the gun. Though I tinkered with other guns, nothing beats the bow. Too bad. I felt in the old game all guns had some use. In old game because it was harder i felt i needed to combo more with elemental (ice + dps). here i just used regular arrows mostly. Maybe my experience in Hoirzon1 made it really easy for me.
Pros:
GOREGOUS GAME and world + culture building
Cool main story, goes places. Though ending doesn't make any sense, i didn't care.
New machines are fun
Pleasant to platinum
Cons:
combat is still not 100% polished. apart from bow and occasional stealth, nothing else seems to be useful.
though free roaming is better than horizon1 its just not really there so its almost useless and you just go back to taking the road. ex: cant actually climb cliffs all the way up like in BOTW.
aloy constant whispering under loud music. Guess they didnโt learn from the first one.
one dimensional characters. Was fine for me though. I came here for action and graphics.
2012
๐ฎ Platform: PSNow Streaming
โ Time played- 8h
๐Trophy completion - 40% - just waht you get from finishing the game. Wasn't at all interested in the game to figure out what trophies i wanted to chase. once the game was done i was super done.
๐ Full Review:
Simply put the game is a poor man's god of war with very angsty shounen/dragonball z like combat thrown in. If you are a huge fan of this sort of anime you wil love this. For me its completely one dimensional. ANGST, angst and more angst. For someone who absolutely loves god of war, its one dimenional character, and its angst, that game had good game play, mythology, world building to back up the angst. This game teases you at a really cool world, but never explains anything, and eventually you loose interest, and all that is left is QTE button mashing and same looking fights over and over agian. Started off great, ended up not caring.
Pros:
really cool world. I wish they actually told you about the mysteries of the world
Cinematic
Cons
BEWARE!!!! Extra levels and DLC are behind a requirement gate, that requires you to replay levels. Either get 6 s ranks (maybe its easy) or play the game 2.5x over. Either is not interesting to me on a 3/5 game. Absolutely the stupidest decision.
No world building
Repetitive and uninteresting combat
Every boss does the same thing, aoe lighting damage stuff or a beam to hit your face
Generic father tries to save his daughter story
Feels like GoW ripoff (sorry)
โ Time played- 8h
๐Trophy completion - 40% - just waht you get from finishing the game. Wasn't at all interested in the game to figure out what trophies i wanted to chase. once the game was done i was super done.
๐ Full Review:
Simply put the game is a poor man's god of war with very angsty shounen/dragonball z like combat thrown in. If you are a huge fan of this sort of anime you wil love this. For me its completely one dimensional. ANGST, angst and more angst. For someone who absolutely loves god of war, its one dimenional character, and its angst, that game had good game play, mythology, world building to back up the angst. This game teases you at a really cool world, but never explains anything, and eventually you loose interest, and all that is left is QTE button mashing and same looking fights over and over agian. Started off great, ended up not caring.
Pros:
really cool world. I wish they actually told you about the mysteries of the world
Cinematic
Cons
BEWARE!!!! Extra levels and DLC are behind a requirement gate, that requires you to replay levels. Either get 6 s ranks (maybe its easy) or play the game 2.5x over. Either is not interesting to me on a 3/5 game. Absolutely the stupidest decision.
No world building
Repetitive and uninteresting combat
Every boss does the same thing, aoe lighting damage stuff or a beam to hit your face
Generic father tries to save his daughter story
Feels like GoW ripoff (sorry)
2019
๐ฎ Platform: Windows PC
โ Time to finish - 2h (with some trophy hunting)
๐Trophy completion - 50% - Some of the trophies are very easy and some are really F** hard. I did the easy ones. Its the kind of game that requires repeated plays to memorize the patterns and hone in your muscle memory. Due to the speed at which things move, its going to require lots of practice. Guitar Hero style. If you love this game and love honing in muscle memory, then I am sure you can achieve it. But its not easy 100%.
๐ Full Review:
This game reminded me a lot of Journey but set at a much much faster pace with a lot more visuals.
I really enjoyed this game. Do yourself a favor and buy it on something where you can play it on your gigantic TV. I made the mistake of buying it on my pc because it was cheaper. This game NEEDS to be run on your full TV/audio setup!
Its a visual and audio feast and probably one of the best in this genre. If you love this interactive music video genre you owe yourself to play this. There is enough variety here, but I do wish that there was more. Ultimately majority of the levels seem to have you riding/skateboarding down a street and collecting hearts. Some levels were varied up from this, I wish they had more of it. My fav was the level where track and obstacles switch every major beat. Similar to some super mario levels set to a beat. There is also tons of replayability here, if you just need a visual experience or want to hone in your skills.
Play this game in the best audio video experience you can!
Pros:
A visual and auditory feast
Lots of replay value and can be easily addictive. Short game however.
A unique experience I see myself showing others
the easy trophies were fun to do and gave me a reason to revisit the levels outside of just trying to beat my score.
generally an easy game, with a simple control set, so ANYONE can play this.
Cons:
The camera moves ALOT and very fast, so its very easy to miss hearts if you are going for any achievements. If you are just enjoying it won't make a diff.
Because the camera moves a lot and the tracks twist, sometimes you get confused and bump into things you thought you were going to clear. Its fine, since there has to be some challenge here. :) I assume if you have experience with these sorts of games (i don't) you wont have as much issue.
โ Time to finish - 2h (with some trophy hunting)
๐Trophy completion - 50% - Some of the trophies are very easy and some are really F** hard. I did the easy ones. Its the kind of game that requires repeated plays to memorize the patterns and hone in your muscle memory. Due to the speed at which things move, its going to require lots of practice. Guitar Hero style. If you love this game and love honing in muscle memory, then I am sure you can achieve it. But its not easy 100%.
๐ Full Review:
This game reminded me a lot of Journey but set at a much much faster pace with a lot more visuals.
I really enjoyed this game. Do yourself a favor and buy it on something where you can play it on your gigantic TV. I made the mistake of buying it on my pc because it was cheaper. This game NEEDS to be run on your full TV/audio setup!
