Had never played a Souls-like before this and depending on how you define the genre maybe I still haven't. Either way, this was enjoyable. A little too much emphasis on class variety, if you ask me. I maxed out most job trees at Level 30 without grinding, and very rarely did I need to switch up jobs to handle bosses. The story's predictably a messy disaster but it all mostly still works as either a prequel to or alternate version of the original Final Fantasy game. Ultimately this feels like a fairly minor and largely forgotten title - did it really only come out two years ago? Feels like five to ten! - but I really did enjoy it for the most part once I understood how to play it.

Satisfying enough, but admittedly a little slighter than I expected. Yuffie's never been my bag - sorry, basic Aerith (Aeris) boy here turned proud Tifa man - but this was always going to live or die based on the gameplay and the story. They were... fine. Clocks in at just two chapters and the pace is a total mess, starting slower than molasses and ending with an absurd boss gauntlet. I had my fun here and had more of it the more I played, but really this mostly just got me hyped for Rebirth, you know? Can't believe Remake is four years old already. So is my four-year-old. It all tracks but it's fucked up al the same, you know?

Easily the best "new console hardware demonstration" title since Wii U's Nintendo Land. Just an incredible display of what the DualSense controller is capable of, namely: precise gyroscopic awareness, highly resolved vibrations, incredible adaptive haptic technology in the triggers. Combine that gameplay with a quick and easy "story" about collecting old PlayStation controllers and memory cards and baby you've got yourself a very pleasant three-hour experience. Real shame how nobody is designing games around these console-specific features, though. Appreciate the future-proofing foresight, but it must be a total buzzkill for the designers and engineers who make these incredible components only to see them go to waste.