whatsnexttrevor
2023
this game can't quite shake the knock-off portal vibe, but wow is the tech behind this amazing. throwing up random pictures truly never gets old. in conclusion, portal 3 when?
i can't deny how amazing the abilities are in this game, and it definitely stands apart from botw.
that said, i ended up in the same place with this one as botw: craving a more focused experience with a smaller scope. i like the open world here, don't get me wrong, i just wish it were smaller.
that said, i ended up in the same place with this one as botw: craving a more focused experience with a smaller scope. i like the open world here, don't get me wrong, i just wish it were smaller.
yea, this game is tough to the point of unapproachable for me. the mechanics are undeniably stellar, though, and i'm surprised more games haven't drawn from this while easing the difficulty curve a bit.
2023
thoughts after 1st night: it feels so strange to finally have a 1st party, day-one game pass release that feels so significant. hey and combat feels pretty good!
thoughts after a week-ish: i stumbled into the crimson fleet questline really really early, and boy does it ruin the main quest. i'm still enjoying this quite a bit, but the writing is very inconsistent, and the "space travel" is just so weak. i feel like i'm playing a proof-of-concept for starfield 2, where you can actually fly to and from planets. the loading screens really hamper the experience.
wrapping up: alright, i'm not going to finish this one. the writing in the main quest is too poor, and the payoff isn't worth it (i hate to say it but i looked it up). from what i've seen, i've experienced the best the game has to offer in the crimson fleet questline.
on loading screens: look, video games are incredibly complicated and i am well aware i have no idea how hard it is to pull something like this off. that said, you can't even go 100 yds in a city without running into a loading screen here. it's just too much, and it officially broke me last night. especially in an rpg this large, i feel like my time is being wasted.
i'm glad i tried this before bg3, but i also wish i had played bg3 instead.
thoughts after a week-ish: i stumbled into the crimson fleet questline really really early, and boy does it ruin the main quest. i'm still enjoying this quite a bit, but the writing is very inconsistent, and the "space travel" is just so weak. i feel like i'm playing a proof-of-concept for starfield 2, where you can actually fly to and from planets. the loading screens really hamper the experience.
wrapping up: alright, i'm not going to finish this one. the writing in the main quest is too poor, and the payoff isn't worth it (i hate to say it but i looked it up). from what i've seen, i've experienced the best the game has to offer in the crimson fleet questline.
on loading screens: look, video games are incredibly complicated and i am well aware i have no idea how hard it is to pull something like this off. that said, you can't even go 100 yds in a city without running into a loading screen here. it's just too much, and it officially broke me last night. especially in an rpg this large, i feel like my time is being wasted.
i'm glad i tried this before bg3, but i also wish i had played bg3 instead.
2023
dear god this game is waaaaaaay too long.
the combat is a lot of fun, and man the highs are high, but the lows are inescapable and the final villain isn't just weak, he's annoying. it is pretty hilarious how this game shamelessly imitates game of thrones, and ends in a similarly strange way. so much bloat. if you shaved 10 hours off it would be stellar. i nearly broke on the triple-fetch-quest for mid. sheesh.
boss fights are this game's saving grace. the production quality in those setpiece moments is honestly ridiculous, even if the combat within them can be a little clunky. mini-bosses have way too much health and some of those fights drag on way too long. that's really this game's biggest failing, there are pacing issues everywhere.
despite all this, i can't deny i had a lot of fun with this. ben starr, you're a treasure.
the combat is a lot of fun, and man the highs are high, but the lows are inescapable and the final villain isn't just weak, he's annoying. it is pretty hilarious how this game shamelessly imitates game of thrones, and ends in a similarly strange way. so much bloat. if you shaved 10 hours off it would be stellar. i nearly broke on the triple-fetch-quest for mid. sheesh.
boss fights are this game's saving grace. the production quality in those setpiece moments is honestly ridiculous, even if the combat within them can be a little clunky. mini-bosses have way too much health and some of those fights drag on way too long. that's really this game's biggest failing, there are pacing issues everywhere.
despite all this, i can't deny i had a lot of fun with this. ben starr, you're a treasure.
2021
This review contains spoilers
i finally made it to act 3, and it's near impossible to overstate how special this game is.
there is a bit of a dip in act 2, but that loss of satisfaction and engagement feels deliberate. and the way act 3 is playing out so far seems to confirm that for me. please please please read no further if you haven't played into act 3.
it is absolute fucking genius to change the structure of the game so drastically and deliberately from act to act. when i realized the game was going from rogue-like to "no-consequence-for-losing" to souls-like my jaw slammed through the floor and down to the center of the earth. and it says so much about challenge in games and my personal preferences that act 3 is looking like my personal highlight in terms of gameplay (hard to beat act 1's atmosphere).
coupling all of this with a genuinely engaging story and an actually compelling use of fourth-wall breaks feels just fake. this shouldn't exist. this game is a creative marvel. act 1 is a genre-defining masterpiece, and act 3 is the totk/smg2 to act 1's botw/smg.
i am so excited to see how it concludes, and i cannot recommend this enough to everyone. whatever daniel mullins does next, i will be there day one.
edit after beating the game: i can't even think of anything else to say. the fact that mullins was holding SO much in reserve until the very end is absolutely ridiculous. i thought the game was out of surprises halfway through act 1, and it just never stopped. fantastic, fantastic, fantastic.
