tragos
1999
This review contains spoilers
It's really impressive that such a big, artistic game was released all the way back on the PS1. The rich atmosphere is created through it's ambitious, detailed and yet stylised environments, great music and ambience and some wonderful camera angles, especially in that first alley scene, you know which one I mean. I love the PS1 graphics, and here they are at their best. It's no coincidence that so many indie horror games are now created in this visual style. It complements the atmosphere very well. The story is intriguing, kind of let down by the cheesy voice acting. There were some touching moments though, in particular Lisa's transformation or whatever that was. An additional bonus for me is the lack of overbearing metroidvania mechanics. There wasn't really that much backtracking in this one, especially compared to something like the original RE. It is a big game though. The map is big and the use of fog allows for that, while also creating a unique atmosphere. The environments are detailed. There are multiple endings to the game. i missed the whole Kauffman side-quest and got the bad ending. Just the fact that there is an optional side-quest that changes the ending in a game from '99 is impressive. Overall, I recommend giving the original SH a try. Don't be discouraged by it's age.
1999
2003
2018
2001
Going into the first Pikmin after playing the third one probably does a disservice to the former. It's a fun game and it terms of atmosphere and storytelling it easily tops Pikmin 3, but gameplay-wise I found Pikmin 1 to be a bit tiring. As much as I love old games they often lack QoL features that would make the experience much smoother and better. Pikmin suffers from this issue, but it's not atrocious. You can get used to it and when you do it's an enjoyable experience. I really did suck at this game though.
2006
2001
1998
2022
2008
It's a great game, still the best looking Sonic game. The werehog provides a nice distraction and makes the game a fair bit longer, but it's not something I would call padding. The medals can go to hell though. They absolutely ruin the game.
And the difficulty spike at the end. It's what made me give up on it.
And the difficulty spike at the end. It's what made me give up on it.
2002
This game captivated me with it's atmosphere and art direction. It's really tense and quite terrifying at times. The pre-rendered backgrounds and set camera angles really do the job. The music and sound design are wonderful too. That being said, I really don't like metroidvanias. I get their appeal, but they don't work for me. Running around, getting lost, missing crucial things, revisiting the same locations over and over again - not really my thing. Once I started using a guide I started to have much more fun, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I'm missing part of the experience by doing that. Hence the 3.5 star rating.
1991
2011