Its a visual and audio feast and probably one of the best in this genre. If you love this interactive music video genre you owe yourself to play this. There is enough variety here, but I do wish that there was more. Ultimately majority of the levels seem to have you riding/skateboarding down a street and collecting hearts. Some levels were varied up from this, I wish they had more of it. My fav was the level where track and obstacles switch every major beat. Similar to some super mario levels set to a beat. There is also tons of replayability here, if you just need a visual experience or want to hone in your skills.
Play this game in the best audio video experience you can!
Pros:
A visual and auditory feast
Lots of replay value and can be easily addictive. Short game however.
A unique experience I see myself showing others
the easy trophies were fun to do and gave me a reason to revisit the levels outside of just trying to beat my score.
generally an easy game, with a simple control set, so ANYONE can play this.
Cons:
The camera moves ALOT and very fast, so its very easy to miss hearts if you are going for any achievements. If you are just enjoying it won't make a diff.
Because the camera moves a lot and the tracks twist, sometimes you get confused and bump into things you thought you were going to clear. Its fine, since there has to be some challenge here. :) I assume if you have experience with these sorts of games (i don't) you wont have as much issue.
1998
๐ฎ Platform: Windows PC - Duckstation Emulation
โ Time to finish - 9h
Difficulty - though a fairly easily game, but due to inaccurate controls and old design, the game can feel hard at times, forcing you to replay significant sections. Save often or like me save state scum. :)
I've never played this game and it shows up all the time in must play games lists. Though its old and it shows, it was still a great game and mostly stands up to the test of time. This is my first MGS title. I overall enjoyed the story, but also found myself most of the time lost on who these characters were, as I felt that I was missing a ton of backstory. I am not sure if that was the intent. The story itself reminded me a lot of James Bond or Mission Impossible. The story and voice acting and the depth of the story is the standout here. Everything else is ok, and passable, keeping in mind this was made in 1998. This sets a stage for what is to come and I will definitely be diving in the rest of the games in the series! I can tell Kojima had such a grand vision for this game but the hardware did not allow it.
Pros:
Awesome story, voice acting, and unique characters.
Action never lets up and generally a pretty linear game
Great boss fights especially Psycho Mantis.
Cons:
Story and characters confusing. Story seems to assume you know some backstory from other games?
The controls are very inaccurate making for some VERY frustrating battle sequences, especially the last fight in the game with the car chase. OMG that was frustrating.
No depth in stealth though it seems like a stealth game. Its basically avoid enemies, and enemies are horribly stupid.
Last boss fight was weak and just never seemed to end
Sexist dialogue. You know what I am talking about. Can the Japanese men grow up yet? Oh wait anime in 2022 is also very sexist. Ugh!
โ Time to finish - 9h
Difficulty - though a fairly easily game, but due to inaccurate controls and old design, the game can feel hard at times, forcing you to replay significant sections. Save often or like me save state scum. :)
I've never played this game and it shows up all the time in must play games lists. Though its old and it shows, it was still a great game and mostly stands up to the test of time. This is my first MGS title. I overall enjoyed the story, but also found myself most of the time lost on who these characters were, as I felt that I was missing a ton of backstory. I am not sure if that was the intent. The story itself reminded me a lot of James Bond or Mission Impossible. The story and voice acting and the depth of the story is the standout here. Everything else is ok, and passable, keeping in mind this was made in 1998. This sets a stage for what is to come and I will definitely be diving in the rest of the games in the series! I can tell Kojima had such a grand vision for this game but the hardware did not allow it.
Pros:
Awesome story, voice acting, and unique characters.
Action never lets up and generally a pretty linear game
Great boss fights especially Psycho Mantis.
Cons:
Story and characters confusing. Story seems to assume you know some backstory from other games?
The controls are very inaccurate making for some VERY frustrating battle sequences, especially the last fight in the game with the car chase. OMG that was frustrating.
No depth in stealth though it seems like a stealth game. Its basically avoid enemies, and enemies are horribly stupid.
Last boss fight was weak and just never seemed to end
Sexist dialogue. You know what I am talking about. Can the Japanese men grow up yet? Oh wait anime in 2022 is also very sexist. Ugh!
2019
๐ฎ Platform: Windows PC
โ Time to abandon - 1.5h
This is a fine game. It falls into the category of games with one trick pony and if you like the gimmick you will like the game. Often with these games i play a little bit and the trick gets old. For example unpacking.
The game is fun and silly with a theme of being a goose! You really feel like a goose lol. A goose, that is a pain in the ass to people and getting away with mischief. Its pretty fun up to a certain point. The animations are pretty nice too and the model moves and acts like a real goose. You basically have tasks to do that cause mischief, and how you complete the tasks are a little bit of a puzzle. Though most are not hard, there are some which can take time to figure out, or are tedious and you have to keep retrying.
After about 3 levels, i felt i seen enough, as the charm started to wear off and it got repetitive and tedious. I suggest doing the same as its definitely worth experincing.
โ Time to abandon - 1.5h
This is a fine game. It falls into the category of games with one trick pony and if you like the gimmick you will like the game. Often with these games i play a little bit and the trick gets old. For example unpacking.
The game is fun and silly with a theme of being a goose! You really feel like a goose lol. A goose, that is a pain in the ass to people and getting away with mischief. Its pretty fun up to a certain point. The animations are pretty nice too and the model moves and acts like a real goose. You basically have tasks to do that cause mischief, and how you complete the tasks are a little bit of a puzzle. Though most are not hard, there are some which can take time to figure out, or are tedious and you have to keep retrying.
After about 3 levels, i felt i seen enough, as the charm started to wear off and it got repetitive and tedious. I suggest doing the same as its definitely worth experincing.
๐ฎ Platform: PS5
โ Time to finish - 10h
๐Trophy completion - 61% (Did all trophies in ch1, but then stopped in ch2 onwards. I do not recommend trophy on first play since it reduces immersion. Some trophies require you to replay mini games, reload a chapter to pick alternative dialogue options,. There is chapter select, but no sub chapter select, so you cannot go exactly where you need to and have to resort to strategic saves. I do not recommend to plat this though its easy. I wish they made this more like life is strange true colors where you can just jump where you need to for trophy.)
Overall I really liked this game. They learned from the mistakes of s2 and really picked it up a notch here, though not as good as s1, still very enjoyable. The game mixes, slow character development beats, with tension /conflict, and tough decisions. Story is memorable as s1 was. Definitely a must play as they go back to the s1 roots here.
