I never review DLC, but my god this may be the worst expansion I’ve ever played.

Just awful level design, completely missing the mark of what makes Fallout New Vegas so great. So much boring combat when the gunplay is the worst thing about the game. The story is fine, but the agony that is caused from how unfun it is to play overshadows it greatly. The collar stuff has to be some of the most annoying, frustrating, and pointless nonsense I’ve ever seen. Why make exploration as frustrating as possible? Add the toxic gas stupidity into it and I’ve had enough. There had to be a board meeting where everyone asked, “what’s the worst thing about this game? Let’s make an entire expansion based on it (combat) and make every moment excruciatingly painful and tedious.” What a disaster of an expansion.

Actual GOAT contender. Absolutely play this. It's an RPG but it's also a novel. It's so fucking funny but it's also just so bold and and in your face. Revachol will go down as one of the most memorable video game locations of all time. An amazing piece of art in every aspect. The thought cabinet is such an innovative piece of RPG gameplay that I seriously hope other devs take inspiration from this. Pirate it tho, or play free however you can, the creators lost control of the IP in a hostile takeover, it's a sad story, def play the game tho.

Better than Silent Hill Ascension, that’s for sure.

Such a mixed experience. It has moments of greatness, but some major low points sprinkled throughout sour the game. The end chase sequence was abysmal, potentially the worst chase sequence I’ve ever experienced.

The twists and turns of the story were enough to keep me interested, with a payoff that was acceptable. The live action cutscenes were a highlight and made me feel uncomfortable as the game went on, which I’m sure was the intention. A lot of the story is given through notes, which I would’ve preferred another method of storytelling.

This game is a walking simulator, with chase sequences sprinkled throughout. There is a clear distinction between “exploring the areas/getting story” and “dangerous areas/chases.” This is kinda lame because you always know when you’re in danger. I didn’t die until the last sequence, where I died like 5 times because I was continuously getting lost. Removing the danger from story heavy areas completely removed tension once I realized that’s how the game was structured. Credit where credit is due, however, this game did make me scream multiple times with a few good scares.

One thing I love about other Silent Hill games (I feel like it’s fair to compare them since this is now an entry among them) is their replay value. There is not a universe where I will play through this again. Even PT is repayable and has that “I want to show this to friends” appeal. I have no desire to sit through this ever again.

Overall, for a free shadow dropped experience, this was worth playing as a Silent Hill super fan. While it didn’t do anything that blew me away, it had interesting ideas that it mostly pulled off. However, it felt like it was missing that indescribable feeling that the classic Silent Hill games had which made them masterpieces. The obvious comparison to this game is PT, and as I expected, this game shouldn’t even be in the same conversation as the teaser for the cancelled Silent Hills. Hopefully Konami’s revival of one of my favorite franchises gets better from here.

Also, I understand the need for the disclaimer regarding suicide and information on how to get help, but the 7th time it was shown to me felt a little ridiculous.

Edit: I can’t stop thinking about this game after playing. My opinion keeps switching between a 2.5/5 and 3.5/5. It truly has some high highs and low lows. If you have any interest in playing, you absolutely should. It’s definitely not a bad game, it just didn’t fully pull off what it was going for.

Edit #2: I take my first edit back. I watched my friend play through it and all the issues I had were magnified on a repeat viewing. 2.5/5 is what it deserves.

Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the first games I played on my brand new Xbox Series X back in 2020. Upon putting a few hours into it, signs were clear that the game simply was unfinished. I uninstalled the game and vowed to come back when it was ready. Three years later (almost to the day) I returned and found the game almost unrecognizable to the version I had played in the past. While it was still not perfect (texture glitches, characters holding items when they clearly weren't supposed to be, etc.), it was much closer to that original gameplay reveal from 2018. If you were waiting on the original vision CD Projekt Red had for this game, this is the closest you will ever get.

The star of the show here is Night City. It is one of the most immersive and constantly interesting game worlds around. You can't walk far without coming across a side quest, gig, vendor, or something that will just make you stop and admire the craftsmanship of this city. Sometimes, just driving around at night in first person was enough to keep me entertained because I loved living here.

The main story is mostly great. Act 2 is by far the best, while Act 1 and 3 are significantly shorter and weaker. I was not fully on board with it until Act 2 introduces your new best buddy, Johnny Silverhand. Moments with him are some of the highlights of the game as you learn his backstory and your opinion on him changes. Other character standouts are Panam, Judy, and Kerry. I did not, however, really get as attached to Jackie as the game clearly wanted me to be. While I liked him, he will be a character I do not think about when I think of this game. Without spoiling anything, the twists this game takes in the main quest were fun and I was hooked after Act 1 (with some endings being much better than others).