one of the best games i've ever played. going straight into my pantheon
there is a bit of a dip in act 2, but that loss of satisfaction and engagement feels deliberate. and the way act 3 is playing out so far seems to confirm that for me. please please please read no further if you haven't played into act 3.
it is absolute fucking genius to change the structure of the game so drastically and deliberately from act to act. when i realized the game was going from rogue-like to "no-consequence-for-losing" to souls-like my jaw slammed through the floor and down to the center of the earth. and it says so much about challenge in games and my personal preferences that act 3 is looking like my personal highlight in terms of gameplay (hard to beat act 1's atmosphere).
coupling all of this with a genuinely engaging story and an actually compelling use of fourth-wall breaks feels just fake. this shouldn't exist. this game is a creative marvel. act 1 is a genre-defining masterpiece, and act 3 is the totk/smg2 to act 1's botw/smg.
i am so excited to see how it concludes, and i cannot recommend this enough to everyone. whatever daniel mullins does next, i will be there day one.
edit after beating the game: i can't even think of anything else to say. the fact that mullins was holding SO much in reserve until the very end is absolutely ridiculous. i thought the game was out of surprises halfway through act 1, and it just never stopped. fantastic, fantastic, fantastic.
one of the best games i've ever played. going straight into my pantheon
2021
played this quite a bit on ios and xbox, perfect podcast game as all have said!
look... if i were being honest about the technical state of the game, this score would be lower. it probably needed another 6 months in the oven to at least get the framerate right.
that said, damn. surprisingly well-written characters that really propelled the thin plot forward. combat could be a little better, but the overall experience was so strong i can write it off. games like god of war are obviously more polished, but the traversal and exploration here is such a highlight.
and for once there was a romance subplot in a game that didn't bother me. that's quite the feat.
again, if you compare it to contemporaries like dark souls or metroid, it does kind of fall apart. but this has the most important thing a narrative-driven game like this can strive for: soul.
for the love of god, please fix performance mode. let ray tracing die.
so excited for part 3!
that said, damn. surprisingly well-written characters that really propelled the thin plot forward. combat could be a little better, but the overall experience was so strong i can write it off. games like god of war are obviously more polished, but the traversal and exploration here is such a highlight.
and for once there was a romance subplot in a game that didn't bother me. that's quite the feat.
again, if you compare it to contemporaries like dark souls or metroid, it does kind of fall apart. but this has the most important thing a narrative-driven game like this can strive for: soul.
for the love of god, please fix performance mode. let ray tracing die.
so excited for part 3!
it's fine, gameplay feels pretty wonky. especially unresponsive post-elden ring
2022
really surprised me! mary and i had a lot of fun playing. writing was kinda wonky at times, but the world they built was pretty interesting. lots of campy goodness!
the more i think about it, the more upset i get. idk what i expected from a call of duty campaign
2022
This review contains spoilers
second take:
just bumped up my score, the more i think about this the more i love it. i love how they kept so many details mysterious. the goodbye at the end felt so gratifying, and seeing kratos finally, truly break (while keeping his full expression hidden) was just magical
first take:
god the production value is just ridiculous in this one, and it delivers without sacrificing gameplay. the story could be a little tighter, but the experience was so wonderful and gratifying, especially having played 2018.
they manage to keep the father/son dynamic the focal point, despite the far grander scope and all. that is probably this game's greatest achievement.
some characters felt more than a little superfluous, which is probably my biggest complaint. i wish we had more time with kratos and atreus, still.
either way, i'm grateful they didn't make this a trilogy, and i am very excited for whatever santa monica does next. hopefully it is a well-deserved break from god of war
just bumped up my score, the more i think about this the more i love it. i love how they kept so many details mysterious. the goodbye at the end felt so gratifying, and seeing kratos finally, truly break (while keeping his full expression hidden) was just magical
first take:
god the production value is just ridiculous in this one, and it delivers without sacrificing gameplay. the story could be a little tighter, but the experience was so wonderful and gratifying, especially having played 2018.
they manage to keep the father/son dynamic the focal point, despite the far grander scope and all. that is probably this game's greatest achievement.
some characters felt more than a little superfluous, which is probably my biggest complaint. i wish we had more time with kratos and atreus, still.
either way, i'm grateful they didn't make this a trilogy, and i am very excited for whatever santa monica does next. hopefully it is a well-deserved break from god of war
2021
middling movement, wannabe skate 3
2022
holy moly the final phase of the final boss was just about as hard as anything in elden ring. took me longer than elden beast. this game is awesome though
2022
did a cross-country move about halfway through playing this, so it took way longer than it should have whoops
it's pretty good? the story is pretty weak, and the world is far from totally original, but it is pretty well realized. exploring it was very nice, and there is an impressive amount of detail in the environments. there is a little more novelty than i expected in playing as a cat, namely in that the scale of the environment is so inflated compared to a typical game like this. it's very satisfying to slink through fence grates or into tight spaces as a cat, and that's pretty much the best thing this has going for it. if you like cats, you'll have fun (i did)
it's pretty good? the story is pretty weak, and the world is far from totally original, but it is pretty well realized. exploring it was very nice, and there is an impressive amount of detail in the environments. there is a little more novelty than i expected in playing as a cat, namely in that the scale of the environment is so inflated compared to a typical game like this. it's very satisfying to slink through fence grates or into tight spaces as a cat, and that's pretty much the best thing this has going for it. if you like cats, you'll have fun (i did)