Pros:
touching/emotional story, focuses on AJ + Clem relationship as s1 focused on clem + lee
Captivating story and well written even if we've seen the theme before or basically humans fighting humans again
Character growth for clem + AJ was nice to watch
Cons:
The QuickTime events + mini games are less forgiving, and sometimes felt undefined in their goal. So I kept dying and getting frustrated.
QuickTime events did not capture key presses so sometimes i had to spam the keys just before quick time events even showed up on screen.
Sometimes the team/character building beats were boring. Clichรฉ, campfire truth or dare type chats to reveal people's inner motivations.
Game looks ugly to me. Its werid 3d comic book black and white but not really. Looked odd.
not automatic 100% trophy like before
โ Time to finish - 10h
๐Trophy completion - 61% (Did all trophies in ch1, but then stopped in ch2 onwards. I do not recommend trophy on first play since it reduces immersion. Some trophies require you to replay mini games, reload a chapter to pick alternative dialogue options,. There is chapter select, but no sub chapter select, so you cannot go exactly where you need to and have to resort to strategic saves. I do not recommend to plat this though its easy. I wish they made this more like life is strange true colors where you can just jump where you need to for trophy.)
Overall I really liked this game. They learned from the mistakes of s2 and really picked it up a notch here, though not as good as s1, still very enjoyable. The game mixes, slow character development beats, with tension /conflict, and tough decisions. Story is memorable as s1 was. Definitely a must play as they go back to the s1 roots here.
Pros:
touching/emotional story, focuses on AJ + Clem relationship as s1 focused on clem + lee
Captivating story and well written even if we've seen the theme before or basically humans fighting humans again
Character growth for clem + AJ was nice to watch
Cons:
The QuickTime events + mini games are less forgiving, and sometimes felt undefined in their goal. So I kept dying and getting frustrated.
QuickTime events did not capture key presses so sometimes i had to spam the keys just before quick time events even showed up on screen.
Sometimes the team/character building beats were boring. Clichรฉ, campfire truth or dare type chats to reveal people's inner motivations.
Game looks ugly to me. Its werid 3d comic book black and white but not really. Looked odd.
not automatic 100% trophy like before
2021
๐ฎ Platform: Switch OLED
โ Time to finish - 8.5h
๐Trophy completion - 100% (fun to complete!)
I really enjoyed Bowser's fury. It felt to me like super mario odyssey lite + Super mario 3d world lite mashed together. If you like either of these, there is no reason you would not like this. Its a full 3d version of SM 3d world. Some of the challenges and levels remind me of what you see in SMO and SM 3d world. Go play it!
Pros:
Charm and graphics are still top notch
Platforming is fun!
Fun to 100%
Bowser Jr. is so silly :)
Cons:
Big Bowser fights camera is hard to control
Variety (though I didn't mind the repetetive rabbit, plessie runs)
โ Time to finish - 8.5h
๐Trophy completion - 100% (fun to complete!)
I really enjoyed Bowser's fury. It felt to me like super mario odyssey lite + Super mario 3d world lite mashed together. If you like either of these, there is no reason you would not like this. Its a full 3d version of SM 3d world. Some of the challenges and levels remind me of what you see in SMO and SM 3d world. Go play it!
Pros:
Charm and graphics are still top notch
Platforming is fun!
Fun to 100%
Bowser Jr. is so silly :)
Cons:
Big Bowser fights camera is hard to control
Variety (though I didn't mind the repetetive rabbit, plessie runs)
๐ฎ Platform: Nintendo Switch
โ Time to finish - 28h
Skyward Sword is exactly what every Zelda lover will want, a nice story, really intricate dungeons, varied combat, great puzzles, so I think if you love Zelda you will definitely love this game. However, I am slowly coming to realization that Zelda is not a game for me anymore. I was lost a lot in this game and did not have the patience to look for little environmental clues to help me keep going and just resorted to a guide. I don't want to play a game with using a guide so much. I am use to quest markers and other modern niceties. However, the guide kept the game moving at a good and enjoyable pace. The younger me would have had the patience for all this. Overall this was a good experience, but I think it could be a great one for a Zelda formula fan. I think I am done with Zelda after this.
Pros:
I loved the art style and touching origin story. Dare I say i liked the visuals here than BOTW.
Really cool dungeons and puzzles that come together. Really awesome design
Combat was varied among the bosses and mini bosses
Story feels epic. And it should, you learn about how the master sword came to being and alot of lore around the triforce.
Cons:
Controls are better but still very clunky. I almost gave up on the game in the prolouge when i could not get past the basic flying lessons level. After perseverence and switching to NON motion controls i got past it. Non motion controls were the best for me. Do keep in mind using right stick to do attacks takes getting use to. TIP: I had an 8bitdo controller, so i was able to use macros to make this easy.
Overall an easy game but couple boss fights are just straight up frustrating and NOT fun. One is a flying boss towards the end, and already the flying here is frustrating. You have to hit the boss at specific spots while he is moving and you are flying. SUPPER frustrating. The final final boss of the game is plain stupid. TIP: Use a damage reduction potion if you want to. He is fast and takes out 2 hearts per hit.... these 2 fights really soured my experience and together took at least 10 tries each. Really did not like seeing the last fight ramp up difficulty that hard.
even as a zelda expert I imagine some solutions are VERY obscure. For example, finding a tiny hole in a wall to get a key, going to a random place in the world map to play a song, some abilities help you find them but without a guide I was getting frustrated FAST and running in circles
There is definitely a bit of filler content. For example levels where you collect orbs without getting caught. It happens at least 3 times and re-uses the same levels. Another level you literally just loose all you stuff for NO reason and have to go retrieve it one by one.. WHY?
โ Time to finish - 28h
Skyward Sword is exactly what every Zelda lover will want, a nice story, really intricate dungeons, varied combat, great puzzles, so I think if you love Zelda you will definitely love this game. However, I am slowly coming to realization that Zelda is not a game for me anymore. I was lost a lot in this game and did not have the patience to look for little environmental clues to help me keep going and just resorted to a guide. I don't want to play a game with using a guide so much. I am use to quest markers and other modern niceties. However, the guide kept the game moving at a good and enjoyable pace. The younger me would have had the patience for all this. Overall this was a good experience, but I think it could be a great one for a Zelda formula fan. I think I am done with Zelda after this.