Side quests are a mixed bag. Some of them are better than the main questline, while others boil down to "go shoot those guys and get their loot and bring it back to me" with little more story or reward than that. You can't deny the game provides a ridiculous amount of side content with gigs and side missions, but it is impossible to see what kind of mission it is going to be from the minimap before starting it. You can't tell if it is going to be something interesting like the Sinnerman questline or something pointless. Overall, side quests are there if you want them, but not all of them are worth doing. Rewards from side quests were also not worth it the vast majority of the time.

I have to admit, I played this game as a high speed shooter and rarely interacted with the hacking capabilities unless I was forced to. Throughout my time with the game, I used around 9 guns regularly and ended with a surplus of over 600,000 eddies with nothing interesting to buy. Regarding money specifically, I always had enough crafting materials to upgrade anything I wanted, I had my favorite motorcycle within a few hours (side note, using the minimap while driving is truly awful), and I never saw a benefit from buying food. The only thing worth really investing in were cybernetic upgrades with ripper docs. I wish the game gave me more of a desire to spend my money on different things, but upgrading my V's abilities was pretty awesome.

The gunplay is relatively tight, especially for an RPG like this (comparing it to Bethesda shooting mechanics). Credit has to be given to the developers because you really can play this game however you want (with the exception of a few boss encounters where shooting is your only option). I chose to primarily use sniper rifles and pistols, where another player could almost entirely rely on stealth and hacking to get through hostile areas. Player experimentation is at the forefront of almost all combat scenarios, but I just walked in and blasted everyone and still had a great time.

The Phantom Liberty expansion included with the ultimate edition will most likely be the highlight of the game for most people. You get access to it during Act 2 (almost Act 3) so you will have mastered most aspects of the game by this point. It unlocks a new skill tree (which is extremely limited), new main-quest-quality storyline, tons of side content, and a massive new section of Night City to explore. The story was awesome and it includes a new ending for the main game that is by far my favorite and the most fitting for this game world. This expansion feels like how they wanted the rest of the game to feel from the start. You can play this expansion by itself, but it is really worth playing the main game to this point to really have attachments for existing characters that are involved in the story. It easily adds 15-20 hours if you are doing most side content and completing its fantastic main quest. Phantom Liberty is the absolute highlight of this package.

The 65ish hours I spent with Cyberpunk 2077 were mostly positive. Act 1 almost bounced me off, but I'm glad I kept going. The small character moments will be what will stick with me going forward, as the writing for them is top notch. Gameplay (at least what I experimented with) was mostly tight and very fun. Everyone who likes action RPGs should at least give this game a shot, while it absolutely won't be for everyone. I am truly glad I came back to this game years later and even happier CD Projekt Red got to finish their vision for this game, even if it still didn't reach the highs promised in their marketing.

Campaign

While it may not be the worst campaign in the series (Black Ops 3 will never be dethroned), it is a far cry away from what the current Modern Warfare games have achieved. MW 2019 has one of the best campaigns in the series, with MWII being serviceable as well. MWIII misses the mark every time it decides to drop you in an “open combat zone.” These feel extremely rushed and not thought out, most of them being extremely simple to complete while not giving any reason for them to be memorable. The inclusion of Warzone mechanics and areas goes on to show how not enough time was given to focus on making this campaign unique. However, the story and normal levels are fine overall. The opening level feels like it could fit in the other MW titles, while the other standard levels are mostly fine. With this in mind, there are still not any standout levels like “Clean House” from MW 2019. Even the “No Russian” equivalent level, which has been teased for years, was extremely short and uninteresting. Even with the story and some levels being acceptable, it lives in the shadow of what came before it. The story tries to have several big moments, but they do not hit as hard as the original trilogy. Maybe they will get back on track with MWIV, which is teased at the end.

Multiplayer

They finally did what everyone wanted. All the fan favorite MW2 2009 maps have returned and they look better than ever. However, they did not bring them back the way they should’ve. Carrying over the MWII guns/progression punishes players who want to level up the new MWIII weapons. This happens because while I’m upgrading my level 1 UMP, other players are running around with max level MWII guns and blowing my kit out of the water. I feel bad for anyone who is playing this game without having time in MWII, they will be at a massive disadvantage from the get go. The user experience is very muddy because of the massive amount of carryover, guns have 100’s of attachments each with varying levels of similarity to each other. I have to also refer to SBMM. It feels like your ranking from MWII also carries over and punishes you for your skill immediately. If they incorporated a true ranked playlist and left casual lobbies up to chance, this game has the potential for greatness. Unfortunately, Activision will never turn down SBMM and let players have a fun and casual experience. Otherwise, gunplay feels great, maps are all fan favorites, kill streaks are generally fun, and customization is vast. This multiplayer has so much potential, I just hope they allow it to shine.

