When you ask almost anyone who's played Outer Wilds about the game, they'll immediately tell you that it's a masterpiece; that it's a unique piece of art that could only exist as a video game. What they won't tell you, however, is what exactly makes it so great. This is because Outer Wilds is a game that can only be experienced the same way once. All I can say is that all the big talk is completely deserved. This game changed my outlook on life and nearly a year after my first playthrough I still think about it for at least a few minutes every day. I can't recommend it enough.

Jet Set Radio Future begs the question, "what if Jet Set Radio was as fun to play as it is to look at?". The original Dreamcast game is considered a Sega classic, but I'll always be of the firm opinion that none of that is because of it's gameplay. It has an amazing soundtrack and presentation, but at it's core it's a very mediocre experience. Future fixes all of this. The original's sluggish, imprecise movement is replaced with a much quicker and fluid system, designed for exploration and racking up massive trick combos. The levels are updated to accommodate this, nearly each one being a large, open playground. Graffiti is also simplified to the press of a button, rather than a quicktime event. Even the aesthetic that made the first game so special is updated, opting for a darker vibe that fits the game's setting of a corporation-oppressed Tokyo. Overall it's one of the most fun games Sega's ever put out. I just wish they'd port it to PC already.

I can see what they were doing here but I would've loved it a lot more if it was better executed. For a game very clearly inspired by Titanfall's movement, it absolutely butchered everything that made Titanfall feel so good. Your jump has next to no weight to it, the wallride sucks and I've often died to the game locking me into one when I'm just trying to land on a platform. You die in one hit which is hardly an uncommon mechanic, but when the movement is this imprecise and floaty, it makes it more frustrating than anything. Rarely have I died in this game and actually felt like it was my fault. If they tightened up the movement, I would've loved this game. As it stands, I never want to touch it again.