Pros:
I loved the art style and touching origin story. Dare I say i liked the visuals here than BOTW.
Really cool dungeons and puzzles that come together. Really awesome design
Combat was varied among the bosses and mini bosses
Story feels epic. And it should, you learn about how the master sword came to being and alot of lore around the triforce.
Cons:
Controls are better but still very clunky. I almost gave up on the game in the prolouge when i could not get past the basic flying lessons level. After perseverence and switching to NON motion controls i got past it. Non motion controls were the best for me. Do keep in mind using right stick to do attacks takes getting use to. TIP: I had an 8bitdo controller, so i was able to use macros to make this easy.
Overall an easy game but couple boss fights are just straight up frustrating and NOT fun. One is a flying boss towards the end, and already the flying here is frustrating. You have to hit the boss at specific spots while he is moving and you are flying. SUPPER frustrating. The final final boss of the game is plain stupid. TIP: Use a damage reduction potion if you want to. He is fast and takes out 2 hearts per hit.... these 2 fights really soured my experience and together took at least 10 tries each. Really did not like seeing the last fight ramp up difficulty that hard.
even as a zelda expert I imagine some solutions are VERY obscure. For example, finding a tiny hole in a wall to get a key, going to a random place in the world map to play a song, some abilities help you find them but without a guide I was getting frustrated FAST and running in circles
There is definitely a bit of filler content. For example levels where you collect orbs without getting caught. It happens at least 3 times and re-uses the same levels. Another level you literally just loose all you stuff for NO reason and have to go retrieve it one by one.. WHY?
2020
๐ฎ Platform: PS5
โ Time to finish - 4h
๐Trophy completion - 100%
If you love puzzle games you will like this game. Its a short and sweet game with good puzzles. It reminded me a lot of puzzles from breath of the wild. The game also has a less puzzle mode which I reallly appreciate for if kids want to play this game, or you are not into hard puzzles. For someone like me who doesn't often play puzzle games and also generally not the most observant for puzzle games, i found about 60-70% doable without any hints or help. The others I did have to look up for clues.
The graphics and music is also charming. I really like these cell shaded type look of alot of these indie games. Overall give it a whirl but don't prioritize it high unless you love puzzle games. Oh also, 100% trophy for this game is unmissable, you just get it as you solve all the puzzles. That's a nice bonus! :)
โ Time to finish - 4h
๐Trophy completion - 100%
If you love puzzle games you will like this game. Its a short and sweet game with good puzzles. It reminded me a lot of puzzles from breath of the wild. The game also has a less puzzle mode which I reallly appreciate for if kids want to play this game, or you are not into hard puzzles. For someone like me who doesn't often play puzzle games and also generally not the most observant for puzzle games, i found about 60-70% doable without any hints or help. The others I did have to look up for clues.
The graphics and music is also charming. I really like these cell shaded type look of alot of these indie games. Overall give it a whirl but don't prioritize it high unless you love puzzle games. Oh also, 100% trophy for this game is unmissable, you just get it as you solve all the puzzles. That's a nice bonus! :)
2019
๐งพ Summary:
This is my first experience with Luigi's Mansion series and I absolutely loved this game. I couldn't put it down and not once was I bored. Everything about this game is fun. I love the levels are bit size, creative, somewhat linear so you can't get lost, and i loved the puzzles and boss battles. This game has some of the most creative boss battles I have ever seen. Its more about figuring out the trick about the boss than it is repetition and skill. Nothing in this game is overly hard but its executed so well. It knows what it wants and goes for it. I feel this game is a sleeper hit and needs to be talked about more. The only issue i had with this game is somewhat clunky 2.5d twin stick aiming. I have issues with that in other 2.5d aiming games as well so this is no different. Play this game now!! Its one of the best feel good games i ever played.
๐ Full Review:
๐ฎ Platform: Nintendo Switch
โ Time to finish - 13.5h
๐Trophy completion - Did not go out of my way to get any.
๐คฌDifficulty - Not at all very hard and I appreciate that. I never got lost, the puzzles were a little bit of a reach but not too much of a reach, the boss battles were so fun to figure out. Its a tiny stretch and when you get past something it feels so rewarding!
๐Graphics โ A+
Nintendo first party games are absolutely beautiful. This game is no exception. It invokes a sense of silly scared feeling than any other game i played. All the characters look so good and fluid.
๐ฆ Atmosphere/Music โ A+
Amazing score!!! I sometimes would just stop the game to hear the score. The atmosphere is perfectly nailed.
๐ Main Story / Characters โ A
I realllly liked Luigi here and can't just help but feel for his scaredy cat nature. I feel in this game you actually get to fully feel his personality. I won't spoil it but at a certain point of the game they juxtapose what Mario does with what Luigi does and its so funny! Despite all that, Luigi conquers and if not does more than mario in this game. Thats a great message for kids!! Main story is fun and exactly what I expected. :) The real gem is every character you come across has their own personality and quirks, including the bosses.
๐คบ Combat โ A
Boss battles amazing! Even kill regular trash ghosts was fun! Ghosts drag you and you have to pull the other way. It was always engaging and fun even after the 100th ghost. I think they should be commended for even making trash mob killing fun. They also mix up combat every so often to break the routine, that force you to appraoch battle in different ways. FOr example poltercat.
๐งญ Side Activities / Exploration โ B
I did a few of them but alot of it comes down to going through hidden pipes, sucking up items etc. Its ok. Wouldn't go out of my way for it. Its a fairly linear game so not much to explore.
๐ Movement/Physics โ B+
Over all its great. But the twin stick aiming in mention in intro can be clunky and has gotten me killed in boss battles because he didn't aim in the right direction in time. The worst offender was the final boss battle where the timing is very short.
๐ฃ Voice acting โ A
Minimal but great.
๐ฅ Best thing about the game - Everything. Its charming, its fun.