Zombies

I’m not a huge zombies person anymore. I adored it during the WaW-BO1 era, but fell off after Tranzit killed the hype for me. I dabble a bit every iteration, and this is the most confusing part of this years package. It feels like they just deploy you into DMZ, but there are zombies to kill. The mode is very directionless and feels very uninspired. Maybe this is super fun for some people, but the time I put into it made me feel very lost and disappointed.

Overall

This year’s CoD offering feels like it was not meant for the spotlight. The campaign is a letdown after what came before it. A year or two of additional development time could’ve made it live up to 2019’s MW. The zombies just feels confusing and uninspired. The only part of the package that has serious potential is the multiplayer, which is held back by SBMM. If they allow the multiplayer to breathe without SBMM (which will never happen), it could be an all time great. With that being said, the only reason the multiplayer has a chance of being great is because it is sitting on the shoulders of a game that the current games will never live up to, MW2 2009.

Stray is one of most impactful expierences i've had in a long time. The feeling this game gave me was euphoric.
The way you connect with the cat you play as is genuinely powerful. Video games tend to encourage a dissconnect from humanity. You do things because the games tells you to. Achieve goals because the game rewards you for it. But Stray has this unbelievable confidence that it's world and story is what you will want to explore for.
There aren't abilities to unlock or a distracting progression system. You do what you do in this game because you as a player want to, which feels almost dehumanizing to a point.
We're built for that constant dopaline loop. But it fits so well when you're playing as a cat.
You feel as if the moments of humanity or concern for the people you meet, are genuine. Not only for the player, but in turn, for the cat as well. Creating a wonderful connection between you and your animal persona. (Took a lot of strength not to type fursona)
There are these moments where you can stop and drink water from a puddle or sleep while listening to some music. It isn't to refill an HP bar or unlock something. You do it because one, it's cute, and two; you want the cat you're playing as to listen to some music and take a second to rest. I remember thinking "huh.. he's probably thirsty huh. I'll go over to that puddle." Not many games make me instinctually do that. It's just such a potenet connection it had with me. It may come down to how real the cat looks and feels to move around with.
Regardless, it's a powerful aspect of the game that elevated it a lot for me. I tried to explain it the best I can, but it's something that I felt and could have been totally exlcusive to me.
The Kowloon inspired setting is so rich in detail. Exploring feels good and everything has this human touch. While the music and sounds just gave me the extra kick, completely transporting me into the world itself.
While the game's pacing can be a little slow at times, I can already imagine people writing this game off as "boring". Or describing it as a "nonvideo game". Man, what a lame way to look at this artistic medium. A game that tries to break conventions and supply an expierence outside the realm of what people demand out of a video game. Rebelling against the "standard" we hold games to. Games like this are so damn healthy for the industry. Content, little expierence, doing its own thing and doing it well. It's supposed to be a little "boring". It helps elevate the atmosphere it's going for and the connection it creates with the player.
Can't stress how much this game means to me now.

tldr; Cat game with a meow button.

Bloodborne is one of my favorite games ever made, I love it so much that I got a tattoo of the Hunter’s Mark on my forearm. All I have wanted is for From Software to either remaster the game or make a sequel. However, with the success of Elden Ring and surprise masterpiece that is Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon, I have doubt that Bloodborne will ever get the revisit that it deserves.

Just when I thought all hope had been lost, Lies of P was announced and released. This game was clearly made people who feel the same way I do, and who possess the ability to even outshine From Software in several aspects. Lies of P is the Bloodborne sequel we have been waiting for.

Clocking in at about 30 hours for a first play though, this adventure spans across 11 chapters that take you all over the city of Krat. The amount of different areas, enemy types, and bosses keep this game feeling fresh throughout. Exploration is always rewarded with new weapons, items, quest lines, and lore. Players familiar with Dark Souls/Bloodborne storytelling will find this story much more digestible, while also finding it heart wrenching and fascinating how the developers were able to make the tale of Pinocchio so fitting for a video game like this.

Combat will also feel extremely familiar to Souls fans, but they have made their own choices that make it unique. With the two part weapon system, your options are much more vast than other games of this style. You can really carve out your own niche with this weapon customization to make a tool that fits your build perfectly.

I could go on and on regarding what this game does to improve/innovate on the Souls formula. This would be the part where I list my issues with the game’s design, but I honestly can’t think of any criticism to give it. Very rarely do we get a game as mechanically sound as this one.

Bloodborne 2 is the game that I’m constantly holding my breath for when Sony holds any kind of State of Play, and that will likely continue to be the case forever. With the release of Lies of P, I finally feel content. While From Software will likely never touch that universe again, Lies of P has filled the Bloodborne 2 sized hole in my heart.

This is the kind of game that reminds me just how much I love this hobby.