๐ Worst thing about the game - Twin stick control aiming.
[ if you liked the review throw me a like! โค๏ธ ]
This is my first experience with Luigi's Mansion series and I absolutely loved this game. I couldn't put it down and not once was I bored. Everything about this game is fun. I love the levels are bit size, creative, somewhat linear so you can't get lost, and i loved the puzzles and boss battles. This game has some of the most creative boss battles I have ever seen. Its more about figuring out the trick about the boss than it is repetition and skill. Nothing in this game is overly hard but its executed so well. It knows what it wants and goes for it. I feel this game is a sleeper hit and needs to be talked about more. The only issue i had with this game is somewhat clunky 2.5d twin stick aiming. I have issues with that in other 2.5d aiming games as well so this is no different. Play this game now!! Its one of the best feel good games i ever played.
๐ Full Review:
๐ฎ Platform: Nintendo Switch
โ Time to finish - 13.5h
๐Trophy completion - Did not go out of my way to get any.
๐คฌDifficulty - Not at all very hard and I appreciate that. I never got lost, the puzzles were a little bit of a reach but not too much of a reach, the boss battles were so fun to figure out. Its a tiny stretch and when you get past something it feels so rewarding!
๐Graphics โ A+
Nintendo first party games are absolutely beautiful. This game is no exception. It invokes a sense of silly scared feeling than any other game i played. All the characters look so good and fluid.
๐ฆ Atmosphere/Music โ A+
Amazing score!!! I sometimes would just stop the game to hear the score. The atmosphere is perfectly nailed.
๐ Main Story / Characters โ A
I realllly liked Luigi here and can't just help but feel for his scaredy cat nature. I feel in this game you actually get to fully feel his personality. I won't spoil it but at a certain point of the game they juxtapose what Mario does with what Luigi does and its so funny! Despite all that, Luigi conquers and if not does more than mario in this game. Thats a great message for kids!! Main story is fun and exactly what I expected. :) The real gem is every character you come across has their own personality and quirks, including the bosses.
๐คบ Combat โ A
Boss battles amazing! Even kill regular trash ghosts was fun! Ghosts drag you and you have to pull the other way. It was always engaging and fun even after the 100th ghost. I think they should be commended for even making trash mob killing fun. They also mix up combat every so often to break the routine, that force you to appraoch battle in different ways. FOr example poltercat.
๐งญ Side Activities / Exploration โ B
I did a few of them but alot of it comes down to going through hidden pipes, sucking up items etc. Its ok. Wouldn't go out of my way for it. Its a fairly linear game so not much to explore.
๐ Movement/Physics โ B+
Over all its great. But the twin stick aiming in mention in intro can be clunky and has gotten me killed in boss battles because he didn't aim in the right direction in time. The worst offender was the final boss battle where the timing is very short.
๐ฃ Voice acting โ A
Minimal but great.
๐ฅ Best thing about the game - Everything. Its charming, its fun.
๐ Worst thing about the game - Twin stick control aiming.
[ if you liked the review throw me a like! โค๏ธ ]
2021
--- Summary, Full Review ---
๐งพ Summary:
This is my 3rd metroid game, super metroid and fusion being others a decade ago. The hype is real. Metroid Dread is an excellent game and I loved every bit of it. Its a slower metroidvania and since I generally suck at these games, I liked the focus on range combat so I know what I am getting myself into before rushing in head first. The game looks gorgeous, Samus runs so smooth and fluid, the combat and boss monsters are hard as F***, but rewarding to learn to defeat. As someone who easily gets lost in games, I found myself looking up things here and there but not very often. Game subtly points you in the right direction and I loved that here. My real gripe with this game are the EMMI. They are often a crapshoot and not fun when you get caught. I really dislike elements that completely stop you from playing, aka near certain death, which is what an EMMI is. THe last boss was hard as hell, and took me 3 hours but i beat him!!! This is not only due to his difficulty but partially clunky and conflicting controls. I felt so accomplished!! I am hyped to try other metroid games. Lets deep dive on this in full review!
๐ Full Review:
๐ฎ Platform: Nintendo Switch
โ Time to finish - 14h ( clear time 8.5h, played 14h. I don't understand this but that's what the game reported...I think a more skilled player could have beaten it in much shorter time. I think every boss took me 4-5 tries. Last one taking almost 3 hours.) It feels a little long, but I must have had idled the game somewhere and not know it.
๐Trophy completion - 32% complete reported on end screen.
๐คฌDifficulty - Played on normal and this game feels hard to very/ultra hard for me. I loved that the game gives you rocket and hp replenish as you kill trash, this was very motivating when i was low on HP. But the hard part of this game are the bosses and the mini bosses. Some bosses took me hours to beat looking up strats online about their phases and then honing my skill in. I found all bosses fair except the last boss. In one phase you need screw attack around the boss bullets, and screw attack is clunky and inaccurate and if you get hit you drop shit ton of HP. Eventually i got past his 4 phases.... this game is one of the hardest games I played, however, each attempt i got slowly better so it motivated me to keep going. Thats mark of a good design.
๐Graphics โ A+
Nintendo first party games are absolutely beautiful. This game is no exception. Lots of varied environments and color. I have seen other games in similar otherworldly settings that are crap to look at.
๐ฆ Atmosphere/Music โ A+
Amazing score. Amazing atmosphere. The setting feels alive and has a very diverse biome. It was interesting to see what creatures inhabited this planet ready to tear me into pieces. I was constatly glued and engrossed in the world and anticipating what the next room would reveal.
๐ Main Story / Characters โ B
The story was fine. It was good enough for keeping the game cohesive and gluing everything together. Maybe If i knew more about Metroid lore it would have meant something more to me?
๐คบ Combat โ A
Really loved the combat here, from killing trash to boss battles. As I mentioned before, i loved the range focused combat as I am a slower player.
๐งญ Side Activities / Exploration โ A+
Uncovering a room or figuring out how to get to an undiscovered spot was always a thrill. The level design of this game is amazing how everything hooks together. Wow! Its a genius in itself.
๐ Movement/Physics โ B+
Generally its great.... but when you are tense and need to execute in boss fights you see the issues.
I did find the controls to be a little clunky at times. You have to press multiple buttons while aiming twin sticks to do things like grapple, shoot rockets, charge things etc. I usually learn controls very quickly so I didn't have too much trouble but there were times in a boss fight when i turned into a morph ball when i wanted to dodge (its simply a difference between DOWN vs left/right), or i shot a rocket when i wanted to grapple. I felt alot of times i was pressing awkwardly multiple buttons. Straight Up jump does not invoke screw attack for double jump but, angled jumps do? Why... sometimes to avoid an attack i need to straight up jump and then double jump!!! this got me killed so many times. This was part of the issue why the last boss fight was hard for me. It kept doing the wrong thing so i basically had to relearn how to press buttons in the heat of the moment.
๐ฃ Voice acting โ A
Minimal but great.
๐ฅ Best thing about the game - Atomosphere, boss battles, level design
๐ Worst thing about the game - EMMI, clunky controls that get you killed
[ if you liked the review throw me a like! โค๏ธ ]
๐งพ Summary:
This is my 3rd metroid game, super metroid and fusion being others a decade ago. The hype is real. Metroid Dread is an excellent game and I loved every bit of it. Its a slower metroidvania and since I generally suck at these games, I liked the focus on range combat so I know what I am getting myself into before rushing in head first. The game looks gorgeous, Samus runs so smooth and fluid, the combat and boss monsters are hard as F***, but rewarding to learn to defeat. As someone who easily gets lost in games, I found myself looking up things here and there but not very often. Game subtly points you in the right direction and I loved that here. My real gripe with this game are the EMMI. They are often a crapshoot and not fun when you get caught. I really dislike elements that completely stop you from playing, aka near certain death, which is what an EMMI is. THe last boss was hard as hell, and took me 3 hours but i beat him!!! This is not only due to his difficulty but partially clunky and conflicting controls. I felt so accomplished!! I am hyped to try other metroid games. Lets deep dive on this in full review!
๐ Full Review:
๐ฎ Platform: Nintendo Switch
โ Time to finish - 14h ( clear time 8.5h, played 14h. I don't understand this but that's what the game reported...I think a more skilled player could have beaten it in much shorter time. I think every boss took me 4-5 tries. Last one taking almost 3 hours.) It feels a little long, but I must have had idled the game somewhere and not know it.
๐Trophy completion - 32% complete reported on end screen.
๐คฌDifficulty - Played on normal and this game feels hard to very/ultra hard for me. I loved that the game gives you rocket and hp replenish as you kill trash, this was very motivating when i was low on HP. But the hard part of this game are the bosses and the mini bosses. Some bosses took me hours to beat looking up strats online about their phases and then honing my skill in. I found all bosses fair except the last boss. In one phase you need screw attack around the boss bullets, and screw attack is clunky and inaccurate and if you get hit you drop shit ton of HP. Eventually i got past his 4 phases.... this game is one of the hardest games I played, however, each attempt i got slowly better so it motivated me to keep going. Thats mark of a good design.
๐Graphics โ A+
Nintendo first party games are absolutely beautiful. This game is no exception. Lots of varied environments and color. I have seen other games in similar otherworldly settings that are crap to look at.
๐ฆ Atmosphere/Music โ A+
Amazing score. Amazing atmosphere. The setting feels alive and has a very diverse biome. It was interesting to see what creatures inhabited this planet ready to tear me into pieces. I was constatly glued and engrossed in the world and anticipating what the next room would reveal.
๐ Main Story / Characters โ B
The story was fine. It was good enough for keeping the game cohesive and gluing everything together. Maybe If i knew more about Metroid lore it would have meant something more to me?
๐คบ Combat โ A
Really loved the combat here, from killing trash to boss battles. As I mentioned before, i loved the range focused combat as I am a slower player.
๐งญ Side Activities / Exploration โ A+
Uncovering a room or figuring out how to get to an undiscovered spot was always a thrill. The level design of this game is amazing how everything hooks together. Wow! Its a genius in itself.
๐ Movement/Physics โ B+
Generally its great.... but when you are tense and need to execute in boss fights you see the issues.
I did find the controls to be a little clunky at times. You have to press multiple buttons while aiming twin sticks to do things like grapple, shoot rockets, charge things etc. I usually learn controls very quickly so I didn't have too much trouble but there were times in a boss fight when i turned into a morph ball when i wanted to dodge (its simply a difference between DOWN vs left/right), or i shot a rocket when i wanted to grapple. I felt alot of times i was pressing awkwardly multiple buttons. Straight Up jump does not invoke screw attack for double jump but, angled jumps do? Why... sometimes to avoid an attack i need to straight up jump and then double jump!!! this got me killed so many times. This was part of the issue why the last boss fight was hard for me. It kept doing the wrong thing so i basically had to relearn how to press buttons in the heat of the moment.
๐ฃ Voice acting โ A
Minimal but great.
๐ฅ Best thing about the game - Atomosphere, boss battles, level design
๐ Worst thing about the game - EMMI, clunky controls that get you killed
[ if you liked the review throw me a like! โค๏ธ ]
2017
--- Short form review as I abandoned the game ---
Playtime: 3h
Status: Abandoned (50% game complete)
I can definitely see why people would be drawn to this game but I think its a hit or a miss game. The game is very much a follow Mae as she does random things, and if they remind you of your nostalgic experiences, you will like it. If not then you wont. I abandoned the game half way because I could see where it was going but I wasn't interested in finishing it. I can't say I was bored, i found it amusing but, I was also not interested beyond a certain point. The really breaking point for me was the dream sequences and the clunky platforming. i couldn't put up with that!
Pros:
like the art style and writing
Hanging out with Mae's friends reminded me of my younger carefree days.... ahhhh. But it was still hard to relate to what Mae and her friends were doing
I liked her loving parents
Cons:
Dumb platforming that really did me in.
not so fun mini games - like guitar hero, and others.
The story takes forever to hook you. But i can understand why, its a follow someone around their day style story.
Apparently the hook kicks in just after i abandoned the game. Lookin up the hook and ending I wasn't intersted
lots of reading!! even if its fun writing ... i don't like reading in games so much.
Playtime: 3h
Status: Abandoned (50% game complete)
I can definitely see why people would be drawn to this game but I think its a hit or a miss game. The game is very much a follow Mae as she does random things, and if they remind you of your nostalgic experiences, you will like it. If not then you wont. I abandoned the game half way because I could see where it was going but I wasn't interested in finishing it. I can't say I was bored, i found it amusing but, I was also not interested beyond a certain point. The really breaking point for me was the dream sequences and the clunky platforming. i couldn't put up with that!
Pros:
like the art style and writing
Hanging out with Mae's friends reminded me of my younger carefree days.... ahhhh. But it was still hard to relate to what Mae and her friends were doing
I liked her loving parents
Cons:
Dumb platforming that really did me in.
not so fun mini games - like guitar hero, and others.
The story takes forever to hook you. But i can understand why, its a follow someone around their day style story.
Apparently the hook kicks in just after i abandoned the game. Lookin up the hook and ending I wasn't intersted
lots of reading!! even if its fun writing ... i don't like reading in games so much.
Main game full review: https://www.backloggd.com/u/sairam71/review/414698/
If you liked the main game its more of the same. Yuffie is fun to control and a great addition to the cast. However, the game itself is not very interesting nor does it add much to the story. Chapter 1 is like chapter 14 of main game, chasing someone through shinra facility, its my least favorite chapter of the entire game. I didn't need a reminder of it and this DLC reminded me of it. chapter 2 is just combat simulator battle after combat simulator battle. I did enouhg of those in the main game. Yuffie is fun to control, but not in a, not so fun gameplay loop.
If you liked the main game its more of the same. Yuffie is fun to control and a great addition to the cast. However, the game itself is not very interesting nor does it add much to the story. Chapter 1 is like chapter 14 of main game, chasing someone through shinra facility, its my least favorite chapter of the entire game. I didn't need a reminder of it and this DLC reminded me of it. chapter 2 is just combat simulator battle after combat simulator battle. I did enouhg of those in the main game. Yuffie is fun to control, but not in a, not so fun gameplay loop.
--- Summary, Full Review + Trophy experience ---
๐งพ Summary:
This is my introduction into FF series and overall i had a great experience. Many of my views should be viewed from the eyes of a complete new comer. The game has the making of a near perfect game but stumbles heavily with its overly padded and boring levels at various parts of the game. The padding is so blatant that it reminds us that too much of a good thing, is still too much! Though so much time was spent on this game and its combat, its sorely lacking competent AI or AI programming that games like Tales of Arise have. FF7 is chalk full of things that are great, like its presentation, perfect looking character models (TIfa ๐ ), perfect cut scenes, voice acting, crazy boss battles and mini boss battles, and more,. I think its definitely worth playing. I wish they shortened the game and focused on the memorable parts! Lets dive in.
๐ Full Review:
๐ฎ Platform: PS5
โ Time to finish - 33h ( main game + 24 side quests + DLC + some challenges)
๐Trophy completion - 50% - This is absolutely a game I went in wanting to 100% and then realized that its horrible to 100%. There are difficulty trophies, many trophies are unlocked after MULTIPLE playthroughs of the same chapters. The chapter select always puts you at the start of a chapter and you cannot jump to mid chapter beats. You can't access combat simulators for those trophies without actually playing the chapter all over again. In addition the game is very boring at times, and Cloud moves deliberately slowly, and you have to put up with all that again and again. No thanks! Unless you are crazy about this game, I do not recommend a plat. I guarantee plat this game would drop this score to a 2.5/5.
๐คฌDifficulty - The game is generally fair in its difficulty. However, hard difficulty is very hard. You need to swap out gems, and have certain gear like Gotterdammerung to make hard manageable for regular skilled people. If you love a good challenge you will like hard. I don't want to spend that much time in a game getting good at it. I just need to get past hard for a platinum. :)
๐Graphics โ A+
The cut scenes in this game are absolutely amazing and perfect. I could just watch it over and over again. The graphics are great as well but you can only see post apocalyptic slums so long. The battle animations are excellent as well.
๐ฆ Atmosphere/Music โ A+
Amazing score. There are so many tracks that I never felt anything was repetitive.
๐ Main Story / Characters โ B
The story was fine. There is so much to say about it. It starts of about eco-terrorism. Not really a hook for me. Starts introducing supernatural elements and Sephiroth. Huh? Moves into full on genetic experimentation or something. Ends with boss after boss battles and an ancient race of beings introduced along with aliens. I didn't realize Shinra was an energy company, a military company, a genetics company, and more.
I really liked how fleshed out all the main characters were and they were all likeable. But they are all cliche characters. Of course the least interesting is the main character, as expected in rpgs, is well Cloud. Is this a rpg staple that the main char has to be the most boring one? and also reject women swooning over him for no reason?
I liked everyone else although. Barrett was your cliche tank brute with a soft spot for his daughter, Aerith was overly cute helpless girl, Tifa was sexy badass, wedge was your pudgie funny comic relief. Everyone just fits into the common tropes. I have a huge crush on Tifa!!
Reading others reviews there are some reveals at the end that are geared towards people who know the lore. I had no clue what these reveals meant and had to look it up. Still didnโt understand the implications. So some of the content is geared towards longtime fans.
๐คบ Combat โ B+
Trash mob combat - spam your square button. Not very interesting but flashy fast and fun.
Mini boss battles - hell house was a stand out. The mini bosses like Reno, Rude, hell house, roche, and more were so cool. I really liked all those fights!
Boss battles/vr - super fun!
I enjoyed playing with the materia setup. But some are just way more useful than others.
Overall my main gripe with combat is that you have to micro manage everything because there is no good AI or AI programming for your partners. AI also fill up their guages soooooo slowly... why?!?! Only char I did not like using was Aerith. Rest were fun! Towards the end i got tired of so much micro management, i just switched to easy come ch 15 or so.
๐งญ Side Activities / Exploration โ C
Boring side activities. Collect cats, kids, go kill a monster, which you already have done a 1000 times. Some activities are very tedious like pull up challenge. Box challenge was fun. There is soooo much to do in this game. Unfortunately lot of it is hit or miss.
The levels are also not very interesating. After a while you see hallways after hallways. And puzzles thrown in simply to slow your movement through them. The game deliberately pads its length. The worst offender is chapter 14. One of the main badasses loses a KEY to a sewer rat and you go on a 1.5 hr chase to get this key back. Are you kidding me?
๐ Movement/Physics โ D
I absolutely HATE how the game forces cloud to slow down his walking speed. This must have added at least an hour or more to the game and the big reason why I said forget 100% this game.
๐ฃ Voice acting โ A+
Excellent. The script however suffers from your classic JRPG tropes of a female throwing herself at a guy who is playing hard to get/acts like he doesnt care but does, and she is not self respecting enough to move on. So annoying! Can we get past the tennage angsty jprg scripts please.
๐ฅ Best thing about the game - Tifa and the cut scenes. The presentation and the boss battles.
๐ Worst thing about the game - Cloud's movement and padded gameplay.
๐๐๐ Trophy Tips ๐๐๐
Don't bother, but if you want to make sure you are lvl 50, fully leveled your materia (hp + MP + heal + synergy+more), and have gotten a Gotterdammerung .
[ if you liked the review throw me a like! โค๏ธ ]
๐งพ Summary:
This is my introduction into FF series and overall i had a great experience. Many of my views should be viewed from the eyes of a complete new comer. The game has the making of a near perfect game but stumbles heavily with its overly padded and boring levels at various parts of the game. The padding is so blatant that it reminds us that too much of a good thing, is still too much! Though so much time was spent on this game and its combat, its sorely lacking competent AI or AI programming that games like Tales of Arise have. FF7 is chalk full of things that are great, like its presentation, perfect looking character models (TIfa ๐ ), perfect cut scenes, voice acting, crazy boss battles and mini boss battles, and more,. I think its definitely worth playing. I wish they shortened the game and focused on the memorable parts! Lets dive in.
๐ Full Review:
๐ฎ Platform: PS5
โ Time to finish - 33h ( main game + 24 side quests + DLC + some challenges)
๐Trophy completion - 50% - This is absolutely a game I went in wanting to 100% and then realized that its horrible to 100%. There are difficulty trophies, many trophies are unlocked after MULTIPLE playthroughs of the same chapters. The chapter select always puts you at the start of a chapter and you cannot jump to mid chapter beats. You can't access combat simulators for those trophies without actually playing the chapter all over again. In addition the game is very boring at times, and Cloud moves deliberately slowly, and you have to put up with all that again and again. No thanks! Unless you are crazy about this game, I do not recommend a plat. I guarantee plat this game would drop this score to a 2.5/5.
๐คฌDifficulty - The game is generally fair in its difficulty. However, hard difficulty is very hard. You need to swap out gems, and have certain gear like Gotterdammerung to make hard manageable for regular skilled people. If you love a good challenge you will like hard. I don't want to spend that much time in a game getting good at it. I just need to get past hard for a platinum. :)
๐Graphics โ A+
The cut scenes in this game are absolutely amazing and perfect. I could just watch it over and over again. The graphics are great as well but you can only see post apocalyptic slums so long. The battle animations are excellent as well.
๐ฆ Atmosphere/Music โ A+
Amazing score. There are so many tracks that I never felt anything was repetitive.
๐ Main Story / Characters โ B
The story was fine. There is so much to say about it. It starts of about eco-terrorism. Not really a hook for me. Starts introducing supernatural elements and Sephiroth. Huh? Moves into full on genetic experimentation or something. Ends with boss after boss battles and an ancient race of beings introduced along with aliens. I didn't realize Shinra was an energy company, a military company, a genetics company, and more.
I really liked how fleshed out all the main characters were and they were all likeable. But they are all cliche characters. Of course the least interesting is the main character, as expected in rpgs, is well Cloud. Is this a rpg staple that the main char has to be the most boring one? and also reject women swooning over him for no reason?
I liked everyone else although. Barrett was your cliche tank brute with a soft spot for his daughter, Aerith was overly cute helpless girl, Tifa was sexy badass, wedge was your pudgie funny comic relief. Everyone just fits into the common tropes. I have a huge crush on Tifa!!
Reading others reviews there are some reveals at the end that are geared towards people who know the lore. I had no clue what these reveals meant and had to look it up. Still didnโt understand the implications. So some of the content is geared towards longtime fans.
๐คบ Combat โ B+
Trash mob combat - spam your square button. Not very interesting but flashy fast and fun.
Mini boss battles - hell house was a stand out. The mini bosses like Reno, Rude, hell house, roche, and more were so cool. I really liked all those fights!
Boss battles/vr - super fun!
I enjoyed playing with the materia setup. But some are just way more useful than others.
Overall my main gripe with combat is that you have to micro manage everything because there is no good AI or AI programming for your partners. AI also fill up their guages soooooo slowly... why?!?! Only char I did not like using was Aerith. Rest were fun! Towards the end i got tired of so much micro management, i just switched to easy come ch 15 or so.
๐งญ Side Activities / Exploration โ C
Boring side activities. Collect cats, kids, go kill a monster, which you already have done a 1000 times. Some activities are very tedious like pull up challenge. Box challenge was fun. There is soooo much to do in this game. Unfortunately lot of it is hit or miss.
The levels are also not very interesating. After a while you see hallways after hallways. And puzzles thrown in simply to slow your movement through them. The game deliberately pads its length. The worst offender is chapter 14. One of the main badasses loses a KEY to a sewer rat and you go on a 1.5 hr chase to get this key back. Are you kidding me?
๐ Movement/Physics โ D
I absolutely HATE how the game forces cloud to slow down his walking speed. This must have added at least an hour or more to the game and the big reason why I said forget 100% this game.
๐ฃ Voice acting โ A+
Excellent. The script however suffers from your classic JRPG tropes of a female throwing herself at a guy who is playing hard to get/acts like he doesnt care but does, and she is not self respecting enough to move on. So annoying! Can we get past the tennage angsty jprg scripts please.
๐ฅ Best thing about the game - Tifa and the cut scenes. The presentation and the boss battles.
๐ Worst thing about the game - Cloud's movement and padded gameplay.
๐๐๐ Trophy Tips ๐๐๐
Don't bother, but if you want to make sure you are lvl 50, fully leveled your materia (hp + MP + heal + synergy+more), and have gotten a Gotterdammerung .
[ if you liked the review throw me a like! โค๏ธ ]